DENVER -- The Rockies added two starting pitchers, left-hander Ryan Rolison and righty Noah Davis, and infield prospect Ezequiel Tovar to their Major League roster on Friday.

The moves, which bring the Rockies to one player below the 40-man limit, protects the three players from the Rule 5 Draft next month.

Rolison, 24, the Rockies’ top pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and the team’s No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is considered a competitor for a Major League rotation spot or a prime depth piece going into 2022. Injuries during his 2021 Minor League season -- an appendicitis attack and a fractured bone in his pitching hand – limited him to 71 2/3 innings, mostly at Triple-A Albuquerque (2-2, 5.91 ERA in 10 starts).

The Rockies sent Rolison to Licey in the Dominican Winter League, where he is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts and five walks in 15 innings over four starts.

Tovar, 20, is ranked the 11th prospect in the Rockies’ chain, but he has drawn scouting attention with his defensive tools -- already considered at a Major League level -- and his improving hitting, which has come along with age and physical strength.

In the Minors, Tovar has been young for the leagues in which he has participated. He posted a .287 batting average with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs at Low-A Fresno and High-A Spokane this year. He is hitting .161 through 25 games against top prospects in the Arizona Fall League, with three of his 14 hits going for home runs.

Davis, who turns 25 on April 22, was acquired from the Reds along with right-hander Case Williams for veteran reliever Mychal Givens in a Trade Deadline deal.

Originally a Cincinnati 11th-round pick in 2018, Davis went 3-6 with a 3.60 ERA in 13 starts at High-A Dayton with the Reds, then 3-1 with again a 3.60 ERA in six starts with the Rockies’ High-A Spokane club. He is rated the 18th-best prospect on the farm.

Pacheco becomes Triple-A hitting coach
Jordan Pacheco, a utility player with the Rockies (2011-14), D-backs (2014-15) and Reds (2016), has joined the Colorado organization as the hitting coach at Albuquerque.

Pacheco, who batted .281 in 270 games with the Rockies, was drafted by Colorado in the ninth round in 2007 out of the University of New Mexico. He is an Albuquerque native.