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DENVER -- Outfield prospect Jordan Beck’s first impression with the Rockies was interrupted by an injury, but he could get a second chance in 2025.

Among other needs, the roster screams for an impact corner outfielder, as it has for some time. After the 2023 season, the Rockies re-signed still-productive Charlie Blackmon for one more year at $13 million to give prospects like Beck another development year.

Beck, 23, impressed the Rockies’ staff in Spring Training and earned his shot by batting .307 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in his first 25 games at Triple-A Albuquerque. Beck, however, sustained a fractured left hand in his 23rd Major League game. Beck went through a lengthy absence and a Minor League rehab assignment, but lingering wrist pain prevented him from returning with his best swing. Beck finished with a .188 batting average, three home runs and 13 RBIs in 55 Major League games.

“I didn’t play exactly as well as I wanted to at the end of the day,” said Beck, selected out of the University of Tennessee in the Competitive Balance Round A (38th overall) in 2022. “There were a lot of learning points here.”

It’s quite possible Beck will have a shot to show what he has learned.

With the Winter Meetings officially beginning this coming Monday, the Rockies could always trade some of their prospects for a proven corner outfielder. But there are reasons to look at Beck, 23, who is at the top of a group of outfield prospects around whom the team is building a future.

The Rockies have reduced their payroll since season’s end. Some of it came naturally, with Blackmon retiring and reliever Daniel Bard becoming a free agent after being paid $9.5 million in a season he missed due to right elbow flexor tendon surgery. Non-tendering righty starting pitcher Cal Quantrill and regular second baseman Brendan Rodgers meant they escaped roughly $13 million in arbitration-fueled salaries.

But there are still payroll inefficiencies. The club owes former third baseman Nolan Arenado $5 million in 2025 and another $5 million in ’26, whether the Cardinals keep him or trade him. The Rockies also head into the fourth year of crossing fingers that the injury bug subsides and Kris Bryant will provide a return on a contract that pays him $27 million annually for the next four seasons.

Add that to the team’s new television revenue world, and there is a pull to go with youth and homegrown players. In addition to needing an impact corner bat, the lineup could use better on-base performance (which may have to be achieved through improvement of younger players), and there is a new opening at second base.

All this means opportunity for Beck -- and if not Beck, outfielders like him. Zac Veen (the Rockies’ No. 3 prospect and No. 83 overall, per MLB Pipeline), Yanquiel Fernandez (Rockies’ No. 4), Sterlin Thompson (No. 13) and Benny Montgomery (No. 16) all could be in the Albuquerque mix at the start of 2025.

Beck will enter having experienced the Majors.

“People always want to ask what the difference is between here and the Minor Leagues, and I’m sure fastballs are 4-5 mph harder and sliders, instead of 85, are 90,” Beck said. “There’s a learning curve, for sure.

“But I’m capable of handling it all.”

Beck will have to prove he can handle the Major League fastball. He will have to improve his Statcast numbers against heaters from what he showed in the 2024 snippet -- a .224 batting average and a .242 expected batting average. Rockies officials said on occasion that wrist pain, which emerged during the rehab assignment, affected his swing the rest of the season.

“I'm not going to say that I was thinking that the swing was behind, but I think as the year went on, you could tell it wasn’t where it was before,” Beck said. “I was better before. Maybe later on, it got a little worse. There were no lingering issues with the hand, but maybe there was a little lingering effect. I have no idea.

“I just have to feel like there’s a lot to grow on, a lot to learn from. I just need to get better.”

The Rockies believe the real Beck can be seen in his Minor League numbers -- a .284/.380/.509 slash line with 36 home runs and 145 RBIs in 194 games across three seasons.

“Jordan is one of those dynamic guys,” Rockies Minor League hitting coordinator Nic Wilson said. “We like to call him an ‘and player.’ You don’t have to decide. It’s not contact or power. There’s no box you need to fit into. If there are line drives into the off gap, great, bro. If it lands in the 13th row, that’s great, too. Both results are what we want.”

The first Major League experience may have been eye-opening. But most importantly, Beck saw who he wanted to become in Blackmon -- who had a slow start to his career because of injury but grew into a batting champ and a four-time All-Star.

“I don't think I'm going to recreate the wheel,” Beck said. “I know what I can do and I’ve proved what I can do and what I’m capable of doing. I’ve just got to do it on a more consistent level. At the end of the day, I have a 14-year career like Chuck -- show up and be consistent every day.”