Colorado Rockies news and links for Thursday, November 21, 2024
If there’s one thing I know about Rockies fans, especially those of you here on Purple Row, it’s that you guys looooove your prospects.
The PuRPs series is one of our most consistently-discussed projects, and every year, we hold excellent discussions about the young men that (we hope) will lead the Rockies to success in the future. It’s always fun envisioning what these new players will develop into and how they’ll apply their skills at the game’s highest level.
So let’s take that to the extreme and cast our mind into the far-flung future of 2030.
A lot can happen in five years (and one month — whatever, it’s fine), and Colorado’s team construction will undoubtedly look very different. To make this manageable, let’s purely focus on this future team’s rotation, using only players currently in the Rockies system.
Time to put our thinking caps on, and attempt to parse out what that five-man crew may be made of.
Let’s start with who will not be in the rotation. Gérman Márquez is currently set to be a free agent after next season, and while the Rockies will likely make an effort to retain his services, he’s a candidate to sign elsewhere. I’ll assume he leaves, for this exercise. We’ll apply the same logic for Antonio Senzatela, Kyle Freeland, and Austin Gomber.
That means the only member of next season’s projected starters to still be wearing purple is Ryan Feltner. While he could hit free agency in 2029, he’s the youngest of Colorado’s starting pitchers and, as he continues to make the case for the role of ace on the team, is at least the most probable pitcher here to be left standing in 2030.
One or many of the others may be re-signed, too, but hey, it’s my article, and I do what I want
With Feltner locked in, who are the four men that will join him?
First and most likely to see action soon is Carson Palmquist. The number 18 PuRP may make his MLB debut as early as next season and has been compared to fan favorite Kyle Freeland. That’s high praise, and if he can make it a reality, then he’ll have no issues holding down a place in the pitching order.
After finishing last season in Triple-A Albuquerque, he’s right on the cusp of a call to the Majors, so we may get our first glimpse of his stuff as early as 2025. That initial tryout will go a long way towards his hopes of being a long-term asset for the Rockies.
Speaking of Triple-A, there are some other potential candidates on Albuquerque’s roster, such as Karl Kauffman and Peyton Battenfield. While they’re solid hands and may well get a look at the major league level, they don’t seem to be viewed as long-term investments.
The most interesting of these young ‘Topes is Ryan Rolison. The former first-rounder has long been considered a talented, exciting prospect for the Rockies, but injuries threaten to derail his career. If he can overcome these hazards — and I certainly hope he does because that curveball is absolutely electric — then he’s our third pick for the future five.
He pitched in 29 games last season, which is a good sign for his health, but he only started five. Mayhaps they’re transitioning Rolison to a relief role, rather than a starter? Time will tell how the organization decides to play it, but I’ll keep him as a rotation arm for now. Prove me right, Ryan!
Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
With Triple-A Albuquerque sorted, we’ll head to Double-A Hartford to check in on the young Yard Goats. It is here that the next member of our New Avengers can be found: Sean Sullivan.
Sullivan’s our number 12 PuRP, and for good reason. There’s a lot of excitement around the lanky left-hander, and he’s going to be joined by a player that’s garnering plenty of hype himself in our number 1 PuRP, Chase Dollander.
This dynamic duo is turning heads in a big way, and they’re the tag team that the Rockies are relying on to carry them to success. They’re the most likely to find success in MLB, at least based on what we’ve seen so far, but it’s worth mentioning a couple other potential pieces such as Gabriel Hughes.
Another first-rounder, Hughes hasn’t exactly lit up the minors in his first years of professional ball. He’s struggled at every level thus far, in part due to injuries, which doesn’t bode well for his future aspirations. He’ll have to be more consistent if he wants to crack our 2030 crew.
Connor Van Scoyoc and Mason Albright (great name) are also options, though they don’t have quite the pedigree that our previously mentioned double-barred combo has. They’ve got some work to do to be considered rotation stalwarts, though they’re certainly worth keeping an eye on.
Finally, we have our newest exciting young arm in Brody Brecht. With one of the highest ceilings in recent Rockies draft history, there’s no doubt that he’ll be in contention for one of these slots, but we’ll have to see how he adjusts to professional baseball before I make that call.
So let’s say we enter 2030 with a rotation of Ryan Feltner, Carson Palmquist, Ryan Rolison, Sean Sullivan, and Chase Dollander. How are you feeling? Confident? Unimpressed? Let me know!
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Refreshed Veen ready for big year after being added to Rox’s roster | MLB.com
Zac Veen is on everyone’s radar entering next season, as the Rockies might be ready to pull the trigger on the budding outfielder and see what he can do. Thomas Harding breaks down why you should prepare yourself for this special young talent.
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