After revealing the players who appeared on a single ballot yesterday, it’s time to write about some players that were named on multiple ballots but fell short from Honorable Mention Purple Row Prospect (HM PuRP) status in the pre-season 2026 voting. Today, I’ll reveal players who got support on anywhere from two and five ballots of the 29 cast in this edition of PuRPs voting. As you’ll see, it’s a group that’s littered with pre-season PuRPs who have been crowded out by newcomers to the system.
For
each player, I’ll include a link to individual stats and contract status (via Baseball-Reference), as well as notes on their 2026 season. For the sake of full disclosure, I’ll also include where I put each player on my personal ballot. All ages are as of the day the article is posted.
Multi-Ballot Players
56. Michael Prosecky (0.6 points, 2 ballots) — The 25-year-old lefty pitcher was the pre-season number 25 PuRP but he barely got consideration in the mid-season vote during a year in which he missed two months due to injury. Prosecky was a reliever in college for Louisville but transitioned to the rotation after signing for a $300k bonus in 2022 as a 6th rounder. As a prospect, Prosecky pairs a deceptive low to mid-90s fastball with a high spin rate curveball, slider, and change-up.
This season, Prosecky has largely been back in the bullpen in a return engagement with Double-A Hartford, where he is league-average age. He made three April relief appearances before spending two months on the shelf with an injury. After a short rehab with the ACL team, Prosecky has been back with Hartford, often pitching in multi-inning spurts. In all, Prosecky has made 12 appearances this year with Hartford, totaling 20.2 innings with a 3.92 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 6.1 K/9 rate, and 5.7 BB/9 rate. That’s not going to stand out in a year in which Prosecky will again be exposed to the Rule 5 draft.
Prosecky is currently ranked 39th in the system by FanGraphs as a 35+ FV player:
Prosecky is a fun watch. He’s a high-slot guy with a Bugs Bunny sinking change and a slow curve that practically takes a nap on its way to the plate. Arm strength is an ongoing concern here, as he touched 95 at times but was sitting in the upper 80s by the end of last season. His fastball doesn’t have bat-missing shape, but he does hide the ball well, so it’s a viable weapon if he can just keep it in the 90s. While his command isn’t bad, it isn’t sharp either, and the result is a lot of nibbling and more fastballs leaking over the heart of the plate than he can afford. It’s the skill set of a crafty lefty who isn’t quite crafty enough to start. He projects as a spot starter or swingman, roles Prosecky will likely be ready for by 2027.
Thus far in 2026, the strikeouts and command that make the above profile work just haven’t been there in the results, plus he’s not currently in the starting rotation. I still have Prosecky hanging around in my 35+ FV tier, but he didn’t make my list.
52. Oscar Pujols (2.2 points, 2 ballots) — The 19-year-old right-handed pitcher drops here after being the number 30 PuRP in the pre-season. Pujols was Colorado’s top international free agent pitcher signing in the 2024 period, receiving a $600k bonus. The 6’2”, 165-pound starter is in the upper 80s/low 90s now and boasts a promising curveball when he is healthy. In 2026, that hasn’t been the case, as Pujols just made his first appearance of the season earlier this week with a scoreless inning in the Dominican Summer League.
Pujols has been excellent in the DSL but only really registered close to a full season in 2024. In total, he has just 36 innings as a professional across three years, with a 1.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10.3 K/9 rate, and 1.8 BB/9 rate. I’m glad Pujols has made it back onto the mound in 2026, but I’ll need to see more before he’s back in consideration for my list in the off-season.
51. Douglas Veliz (2.2 points, 2 ballots) — The 17-year-old Venezuelan righty catcher wasn’t a heralded signing this off-season at just $50k, but he’s made the most of his opportunities so far in the DSL this year. In 110 plate appearances split between Colorado’s two DSL teams, Veliz has shown excellent patience en route to a .307/.527/.467 line that includes a homer (163 wRC+). The 5’10” slugger walks in nearly 23% of his PA so far against a 14% strikeout rate. Even in a league where command is difficult to find, Veliz’s plate discipline numbers are encouraging and he’s thrown out nearly a third of would-be base stealers from behind the plate.
Given the lack of scouting love that is implied by the lower signing bonus, I’m going to see if Veliz can continue his offensive tear a longer time (and ideally at a higher level) before I put him on my list. Regardless, Veliz has gotten a lot of attention so far with his sterling start.
50. Jordy Vargas (6.0 points, 5 ballots) — The 22-year-old Dominican right-handed pitcher is another pre-season PuRP, coming in at No. 21 in January. Vargas boasts a pitch mix that includes a mid-90s fastball, a potential plus curveball, a promising change, and the ability to throw them for strikes consistently. At least, he did before Tommy John surgery wiped out half of 2023 and all of 2024.
An uneven and abbreviated 2025 didn’t fully answer the question of if the arsenal was back and Vargas was unprotected and unselected in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft. Thomas Harding picks up the story from there in his profile of Vargas from early November 2025. Per that piece, Vargas spent time in the Rockies’ pitching performance lab in Arizona and worked on his form. By the time fall instructs rolled around, he seemed to be rounding back into form.
This year, Vargas has stayed healthy all season and at times has gotten some strong results in High-A Spokane, where he is 1.2 years younger than league average. It hasn’t been a smooth ride though, as Vargas has a 5.48 ERA with a 1.61 WHIP, 10.0 K/9 rate, and 5.6 BB/9 rate in 88.2 innings across 20 starts.
Vargas is ranked 46th in the system by FanGraphs as a 35+ FV player:
Three years ago, Vargas was one of the top teenage pitching prospects in baseball. With a mid-to-upper-90s fastball, a hammer curve, and an athletic frame, he had the arm strength and physical projection of a mid-rotation starter with a chance for more. Unfortunately, he blew out that summer in the Cal League, didn’t return until 2025, and hasn’t looked like his old self since getting back on the mound. His velocity is down a few ticks, and the corresponding decrease in sharpness on his breaking stuff has rendered what were once plus offerings fringy or average. Once a great strike-thrower, his control collapsed at High-A last year, and he’s been hit around on the backfields this spring. There are enough ingredients — athleticism, feel for spin, vague hopes of a bounce back — to keep Vargas on the radar, but the arrow is down substantially here.
It’s been good to see Vargas stay healthy and get some High-A hitters out, but it’s not the kind of unambiguous success that will secure him a 40-man roster spot this off-season in his second exposure to the Rule 5 draft. He’s still a 40 FV arm for me, but the system is deep right now and he didn’t make my list.
49. Yujanyer Herrera (6.9 points, 3 ballots) — The 22-year-old Venezuelan right-handed pitcher, who was a trade acquisition in 2024 for Nick Mears after getting signed for only $10k in 2019 by the Brewers, was the No. 22 PuRP in the pre-season list. Like Vargas above him, Herrera was on his way to a breakout year, only to be felled by Tommy John surgery (his was after the 2024 season) and then struggle this year for High-A Spokane, where he is about 1.2 years younger than league average.
In 64.1 frames across 18 games, Herrera has a 6.02 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 rate, and 5.7 BB/9 rate with 12 homers allowed — though his 5.06 xFIP suggests he’s been a bit unlucky to get those results.
Keith Law of the Athletic ranked Herrera 19th in the system before the season:
[Herrera is] still throwing hard [after TJ surgery] with a sinker/slider mix and a good starter’s delivery. Herrera was on track to be one of the team’s better pitching prospects, and if the stuff and control he showed before the injury are still there in the spring, he’s a sleeper to watch.
MLB Pipeline ranks Herrera 24th in the system as a 40 FV player, highlighted by a 55 slider grade:
Herrera did return in time for instructional league play and was providing some optimism by dialing his fastball up to 97-98 mph in shorter stints. Before the injury, he was usually in the 92-94 mph range, getting groundball outs when he sinks it, but relying on his hard slider as his main out pitch. His feel to spin also helps him land a slightly slower curve and he has a changeup that he hadn’t committed to before he got hurt.
The new pitching group with the Rockies are excited about working with Herrera because of his ability to shape different pitches, all coming out of the same slot. He got in some competitive innings in winter ball and he’ll pitch most of the 2026 season at age 22, trying to show he has the stuff and command to stick in a rotation.
Herrera is ranked 44th in the system by FanGraphs as a 35+ FV player:
Herrera is listed at 175 pounds, but he looks more like 250. He’s a slow-twitch, below-average athlete who has struggled to throw strikes at various points during his career. Even though he has mostly started, his effort level and the way he falls and spins off the mound have made him scattered in a way that’s almost always better suited for the bullpen. His stuff looks down a tick or two this spring, but in shorter stints, he could have two 60’s in the holster, as he touched the upper 90s and his slider missed a ton of bats back in 2024, even though visually it looks more average or 55 than plus. He has experimented with a change but hasn’t used it a ton, and neither the action nor the arm speed scream “projectable.” He’s a middle relief prospect who could move quickly if he’s moved to the bullpen.
Herrera is approaching minor league free agency if the Rockies don’t add him to the 40-man roster, so one way or another some action will be required if both parties want to continue on together in 2027. He’s another one of the 35+ FV arm brigade that the Rockies will need to sort through over the next couple of months as they make Rule 5 decisions.
48. Carlos Vielma (8.1 points, 3 ballots) — The 5’10” lefty hitting, righty throwing Venezuelan third baseman, who turns 17 tomorrow, was acquired from the White Sox in the Brenton Doyle trade earlier this month. The Rockies targeted Vielma in large part due to a scalding professional debut since signing earlier this year to a $400k bonus with Chicago. Playing in the DSL, Vielma has a fantastic .368/.519/.500 batting line with a homer in 156 plate appearances between Chicago and Colorado’s teams, including a 10-17 mark so far with the Rockies org, good for an overall 150 wRC+.
Here’s what Michael Baumann of FanGraphs mentioned about Vielma at trade time:
Vielma is a stocky 5-foot-10 infielder who played every infield position except shortstop in the DSL, looking slick (at least for the time being) at both second and third base. There’s not much power now, and Eric Longenhagen’s scouting report indicates that we shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for Vielma to develop corner infield-worthy power down the line. But what he does have excellent hand-eye coordination and bat control.
Vielma is far enough away that the range of outcomes is wide, but if he can continue to produce at this level offensively once he comes stateside, that will be worth paying attention to. He’s an infielder in the 35+ FV tier for me.
47. Derek Bernard (11.5 points, 5 ballots) — The just-turned 21-year-old Dominican is a lefty-hitting, righty-throwing corner outfielder who is repeating at Low-A Fresno, where he is 1.1 years younger than league average. Bernard was signed as an infielder for a $185k signing bonus in 2022 that was structured in a way such that it was advantageous tax-wise for him to spend multiple seasons in the DSL (because he was largely raised in Brooklyn). He has produced an above average offensive line at every level so far as a pro.
This year, Bernard has hit .271/.368/.423 in 334 plate appearances in Fresno (he had a three week IL stint in June with a short ACL rehab stint) with eight homers among his 25 extra base hits, good for a 105 wRC+. He’s walking in over 13% of plate appearances while striking out in about 25% of them.
Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs ranks Bernard 20th in the system as a 40+ FV player, including a plus future raw power grade:
Bernard is a volatile prospect with a mix of big tools and significant hit risk. At the plate, he’s a compact, explosive athlete with an enticing blend of short arms and above-average raw power. For better or worse, the 20-year-old swings very hard. He produces big exit velocities when he squares one up (his max was just shy of 113 mph last year), but the effort level involved seems to limit his barrel accuracy. It’s a steep swing, and Bernard doesn’t manipulate the path much, though plus bat speed lets him get away with it and stay competitive on fastballs up. He’s an aggressive hitter and will expand the zone, but he seems to recognize spin okay and can adjust off the fastball. He isn’t awful against lefties, but he has run noticeable platoon splits thus far.
All of these competing traits played to a truce at Low-A Fresno last year, as he managed to hit .302, though with just six homers. His 24.4% strikeout rate and 67% contact rate are both concerning, but were also improvements over his marks on the complex in 2024 (32% and 65%). Even if directionally positive, it’s tough to project a player with that much swing and miss as a regular, particularly since Bernard is more of a doubles hitter at this point. Defensively, he’s faster than most players already confined to a corner, and his speed, arm, and average instincts should get him to a 55 on that side of the ball. Add it up, and you have the makings of a good platoon outfielder.
Bernard has shown enough to be ranked 27th on my list as a 40 FV player because of the power/walks/athleticism combo, plus excellent exit velocity numbers. He’ll be Rule 5 eligible this off-season and hasn’t yet made it to High-A, so the Rockies will need to consider if he requires a 40-man roster spot soon.
46. Eiberson Castellano (12.8 points, 4 ballots) — The 25-year-old right-handed Venezuelan pitcher was signed by the Rockies this off-season as a free agent. Castellano was signed for just $10k back in 2018 by the Phillies, though he didn’t get into any professional games until 2021. He was a Rule 5 pick in late 2024 by the Twins but was returned to the Phillies before the season began. Castellano left the Phillies organization after 2025 in search of a big league role, which he (briefly) found this year with the Rockies.
This season, Castellano was initially assigned to Double-A Hartford, where in ten starts and 53 innings he showed well, producing a 2.72 ERA with a 1.45 WHIP, 9.0 K/9 rate, and 4.6 BB/9 rate. He was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque in early June, where he promptly threw six scoreless innings of one hit ball with two walks and seven strikeouts in his debut there. That was enough for the Rockies to add Castellano to the 40-man roster on June 13th and bring him up for his Major League debut the next day, where he threw three scoreless innings in relief in Colorado’s blowout 23-9 win in a hitter’s haven in Las Vegas to get a save (and produce 0.1 rWAR).
The Rockies sent Castellano down the next day, where he has since operated as a de facto starter after an opener. In ten total appearances in Triple-A, Castellano has a 5.30 ERA with a 1.39 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 rate, and 5.3 BB/9 rate in 37.1 innings in a Pacific Coast League that is an offensive paradise. He’s a candidate to get some more work at the big league level down the stretch if needed.
Castellano is ranked 24th in the org by FanGraphs as a 40 FV player, highlighted by plus future grades on his slider and curveball:
[Castellano] got some run with the big league club this spring, where he flashed his usual mix of sharp breaking balls as well as an improved change with sink and tail. It’s somewhat unusual for a pitcher to generate sharp break in both directions, but the Venezuelan righty is able to do it, and his curve in particular has aesthetically pleasing late bite. While he has average arm strength, Castellano’s fastballs don’t really play and he sometimes has trouble setting up his secondaries. That and below-average command likely ticket him for the bullpen in the long run, though he has the arsenal depth to start and Colorado has used him in a length role thus far. If starting is what he wants to do, he’s certainly found the right org to get an opportunity. He has the ceiling of a no. 4 or 5, and regardless of role, he has a shot to debut in the back half of 2026.
Castellano represents good starter depth and has two intriguing breaking pitches that give him a good bullpen fallback, which is worth a 40 FV designation and a place just off my main ballot.
45. Cole Messina (13.2 points, 4 ballots) — The 23-year-old righty catcher was the No. 26 PuRP in the pre-season list. The 6’0”, 230-pound Messina, who signed for a slot bonus of just over $1 million after getting picked 77th overall in 2024, came to the Rockies after two-straight successful years in the toughest conference in NCAA baseball at South Carolina. As a prospect, Messina combines decent plate discipline with good power potential and leadership qualities behind the dish. Unfortunately, the bat just hasn’t produced consistently as a pro.
This year, Messina was assigned to Double-A Hartford, where he is 0.7 years younger than league average. In 284 plate appearances, his .212/.317/.327 line with four homers represents a 75 wRC+. Behind the dish, he’s committed eight errors, allowed three passed balls, and has thrown out 26% of 49 would-be base stealers this year.
MLB Pipeline ranks Messina 25th in the system as a 40 FV player:
It’s a power-over-hit profile for Messina, with more strength than bat speed in his right-handed swing. He can punish mistakes, though he didn’t get to much power in 2025, and he did limit his strikeouts while drawing walks. There are a lot of moving parts to his swing with a leg kick, and at times, a bat wrap to go along with questions about his ability to make adjustments.
Because of his catch-and-throw skills, Messina has a high floor as a future backup at the big league level. More athletic than you’d think — he stole 14 bases in 2025 — pitchers love throwing to him. He’s an excellent receiver who calls a good game and has an arm that threw out 40 percent of potential basestealers last year. If he can iron out his swing and his approach to improve the offensive part of his game, he could be a glove-first regular.
Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs relegated Messina to the “Upper Level Depth” section back in March:
Messina is making a lot of contact with below-average bat speed, a tightrope that will narrow further at every level. He can really throw, and caught 40% of base stealers last year. Those skills together give him the tool set of a club’s third or fourth catcher.
Messina hasn’t yet manifested the skill set that got him noticed as a collegian, which is why he wasn’t in consideration for my list. With that written, Messina’s defensive floor and leadership skills could certainly see him to an up and down reserve big league role in the future.
44. Sebastian Blanco (14 points, 5 ballots) — The 18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop was one of the Rockies’ top targets in the 2025 international free agent class, signing for a $600k bonus. After signing, the 6’1” righty hitter tore up the DSL (143 wRC+) and got moved stateside for 2026.
Blanco was a key piece to Colorado’s championship ACL team this year, where his .293/.388/.432 batting line with three homers was worth 105 wRC+, not bad for a player who was 1.6 years younger than league average. After the ACL season concluded a few weeks ago, Blanco was one of the few prospects who moved straight to full season ball at Low-A Fresno, where he is 3.1 years younger than league average. Blanco has understandably struggled in a small sample but has shown some plate discipline, hitting .167/.364/.167 in 34 plate appearances so far (67 wRC+) while playing second and third base in deference to Ashly Andujar and Wilder Dalis.
FanGraphs ranks Blanco 17th in the system as a 40+ FV player, highlighting his future hit tool with a 55 grade:
At the plate, [Blanco] makes a ton of contact, 82% last year, with feel for the barrel and advanced pitch recognition skills. He hasn’t grown into much power or bat speed yet, but he has time on his side and some physical development left. Defensively, he has quick hands, clean actions, and a strong arm; he looked solid at short in my brief look, and scouts I sourced expect him to stay there. There’s everyday upside if he has enough growth ahead of him to add meaningfully more power, with a utility projection if he winds up with a lighter bat. He’s among the more intriguing hitters in the ACL this year.
Blanco is ranked 30th in the org by MLB Pipeline as a 40 FV player with 50s on every tool except power:
Blanco is a 6-foot-1, solidly built middle infielder who has already shown a solid approach and feel for hitting. He walked nearly as often as he struck out during his debut, really limiting his swing-and-miss. He has bat speed with a short right-handed swing and has already displayed some ability to drive the ball with carry off his bat. He made good swing decisions during his debut which led to a ton of quality contact, and there could be more power to come as he fills out.
The infielder, who will play all of 2026 at age 18, manned shortstop almost exclusively last year and has a chance to stay there with average speed and excellent instincts. He likely could handle moving anywhere on the infield in the future because of his feel for the game.
Blanco is an arrow-up player after 2026 and I ranked him 24th on my list as a 40 FV player. He should be back at Fresno next season and is a clear player to watch among what is an exciting wave of Latin American signees in the lower minors for the Rockies.
42. Griffin Herring (14 points, 5 ballots) — The 23-year-old lefty pitcher hasn’t had the 2026 we hoped for. Acquired as part of the Ryan McMahon trade last year from the Yankees, Herring had a wonderful debut pro season last year, rising all the way to High-A with very strong numbers. It was so good that Herring was the No. 10 PuRP in the pre-season list. So why is he off the list entirely at mid-season? It’s been an odd season for the 6’2” pitcher, who got nearly $800k as a 6th rounder from the Yankees in 2024.
Herring was assigned to Double-A Hartford (where he is 1.9 years younger than league average) to begin the year. He made one appearance, getting knocked around for four runs in three innings, then was absent for a month for what has to be injury reasons, though he didn’t go to the IL. A month later, Herring resurfaced in the ACL, where he made four relatively short appearances in May. He returned to Hartford in late May, where he worked mostly as a reliever and struggled with his command.
In total, Herring made 12 appearances for Hartford this year with a 8.87 ERA, 2.10 WHIP, 12.3 K/9 rate, and a 9.6 BB/9 rate in 23.1 innings. The latest twist is that Herring was assigned to the ACL team (after their season was done) two weeks ago, no doubt to get some attention in Colorado’s pitching lab. Herring wasn’t known for his wildness leading into this year (though there were some command concerns) and still has his strikeout stuff, so let’s hope this move helps unlock his 2025 form.
In February, Keith Law of the Athletic ranked Herring 10th in the system:
Herring struck out 31.4 percent of batters he faced last year, the seventh-best strikeout rate among all qualifying starters in the minors. He sits 90-92 from a very high slot that gives him a ton of deception, working with a short slider that generates a ton of whiffs and an average changeup. He’s almost certainly a reliever between the slot and the below-average fastball, but could get there quickly and be valuable in any kind of once-through-the-order role. I wish he’d been traded to the Reds; I’m worried in Denver, he’ll get smoked.
FanGraphs ranks Herring 28th in the system as a 40 FV player with a 55 future grade on the slider:
Herring came over to Colorado in the Ryan McMahon deal. The southpaw does his best to give hitters a weird look, and to be clear, that’s intended as high praise. He works on the extreme third base side of the rubber, where, like a swimmer testing the water on a cool day, he barely dips his big toe on to the slab. He has a big crossfire that helps him hide the ball, and there’s a little hitch at the top of his release to further challenge a hitter’s timing. He gets down the mound well and has plus extension; a very high release adds one more wrinkle to the puzzle.
All of that deception seems to be helping, as Herring mowed over Low- and High-A hitters with mostly average stuff last year. His fastball sits 89-92 and barely touches higher, but it generates plenty of whiffs and chases despite the velocity. His best sliders are above average, with tight shape and spin that makes the break come late. His changeups have good fade, but he has to lower his slot to generate the movement; we’ll see if better hitters notice and spit on it.
We’d feel better about Herring’s prospects if he was able to locate this mix surgically, as command and deception together can compensate for below-average arm strength. His control is ahead of his command, though, as he often misses the target even when he’s hitting the plate, and he’s prone to missing badly. The whole package is more intriguing than convincing — though to be fair, it is very intriguing — but if you’re inclined, you can talk yourself into projecting the command to arrive late, as he may still be acclimating to the adjustments he’s made in pro ball (he’s changed his placement on the rubber, raised his slot, and is throwing more breaking balls). He projects as a no. 5, with more variance than your typical soft-tossing lefty.
Herring has taken a big step back this year, but he’s still a 40 FV pitcher in my eyes, ranking 29th on my list. Let’s hope he unlocks something over the off-season or at least before the Rockies need to make a 40-man roster decision after the 2027 season.
Tune back in tomorrow to see more multi-ballot players!
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