Fearless and focused: Jorge's journey from Cuba to Rockies prospect

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Shortstop Dyan Jorge wasn't hard to miss when he played for various Cuban youth national teams. He was younger and smaller than everyone else.

But, he made himself impossible to miss.

The Rockies followed Jorge from around age 12 and signed him to a club-record $2.8 million bonus at the start of the 2022 international signing period. Now, according to MLB Pipeline, Jorge is the Rockies' No. 7 prospect. During Saturday's Spring Breakout game against the D-backs at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, he will be highlighted.

"Playing on the next level, I was never scared," Jorge said through an interpreter. "I knew the older players would have bigger bodies and the field was bigger than the field I was used to playing on. When I went, I wasn't scared. I just did what I needed to do.

Fearlessness was not the only trait that attracted the Rockies to Jorge, who turns 21 on Monday.

When scouting him, the Rockies saw valid comparisons to Alexei Ramirez, a former All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger with the White Sox.

Jorge has performed at the lower levels – a combined .320 batting average at two Dominican Summer League teams in 2022 and a combined .306 for the Arizona Complex League Rockies and Single-A Fresno last season. The Rockies gave him more experience during instructional ball last fall.

"He has the athleticism, the body composition, the running speed -- he was lanky, wiry -- definitely to play shortstop and put the ball in play consistently," said Rolando Fernandez, the Rockies' vice president of international scouting and player development. "He's 6'3", about 175 [pounds], but when he came out, he was 6'1" and 145."

The Rockies have played Jorge at second base for a few games, but they are letting him go as far as he can at shortstop – a position they hope Ezequiel Tovar holds at the Major League level for the foreseeable future.

Jorge is part of a growing middle-infield depth picture. In addition to short, the Rockies have begun working their No. 1 prospect, Adael Amador, at second base. Julio Carreras has transitioned to a utility role and was a candidate to break into the big league club before recently being optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. No. 13 prospect Ryan Ritter, a collegiate Gold Glove shortstop at the University of Kentucky before being selected in the fourth round in the 2022 MLB Draft, earned postseason honors at Fresno and saw time at High-A Spokane mainly playing shortstop.

During instructional ball, the Rockies began refining Jorge's offensive game.

"We had a very specific plan -- to increase his bat speed through the off gap," said Rockies Minor League hitting coordinator Nic Wilson, who worked with Jorge multiple times on trips to the ACL, Fresno and instructional ball. "We didn't want to increase the bat speed that we already have in the metrics, but bat speed without direction doesn't work in this game – you'll roll over on a lot of pitches or often miss them.

"His focus has been really fine, and he's been really good about it."

During the big tournaments, Jorge competed at the same level as older Cuban teammates and began dreaming when he saw them sign with Major League clubs. But he listened to them and his family when they stressed that a player needs to be comfortable away from the park to perform well on the field.

"I learned how to cook when I came to the Dominican Republic," Jorge said. "One thing that helped me a lot was that my family was always together. My father and I learned to cook – and one of the keys was that my mother was the teacher. A lot of the people that I knew told me I had to do that.

"I talk a lot with the Cuban players because we understand what we have been through. And there are a lot of guys in the Minor Leagues, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who plays with the D-backs. Those guys help me a lot."