Rockies rookies getting chance to grow following Deadline

DENVER -- There was no cake and no singing to commemorate Rockies rookie shortstop Ezequiel Tovar’s 22nd birthday on Tuesday. But looking around a home clubhouse and seeing so many teammates who not long ago were dreaming the same dream was enough of a party.

“I played with all these guys my whole Minor League career,” Tovar said. “This is exciting. These guys play very hard. I’m really proud of them. We’re very good friends outside baseball. We talk a lot about baseball and life.”

He then smiled and intertwined his fingers.

“We’ve got good energy,” he said.

• Rockies add 2 more arms to pitching-heavy Deadline haul

There also was no celebration of Tuesday’s passing of the Trade Deadline. But after the Rockies -- a National League-worst 42-65 -- continued their strategy of trading for Minor League pitching, the day felt like a beginning.

Rookies Tovar, Nolan Jones, Brenton Doyle and Michael Toglia, and second-year man Elehuris Montero started in Tuesday night’s 8-5 loss to the Padres. Growing pains, like three strikeouts from Toglia and two from Montero, showed up in the defeat.

But dreams are sparked by the defensive lineup that included an infield of Toglia at first base, 2022 Gold Glove winner Brendan Rodgers at second, Tovar at short and two-time Gold Glove finalist Ryan McMahon at third.

“Pretty cool, man,” said McMahon, who homered against the Padres for the second straight game and is embracing a leadership role. “A lot of guys who work really hard and go about their business the right way. That’s why you see the fruits of their labor -- being a good defense."

Also, Doyle in center and Jones in right rank first and fifth among MLB outfielders in arm strength, per Statcast.

Tovar has started since Opening Day and solidified his place in the next epoch of Rockies baseball. Jones, Doyle and Montero will have more starts and at-bats to grow. Behind them is a group of prospects at Double-A and lower.

The Rockies’ approach is steeped in history. They took advantage of the expansion draft and free agency to make the postseason in 1995, just their third season. But the other two periods of strength -- 2007-10, which included a World Series appearance and another playoff; and 2017-18, the only consecutive postseasons in club history -- were homegrown teams in the extreme.

General manager Bill Schmidt, who ran the MLB Draft through both good periods as well as the lean years, made trades to increase the number of pitching prospects but leave the path open for position player prospects.

The caveat to all this is pitching. Stalwarts Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela are on the shelf the rest of this year (likely much of next year for Senzatela). Ryan Feltner has a fractured skull. Three of the top five pitching prospects recently underwent Tommy John surgery. The path to winning has enough roadblocks. It was why the Deadline and the last two MLB Drafts were mostly devoted to pitching.

But at Coors Field, the Rockies are building a lineup.

“It does create opportunity for some young players -- that's what we're looking to do here the last two months of the season,” Schmidt said. “That'll happen over time and opportunity.

“We’ll see how the next two months go, and how they grow as a group.”

Jones broke in last season with the Guardians, who made the postseason with a similarly young lineup. The success came from simply playing, not playing for some down-the-road date.

“We have a ton of pieces,” Jones said. “You look around the clubhouse and I don’t think our record shows the kind of talent we have. We’ve had a lot of injuries this year, but there’s a lot of exciting times to come.”

Jones, 25, who began the year at Albuquerque but hasn’t been back since his May 26 debut, has impressed with feats of strength -- with his arm and with the fact four of his nine homers have gone farther than 450 feet. Toglia and Montero are strapping fellows, also, but in sporadic earlier chances struggled to make consistent contact.

This opportunity feels different.

“Why not get a head start going into the future, finishing the season strong?” said Toglia, 24.

The group is being tested. Montero, who turns 25 on Aug. 17, has trouble with the outside slider, but entered on a .375 streak in six games before Tuesday. But the idea that chances are more frequent, and he’s going through it with other similar players, is helping them relax and smile.

“I’m excited because I want to play more now,” said Montero, who began the year at third base, but went back to Albuquerque and came back as a first baseman. “I’ll keep going.”