Colorado Rockies news and links for Monday, April 7th, 2025
“If one of the young guys are ready, we’re not afraid to go with them.”
These were the words of Colorado Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt that I threw back at the organization when the 2025 Major League Baseball season began.
At the time, the Rockies had been finalizing their Opening Day 26-man roster with what I saw as egregious errors. They reassigned top pitching prospect Chase Dollander (no. 1 PuRP) to minor league camp and optioned top outfield prospect Zac Veen (no. 4 PuRP) to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.
The Dollander move made some sense. While the 2023 first-round pick had showcased his electric talent and ability to strike out batters during spring training, he had also been roughed up in a few of his outings. There was at least some justification to start the season with the Isotopes for some fine-tuning.
It was sending Zac Veen to Albuquerque as well that had me rankled.
The decisions came after a flurry of strange roster moves by the team. They traded Nolan Jones back to the Cleveland Guardians for second baseman Tyler Freeman, and named veteran outfielders Nick Martini, Sean Bouchard, and Sam Hilliard to the active roster.
Stranger still was when the Rockies quickly turned around and designated Hilliard—who had been named to the Opening Day roster for his defensive skills at all three outfield positions despite an extremely high strikeout rate in spring training—for assignment before the first game of the season was played. In a corresponding move, the Rockies signed former 2016 first-overall pick in outfielder Mickey Moniak to a big league contract.
The Rockies had left a top prospect who had done everything right during spring training—hitting .279/.353/.475 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, 11 RBIs, and nine stolen bases—for 34-year-old Nick Martini and a player whom they immediately designated for assignment when Moniak became available.
Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
The Rockies’ actions ultimately called their dedication to a rebuild and youth movement into question. The team somehow managed to get older—with an average batter age of 28.2 compared to 2024’s 27.9—despite the departure of 38-year-old franchise icon Charlie Blackmon due to retirement.
Multiple reasons—from maturity, to strikeouts, to his limited time in Triple-A last season—were given for Veen’s assignment to the Isotopes. It ultimately boiled down to needing to “hone his skills” with regular playing time as a daily starter.
“Zac realizes that it’s probably a little more time needed in the Minors before he potentially gets an opportunity,” Black said. “Hopefully, he’ll force that by how he plays.”
It would appear that eight games and 37 plate appearances was enough to do just that, as the Rockies have made the decision to summon Veen to the big league roster.
In eight games with the Isotopes to start 2025, Veen hit .387/.472/.677 with eight RBIs, four doubles, a triple, and a home run. He quickly became the most valuable hitter in Albuquerque while also showing he absolutely did not need to be there.
Veen’s call-up comes hot on the heels of right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander’s big league debut. Dollander made just one start in Triple-A before he was added to the 40-man roster and asked to start Sunday’s game against the Athletics. Dollander worked a solid five innings and showed tremendous poise on the mound despite giving up some hard contact—including two home runs. He struck out six batters while giving up four earned runs.
Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
The Rockies deciding to call up Veen and Dollander is the correction of a mistake made before the season began.
Neither player was in the minors long enough for their service time to be significantly manipulated—a practice the Rockies rarely participate in to begin with—and both have been called up early enough that their prospect promotion incentives remain intact. However, it seems unlikely that either player would grant the Rockies an additional draft pick via winning either the National League Rookie of the Year, MVP, or Cy Young awards.
The Rockies instead appear to be doing what we’ve pleaded for them to do: promote the young and exciting prospects and give them consistent big league playing time.
There are still plenty of things left to question, such as how much leash Dollander and Veen will be given. Will they be afforded every opportunity to develop, or will they be sent back down—as young outfielder Jordan Beck was in exchange for Veen—if they struggle?
The Rockies will also have to make decisions with an older and somewhat bloated roster. They are currently carrying five outfielders—seven if you count Tyler Freeman and Kris Bryant—and will have three second basemen on the roster once Thairo Estrada returns from the injured list. If Jordan Beck finds his form and confidence in Triple-A, who do you jettison for his return? If Adael Amador (no. 3 PuRP) or Ryan Ritter (no. 17 PuRP) eventually prove ready to take the next step forward, what happens to Estrada, Freeman, or Kyle Farmer?
These questions will all need to be answered in due time. For now, we can hope the Rockies continue to make the right decisions while also praising them for correcting the mistakes they made a few weeks ago.
Better late than never, right?
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Prospects Carrigg, Brecht among Sunday’s top performers | MLB.com
Rockies prospects Cole Carrigg and Brody Brecht earned a shout-out on Sunday from MLB Pipeline due to strong performances. Brecht made his debut with the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies and tallied seven strikeouts over three shutout innings while Carrigg went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats.
Monfort says Denver Broncos ‘have the guy’ in Greg Penner | 9news.com
Speaking with Mike Klis of 9news, Rockies owner Dick Monfort praised Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner—now in his third year of ownership. Monfort calls Denver fans “lucky” to “have the guy” in Penner while admiring Penner’s thought process.
“You know, he’s pretty upfront,’’ Monfort said. “He knows what he doesn’t know. I’ve had breakfast with Greg half a dozen times and you can tell he’s thinking about things. He’s thinking about fan experience. He’s thinking about the team, of course. But he’s also thinking about long-term. It’s not like when you talk to him the only thing he talks about is this year’s team or Bo Nix or something. He’s thinking this all out.
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