Mining the Rockies

Young Rockies

The Rockies decided to draft two high school kids with their first round picks on Day 1. Knowing that they need help with their pitching, I don’t understand this move. I can see that they are trying to help their farm system, according to MLB.com, the Rockies’ system is 27th in the league. Now they have some guys that will for sure bring up their ranking.

Zac Veen – OF

Taking Veen with the 9th overall pick was very odd. I thought that the Rockies were going to get a pitcher, maybe right out of college that could help their bullpen right away. Instead, they go with a high school outfielder. I can see the reason as well. Charlie Blackmon is 33 right now and turns 34 in July. Charlie signed a 6-year deal in 2018, which means his contract will expire in 2024. This will give Zac 4 years in the minors if we play in 2020, which will put him around age 22. This will be pretty close to hopefully replacing Charlie and have a young outfielder that can stay in the lineup for years to come.

Drew Romo – C

Like Veen, Romo will hopefully get several years in the minors to develop since the Rockies are sold on Tony Wolters and Dom Nunez. I am more confused about this pick than the Veen pick. The Rockies used their Comp. A pick on a high school catcher. I understand that they really like defensive catchers, as you can see with Wolters, but they don’t need a young catcher. Nunez is only 25 and had his rookie season in 2019. He didn’t have a good one, with a .179 BA, .233 OBP on 39 at-bats. Even in the minors, with AAA Albuquerque, Nunez had a BA of .244, a .362 OBP on 257 plate appearances. He also only threw out 24% of the batters that stole on him. These aren’t the best numbers, but he is only 25. I think that you give Nunez one or two more years and then maybe try to get a new replacement. They could have gotten someone that filled the team needs or, again, get a pitcher to develop or one that can help in a couple of years.

Case Williams – P

The Rockies need serious help with their bullpen. They have been burnt trying to fix this need with FA in the offseason, so they might want to have some homegrown arms that come up through their farm system. I think that this is a good idea. I love the idea of getting a high school pitcher, shaping him up and hopefully fixing the long problem for the Rockies.

Help on the Way

Along with the three youngsters, the Rockies also added three veterans out of college. This includes two pitchers and a SS. This is what they needed, some pitchers that will come up hopefully early and help with a struggling bullpen.

Chris McMahon

The Rockies finally got an experienced pitcher in the second round. This is a position that they are hurting at and McMahon was a steal. In the 2020 season in 4 appearances for the Hurricanes, McMahon, in 25.2 IP, had a 1.05 ERA, 38 SO, and went 3-0. Getting a college pitcher right away in the second round was huge for Colorado. This is going to allow McMahon to go in the minors for a couple of years and then, hopefully, be ready for the Majors. If they can bring up good talent from the minors, this Rockies bullpen might be something in the future.

Sam Weatherly

Another veteran pitcher for the Rockies, this one in the 3rd round from Clemson. In the 19-20 campaign, Weatherly had 4 starts and pitched 72 innings. With those 4 games, he had a very impressive .79 ERA, 43 SO and gave up 0 HRs. In his 3 years at Clemson, Weatherly gave up 2 HRs. By going to Coors Field, it is important for pitchers to keep the ball in the park, that is why this stat is so important. As impressive Weatherly’s stats are, this is another great pick-up for the Rockies. This southpaw will be in the minors for a couple of years then will beef up that bullpen.

Jake Blomgren

With their 5th round pick, the Rockies went with a SS out of Michigan. Blomgren has a very good bat and has very impressive numbers. In 2019, he had a very high average of .314 and an impressive OBP of .417. He doesn’t seem to hit too many home runs, as in his three years at Michigan, he hit only 5. In 2020, he didn’t have many attempts but his average was still .286 and his OBP went up to a .444. He does have some good defensive game. In his college career, he had 27 errors on 391 attempts, a .956 percentage. The Rockies have had really good luck with shortstops, with Trevor Story right now and having Troy Tulowitzki before him. Blomgren has some tools, and with some guidance, he might be the next great Rockie SS.

This was a good draft for the Rockies. They focused on what they needed at pitcher by getting some college guys that can come up quicker and they also hit on some really young guys to help beef up their minor-league system. It will be exciting to see how well these guys do in the minors and if they will play to their expectations.

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