Here's where Rockies Top 30 prospects are starting '22

With the Minor League season opening this week, here's where the Rockies’ Top 30 Prospects are projected to start:

1. Zac Veen (MLB No. 36), OF -- Spokane (High-A)
2. Drew Romo, C -- Spokane (High-A)
3. Benny Montgomery, OF -- Fresno (Single-A)
4. Elehuris Montero, 3B -- Albuquerque (Triple-A)
5. Ryan Rolison, LHP -- Injured (shoulder)
6. Ezequiel Tovar, SS -- Hartford (Double-A)
7. Brenton Doyle, OF -- Hartford (Double-A)
8. Michael Toglia, 1B -- Hartford (Double-A)
9. Ryan Vilade, OF -- Albuquerque (Triple-A)
10. Adael Amador, SS -- Fresno (Single-A)
11. Jaden Hill, RHP -- Injured (Tommy John rehab)
12. Sam Weatherly, LHP – Injured (Lat strain)
13. Chris McMahon, RHP – Injured (Lat strain)
14. Warming Bernabel, 3B -- Fresno (Single-A)
15. Joe Rock, LHP -- Spokane (High-A)
16. Yanquiel Fernandez, OF -- Fresno (Single-A)
17. Helcris Olivarez, LHP – Injured (Scapulaa strain)
18. Dyan Jorge, SS -- Dominican Academy
19. Aaron Schunk, 3B -- Hartford (Double-A)
20. Hunter Goodman, C -- Fresno (Single-A)
21. Ryan Feltner, RHP -- Albuquerque (Triple-A)
22. Grant Lavigne, 1B -- Spokane (High-A)
23. Colton Welker, 3B -- Albuquerque (Triple-A)
24. Juan Guerrero, OF -- Fresno (Single-A)
25. Julio Carreras, 3B -- Spokane (High-A)
26. Noah Davis, RHP -- Hartford (Double-A)
27. Gavin Hollowell, RHP -- Hartford (Double-A)
28. Karl Kauffman, RHP -- Hartford (Double-A)
29. McCade Brown, RHP – Extended spring training
30. Jordy Vargas, RHP -- Extended spring training

Team to watch
There’s pretty good distribution here, so you might want to check out High-A Spokane, where Colorado's top two prospects -- Zac Veen and Drew Romo -- lead a group of five Top 30 guys. Hartford has the largest Top 30 contingent, with seven, including three top 10 prospects (Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, Michael Toglia).

Teams on MiLB.TV
Triple-A Albuquerque
Double-A Hartford
Single-A Fresno

New faces
Shortstop Dyan Jorge could have signed a few months after he defected from Cuba in late 2019 but decided to wait until the following signing period when teams would have their full bonus pools to work with. That enabled the Rockies to sign the No. 15 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 international list for $2.8 million, the largest international bonus in team history. He’ll get started later this year in the Dominican Summer League.

On the shelf
The Rockies had a number of pitchers suffer some injuries this spring. Ryan Rolison was shut down with a shoulder strain and put on the 60-day injured list recently. Both Sam Weatherly and Chris McMahon have lat strains, with McMahon going down close to the end of camp. Helcris Olivarez has a scapula strain in the back of his shoulder while 2021 second-round pick Jaden Hill is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery he had before the Draft.