Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs per game (4.21) and generated the second-lowest slugging percentage (.400) in franchise history in 2024.
Not coincidentally, Colorado lost 101 games last season, two shy of the franchise low point established the year before.
Fortunately for the Rockies, they have some slugging outfielders on the way. They spent the No. 3 overall pick and a Draft-record $9.25 million bonus on outfielder Charlie Condon in July, just as Robert Calaz was putting the finishing touches on an MVP season and Triple Crown in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. Yanquiel Fernandez had a strong season at Double-A and could arrive in Denver at some point this year.
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Condon was the most devastating hitter in college baseball last year, winning the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s best amateur after leading NCAA Division I in batting (.433), slugging (1.009), OPS (1.565), homers (37), extra-base hits (58) and total bases (233) as a redshirt sophomore at Georgia. He not only features top-of-the-scale raw power that plays from foul pole to foul pole, but he also has a relatively compact right-handed swing and makes good swing decisions.
Colorado has yet to see Condon at his best. A bone spur in his right finger led to him changing his grip on the bat during an underwhelming pro debut at High-A. Now he’ll miss the first month of this season after sustaining a non-displaced fracture of his left wrist while diving for a ball on March 11.
“I’ve been here a while,” said farm director Chris Forbes, who started with the Rockies as an area scout in 2006, “and Charlie is probably the most complete hitting prospect we’ve had. We didn’t get the best version of him last year because he got hit by a pitch on his hand at Georgia and tried to play through the injury. There could be more power in there because we haven’t tapped into the strength component yet.”
The prize of the Rockies’ 2023 international class, Calaz signed for $1.7 million out of the Dominican Republic. After posting a .984 OPS in his pro debut in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, he came to the United States last year and slashed .349/.462/.651 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 49 ACL games. Already quite physical at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, he continued to mash at Single-A in the final month as an 18-year-old, making exceptionally loud contact for his age.
“Robert didn’t even want to play baseball growing up,” Forbes said. “The kids in his town needed him to fill out their team and he wanted to ride his horse. They were frustrated because they knew how good he could be, so they threw rocks trying to knock him off his horse.
“The beauty of Robert is that he can’t describe how he does what he does. That innocence is intriguing. His body moves really quick. He’s still learning the game.”
Another product of Colorado’s international efforts, Fernandez left Cuba before signing for $295,000 in July 2019. As physical as Calaz, Fernandez totaled 46 homers in his first two full pro seasons but tapered off to 12 last year. He made adjustments and provided more consistent contact when he repeated Double-A to begin 2024 but scuffled following an August promotion to Triple-A.
“In Double-A, we saw his hit ability start to show up,” Forbes said. “He started recognizing what pitchers were trying to do to him and started taking what they gave him. Sometimes he tries to create power, and in Triple-A, guys mixed their pitches and located better and cut him up. He needs to lock into making better swing decisions.”
Camp standout: Zac Veen
The ninth overall pick in the 2020 Draft, Veen has played in just 111 games the past two seasons while dealing with wrist, thumb and back injuries. He’s healthy now and making an unexpected push for a starting outfield job with his play and nonstop energy in the Cactus League. Through last Saturday, he led the Rockies in homers (two), extra-base hits (seven) and steals (six) while slashing .325/.413/.625.
“This is a ton of fun -- the most fun I’ve ever had,” Veen told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. “It’s so much fun because we’re playing baseball every day, and I get to play with a lot of guys I’ve watched growing up and guys that I came up with in the system. It’s a great time.”
Breakout potential: Kyle Karros
An ankle injury at UCLA helped knock down Karros down to the fifth round of the 2023 Draft, but the third baseman won High-A Northwest League MVP honors in his first full pro season and nearly captured the Triple Crown as well by slashing .311/.390/.485 with 15 homers and 78 RBIs in 126 games. The son of 1992 National League Rookie of the Year Eric Karros, Kyle is one of the best pure hitters in the system and could tap into some more power.
“We eventually see Kyle as a 20-25-home run guy,” Forbes said. “He’s done exactly what we’ve asked of him, which is stay with the hittability piece for now. We love the way he has carried himself in his first big league camp. He’s got pedigree and he sure got some good advice from his dad.”
Bounceback candidate: Benny Montgomery
The Rockies still have high hopes for Montgomery, whom they drafted eighth overall in 2021. He lost half of 2022 to a quadriceps injury and most of last season to surgery on his left shoulder. He needs to prove he can make consistent contact but still possesses an all-around tools package as good as any in the system, with double-plus speed and plus raw power, arm strength and center-field defense.
“I think Benny is going to have a very good year,” Forbes said. “He’s healthy and looked good in our high-performance camp in January. He came in from high school and it took some time to get comfortable in the pro setting, but he looks like a man now.”
Jim Callis is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him @jimcallisMLB and @jimcallis.bsky.social. Listen to him on the weekly MLB Pipeline Podcast.
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