Rockies prospect report from Spring Training
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Every player development staff aims to have depth at all positions at all levels. But that's also known as an ideal that is rarely reached. Things tend to go in cycles with organizational depth changing over time.
Right now, the Rockies' system, which might seem a bit thinned because of a high graduation rate to the big leagues over the last few years, has some strengths in some specific areas. Aside from some intriguing, but faraway, talent at the lower levels, the system really stands out at first base and in the bullpen. The Rockies actually have three players on the Top 10 first base prospects list currently in Michael Toglia, Grant Lavigne and Tyler Nevin.
• Rockies Top 30 Prospects list
“Everyone wants to know who our next first baseman is going to be,” Rockies farm director Zach Wilson said. “They’ve been talking about it ever since Todd Helton. We developed Ryan McMahon as a first baseman and as a second baseman, and he ended up finding a spot at second base.
“We’ve now developed other players who’ll have the chance to play first base, whether it’s Nevin or Colton Welker. Then we have the Michael Toglias of the world and the Grant Lavignes of the world at the bottom of our system. That obviously is a strength.”
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Relief pitching might seem like an odd strength for a system to have, but having a lot of arms who can handle the pressures of pitching in high-stress situations is certainly crucial, especially with the way pitching has evolved at the big league level. It’s not just about converting starters to the role, though the Rockies have done that with guys like Yency Almonte and Jesus Tinoco. The Rockies have been sure to develop guys specifically as relievers, with Carlos Estévez and Scott Oberg the prime examples in Colorado.
And there’s more on the way. The Rockies’ Top 30 Prospects list has some legitimate relief talent on it, guys who were college relievers who have continued to come out of the bullpen, namely Tommy Doyle, who has pitched very well in big league camp, and 2019 draftee Jacob Wallace.
“I think it’s important for us, we get guys out of the Draft, like a Tommy Doyle, and we develop them as closers,” Wilson said. “We’re putting them into the game when they’re going to have the most heat on them. The ninth inning in Double-A or Triple-A is as close as we can get to maybe the sixth inning in the big leagues. To be able to develop guys in that way is an important part of the process.”
Camp standout
The Rockies have had a number of players who not only participated in their first big league camps, but stood out in doing so. Ryan Vilade had good at-bats, looked good at third and carried himself the right way. The aforementioned Tommy Doyle looked like a guy who’ll be ready to help the big league bullpen out soon. But it might’ve been Antonio Santos who impressed the most.
Santos sneaked onto the very end of the Rockies’ Top 30 list after a solid 2019 season and a strong Arizona Fall League that earned him a spot on the 40-man roster. He’s shown he belongs with how he’s thrown this spring, allowing one run on two hits over five innings of work.
“He went into camp and did what he does,” Wilson said. “He’s a tremendous strike-thrower. He has a very good three-pitch mix, he challenges guys, he attacks, and that’s what he did up here. I always tell guys, ‘Just go up there and be you in your first camp. Don’t try to do more than you’re capable of doing.’ And he did that and opened some eyes.”
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Prospect we’ll be talking about in 2021
The Rockies understand why people aren’t talking about outfielder Brenton Doyle that much yet. After all, he was a fourth-round pick out of tiny Division II Shepherd College in West Virginia last June. But they’re fairly confident everyone is going to be talking about him in the very near future.
Doyle played his way onto the middle of the new Rockies’ Top 30 (No. 14 to be precise) with an absolutely ridiculous pro debut in the Rookie-level Pioneer League. He won both the batting and OPS titles there, finishing with a .383/.477/.611 line to go along with eight homers and 17 steals.
“He has the chance to be a true five-tool player,” Wilson said. “Think Sam Hilliard, but a right-handed hitter. That’s what he has a chance to become. I think very quickly he’s going to show he’s a real guy that people need to pay attention to. If you laid eyes on him on the back fields, you’d say, ‘That’s a man.’”
Something to prove
Riley Pint was the No. 4 pick in the 2016 Draft because he was a big, strong arm that already pumped out triple-digit fastballs to go along with an array of future plus stuff. The stuff is still very much there: the premium velocity, the best curveball in the system to go along with an above-average slider and changeup. The only problem is he can’t stay healthy enough or find the strike zone enough to progress.
Pint has yet to throw a pitch beyond the Class A South Atlantic League. In 2019, he threw just 17 2/3 innings and while he struck out 23, he walked 31. He missed nearly all of 2018 with forearm stiffness and had an oblique issue in 2019 and he’s amassed just 156 innings since being drafted. He’ll be Rule 5 eligible after this season, so the clock is ticking.
“We’re there; it’s time for him to take the next step,” Wilson said. “My plan is to challenge him in terms of where he’s pitching and how he’s being used. We’ll see how he handles that. He’s at a point right now where he has to take a significant step forward this year. And he knows that, too.
“I think we will probably start him in the 'pen and sort of see where that goes. There were times I saw him last year when he was healthy and pitching in Asheville where he mowed through three guys and it wouldn’t have mattered if it was Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio. Then there were other times he showed why he still needs a lot of work and a lot of development. But he’s shown flashes of being who we all thought he could be. Now it’s about consistency of being that.”