The Rockies were expected to be major sellers at the deadline, moving free agent to be Trevor Story among others. All they did was send Mychal Givens to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league pitchers Case Williams and Noah Davis. They should be able to improve on their minor leagues in next year’s draft with another top-10 pick and a compensation pick when Story, presumably, signs elsewhere after declining the Rockies’ qualifying offer. For now, let’s take a look at who they have at the top of their system in 2021.
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Zac Veen OF
Hit: 60
Power: 55
Run: 55
Arm: 55
Field: 55
The ninth pick overall in last year’s draft simply continued raking when he hit Single-A Fresno this season. Veen is slashing .301/.398/.510 with 14 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 89 games. While he isn’t the fastest player around, he does have good speed and is aggressive, sometimes overly so as he has been caught stealing 16 times. The left-handed hitter checks all of the boxes with a solid defensive profile. He has been playing mostly right field this year. His arm plays there and he could be a plus defender at the corner spot.
Veen has a beautiful swing and solid plate discipline. Long and lean at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, he gets good loft and drives the ball well to all fields. Once he fills out a bit and adds more strength, the Florida native could be counted on for 30 homers a year in Coors Field when he arrives in the big leagues. If he maintains his aggressiveness on the bases, Veen should also be a fantasy baseball stud.
ETA: 2023
Benny Montgomery OF
Hit: 45
Power: 60
Run: 70
Arm: 60
Field: 55
The outfielder from Red Land High School in Pennsylvania had arguably the best set of tools coming out of the draft this year. The Rockies agreed and selected Montgomery with the eighth overall pick. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he has room to fill out even more. Already possessing excellent power, Montgomery can also run like the wind which serves him well in centerfield tracking down balls in the gaps. He has a cannon for an arm as well. You can check out his full draft profile here.
ETA: 2024
Elehuris Montero 3B/1B
Hit: 50
Power: 60
Run: 40
Arm: 50
Field: 50
Montero was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2014. He won the Midwest League MVP in 2018. After a down season in 2019 due partially to a broken hamate bone, Montero became the centerpiece to the Nolan Arenado deal earlier this year. This season at Double-A Hartford, the big right-handed slugger has been crushing it with an OPS of .897 and 22 home runs while maintaining a strikeout rate of below 25 percent.
Defensively, Montero has played both third and first. He profiles better as a first baseman as his arm is average. There is no doubt that his bat will carry him up to the majors. His plate discipline and power will have him hitting bombs in Coors Field soon.
ETA: 2023
Ryan Vilade OF
Hit: 55
Power: 50
Run: 50
Arm: 60
Field: 50
Vilade has hit at every step of the minors so far after being drafted in the second round out of High School in 2017. This season at Triple-A Albuquerque he continues to produce slashing .279/.337/.418 with six bombs and 12 steals. He is likely a corner outfielder in the big leagues where he has played this year. His arm plays well in right field and he has decent enough speed to be an above-average defender there. His advanced approach at the plate is impressive and should get him to the majors next season.
ETA: 2022
Ryan Rolison LHP
Fastball: 50
Curveball: 60
Slider: 55
Changeup: 50
Command: 50
The former first-round pick has played at four levels this season jumping all the way up to Albuquerque. Unfortunately, Rolison suffered from appendicitis and as he was recovering, broke a bone in his pitching hand. He is likely done for the season but the 24-year-old lefty is on the fast track to the majors. He has excellent command of his four-pitch repertoire and has worked on being more aggressive in the strike zone.
His fastball sits in the low-90s but has good run on it. His slider has some bite to it against righties and is a weapon. He pairs his two harder pitches well with his curveball which sits 77-80 and has a nice 12-to-6 break. Rolison has worked on his changeup and it is an average pitch at this point with room to develop. The southpaw has the stuff to be a solid piece of the Rockies’ rotation next year with as much pitchability as any lefty in the league.
ETA: 2022
What Does the Future Hold?
Not much is the answer right now. Aside from the top guys listed here, there isn’t much in the system for the Rockies. Drew Romo is a catcher who ranks sixth on this list and is a defense-first player. If his bat plays at the higher levels then he could be a very good player. Colorado really needs to build up their system with draft picks over the next few years. If they are smart they can parlay picks from Story and Jon Gray turning down qualifying offers into players ready to get to the majors in a couple of years. It is looking though that it will be a rough 2022 and 2023 for Rockies fans.
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