Colorado Rockies minor league report for Wednesday, March 26th, 2025
Once again we have reached the final day of the off-season. Spring training is officially in the rearview and the Colorado Rockies have set their 26-man roster in anticipation for Friday’s Opening Day matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Unfortunately, the Rockies will start the 2025 season without a single true rookie on their roster. A rebuilding team that was supposed to be getting younger somehow got older despite the departure of 38-year-old Charlie Blackmon this season.
It’s extraordinarily disappointing that the Rockies chose to go in this direction, especially after multiple minor leaguers and prospects showed off their potential for this team’s future over 33 spring training games. There is still a high chance of seeing many of these prospects make their big league debuts throughout the season, but one can’t shake the feeling the Rockies made the wrong decision.
As disappointed as we may be, we can still look back at camp and highlight those pebbles that impressed in the desert this spring.
I’ve Veen Enough: Outfielder Zac Veen (no. 4 PuRP) was named the Rockies’ Abby Greer spring training MVP after a strong performance in the Cactus League. He hit .270/.352/.460 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 11 RBIs, and stole nine bases over a team high 28 games.
Veen did essentially everything asked of him this spring, which made it all the more shocking when he was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque over the weekend. To his credit, Veen has handled the move with both maturity and poise.
“I guess there is really, kind of, no reaction,” he said. “I guess I kind of figured I was going to stay all through camp and make the team, or I was going to have to go play in Albuquerque for a little bit.”
He further expanded on his experiences this spring.
“I would say I had a very good and exciting camp,” Veen said. “I learned a ton. Being able to be around my teammates was a very big thing for me. And being around the coaching staff was also a very big thing.”
Break the Amador Down: Second baseman Adael Amador (no. 3 PuRP) struggled despite making his major league debut in 2024. However, he’s shown to have put the work in this offseason and turned in a strong spring performance. He may not be quite ready for the starting role with the Rockies just yet but I feel he is certainly getting close.
Amador hit .300/.475/.367 in 17 Cactus League games this spring. Hitting 9-for-30, he had two doubles and 10 RBIs. The most important thing for Amador this spring was his plate discipline. 2024 was the first season of his professional career in which he had significantly more strikeouts than walks. This spring he drew nine walks to just five strikeouts in 40 plate appearances. He also hit the game winning, two-run home run in this year’s Spring Breakout prospect showcase.
Amador will start the season in Triple-A Albuquerque, but I expect his name to be called at some point this season to take over at second base.
A Different Kind of Agnostic: If I had my way, Zach Agnos would be in the Rockies’ bullpen to start the 2025 season. That’s how much of a believer I am.
Agnos (no. 23 PuRP) may not be a finished product, but he’s pretty darn close after a strong spring showing. In nine appearances and 10 1⁄3 innings of work he posted a 3.48 ERA. Agnos gave up four earned runs on ten hits, and the biggest knock against him is probably the three home runs allowed.
The home runs and contact he gave up are a result of his pounding of the strike zone. Agnos struck out nine batters while only walking one, and did not hit a single batter this spring. Of his 159 pitches thrown, only three were wild.
Agnos may be starting his season in the minors, but I’m convinced we will see him come out of the Coors Field bullpen this season.
The Chase Continues: Rockies top pitching prospect Chase Dollander (no. 1 PuRP) had his camp end on somewhat of a sour note. He made his final start of the spring on Sunday after being reassigned to minor league camp on Saturday.
Dollander pitched 3 1⁄3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits—including two home runs. However, his strikeout stuff was working well. Dollander tallied six strikeouts to one walk during the loss.
Dollander finishes spring training with a 7.13 ERA over six starts and 17 2⁄3 innings of work. He gave up five home runs and ten walks. However, he was also the team’s strikeout leader—tied with Kyle Freeland—with 24 punchouts.
Although the Tennessee product still needs some seasoning before he goes from Rocky Top all the way to the Rocky Mountains, this spring was an encouraging sign of things to come.
Blalocking Down a Roster Spot: Bradley Blalock may officially graduate from pebble status after an excellent spring training performance earned him one of the Rockies’ few coveted roster spots.
Blalock worked both as a starter and reliever in camp. He made nine appearances—three of which were starts—and pitched a total of 17 2⁄3 innings. He gave up only two earned runs, no home runs, and struck out 20 batters with some dialed up velocity from last season.
Blalock has been assigned the long reliever role heading into the 2025 season. He should also be able to start in a pinch, which will prove useful until Austin Gomber returns from the injured list around April 8th.
Rock and Rolison: Left-handed pitcher and former first round pick Ryan Rolison got a lot of work in considering he is neither on the 40-man roster nor was he a non-roster invite. On loan from minor league camp, the Ole Miss product enjoyed his first spring training work since 2022 and proved he still has something left in the tank as a prospect.
Rolison made six appearances from the Rockies bullpen for a total of 8 1⁄3 innings. He gave up just one earned run on seven hits and struck out six batters. While he did struggle somewhat with command—issuing five walks—he kept his head cool and navigated his way out of trouble.
Now 27-years-old, Rolison will start the season with the Triple-A Isotopes. However, if he continues to perform well there is chance he finally earns his long delayed big league debut.
Great to see Friend of the Show Ryan Rolison make an appearance in Spring Training! We caught up with him back in September
buff.ly/4i1Wjpy
— Rocky Mountain Rooftop (@rockymtnrooftop.bsky.social) 2025-02-27T21:44:39.421Z
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Coming Up: Minor League Baseball
With spring training complete and final minor league rosters being formulated, we are finally on the precipice of the minor league season.
The Albuquerque Isotopes will kick off the Triple-A season this Friday with a three game set against the Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco Giants). Big league pitcher Austin Gomber will make the start for the Isotopes as he begins his full ramp-up to return from the injured list.
The rest of the Rockies’ affiliates all start with a home opener on Friday, April 4th. The Double-A Hartford Yard Goats will face off against the Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees)—who eliminated them in the playoffs last season. The High-A Spokane Indians will do battle with the Everett Aqua Sox (Seattle Mariners) and the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies will host the Stockton Ports (Sacramento Athletics).
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