The state of the Colorado Rockies farm system, August 2025

In the process of writing about every player who received votes in our biannual Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) list — this edition it was 65 players across 23 ballots — I learned a bit about trends and system strengths and weaknesses. So for anyone who missed a few write-ups or even who has a more casual relationship with the farm system, I wanted to synthesize some of those thoughts into a bigger picture than any individual prospect. With Colorado’s penchant for building their big-league roster from

within, the players on this list are likely going to play a big role in the next 5-7 Colorado Rockies teams.

Here are the big picture items I took away after my review of Colorado’s top prospects as 2025 winds down:

A wave of prospects has either arrived already or is coming in the next year

With the way things worked out this time around, four PuRPs graduated from rookie eligibility in between the polling thread opening at the beginning of the month and now:

• Yanquiel Fernández (No. 10 PuRP), a potential impact corner outfielder (power over hit)
• Ryan Ritter (13), currently the starting second baseman but a definite utility infielder fit
• Jaden Hill (20), who is working mostly low-leverage middle relief but is getting good results
• Braxton Fulford (27), who is holding down the back-up catcher job

In addition to these four, another six PuRPs have made their Major League debuts:

• Kyle Karros (4), who appears to have the inside track to the starting third base job next year
• Zac Veen (7), another potential impact corner outfielder (balanced, but power over hit)
• Carson Palmquist (17), who suffered from command issues this year as a starter but might be reinvented as a multi-inning relief weapon
• Warming Bernabel (23), the current regular first baseman who won the NL Player of the Week Award in his first week in the Show
• Drew Romo (24), who has been the catcher of the future but right now is fighting for a return to Denver during a tough year
• McCade Brown (26) just made his big league debut this past weekend and has stuff that could make him a mid-rotation fit if he can command it deeper into games

Karros, Palmquist, Bernabel, and Romo could all easily exceed their PuRPs eligibility by the end of the year as well. If that comes to pass, we’ll be looking at a very different (and weaker) PuRPs list early next year. Looking only at those ten MLB debut players, I see the beginnings of a young core that might deliver us from 100 loss seasons in the future.

Beyond those ten PuRPs in the big leagues, the following nine prospects are currently in Double-A or Triple-A and are poised to potentially make their Major League debut for the Rockies by this time next year:

• Charlie Condon (2) is heating up in Double-A after a bad start to pro ball last year — he could supplant Bernabel as the long-term solution at first base
• Cole Carrigg (6) is one of the most entertaining players in the system, playing a fine center field in Double-A with an all-world arm and tearing up the basepaths
• Jared Thomas (8) is another potential impact outfielder (hit over power) in Double-A
• Sean Sullivan (9) has done nothing but get out upper-minors hitters this year even while recovering from injury, despite pitching in the 80s — he could be a mid-rotation starter soon, especially if the velocity recovers a bit
• Gabriel Hughes (11) is getting decent results (for the PCL, anyways) in Triple-A and is a high-probability starting pitcher
• Roc Riggio (16), acquired in the Jake Bird trade from the Yankees, has been a force at Double-A while playing a good second base
• Sterlin Thompson (18) is another potential impact outfielder (hit over power) who has been very hot of late in Triple-A
• Welinton Herrera (21) has been a late-inning terror in Double-A as a high-leverage lefty reliever
• Konner Eaton (30) just threw five scoreless innings in his Double-A debut and profiles as a lefty back-end starter

You might have noticed that I just named 19 of the 30 PuRPs. The last few years for the Rockies have been full of losing with largely dull teams. With these players making their way to the Show (joining recently-graduated former top-five PuRPs like Chase Dollander, Adael Amador, and Jordan Beck), the losing might still continue, but I think the Rockies will offer more excitement for fans.

In particular I’m interested to see how the Rockies sort out the outfield logjam between Brenton Doyle, Beck, Carrigg, Veen, Thomas, Fernández, and Thompson (among others) in the next two years. Or will it be more Mickey Moniak and Tyler Freeman?

A below-average farm system

The Rockies have largely been placed in the bottom third in farm system rankings at mid-season. Both FanGraphs and ESPN.com assigns monetary value to the minor league system based on prospects with a Future Value grade of 35+ (interesting organizational player) or higher. Using that method, the Rockies are ranked 22nd by FanGraphs (fourth in the division) with a total farm system value of $147 million, while they are 23rd for Kiley McDaniel at ESPN.com (third in the division) with a value of $149 million (down from $185 million preseason):

Adding a potential star in SS Ethan Holliday, the fourth pick in the draft, is the headline for the Rockies’ farm system this year. I also liked the next few picks, landing RHP JB Middleton and RF Max Belyeu.

Another infielder with big league bloodlines, 3B Kyle Karros, has been the main arrow-up player in the system this year, and I liked the two headliner returns from both deadline-trade deals with the Yankees, getting 2B Roc Riggio and LHP Griffin Herring. LF Sterlin Thompson got hot after a slow start, but the top roughly dozen returning prospects have been mostly moving sideways this season.

While those rankings aren’t the end-all, be-all of prospect evaluation, they take a principled and organized view of the entire minor leagues and I trust their judgment more than my biases. Mostly Colorado’s system seems to have taken a hit due to the mid-season graduations of Dollander and Amador.

MLB Pipeline puts the Rockies 24th among farm systems (down from 18th in preseason, fourth in the division) with only Ethan Holliday and Condon in their top 100:

Getting Holliday, the top-ranked player from the 2025 Draft, certainly doesn’t hurt. But Chase Dollander graduated and Condon has dealt with injuries and a lack of power production, reasons why the Rockies drop several spots this go-round. There have been some interesting developments coming from former college hitter draftees, with Kyle Karros reaching the big leagues and Jared Thomas swinging the bat well, and the hope is that can be augmented by the other five 2025 draftees who join Holliday on the Top 30.

The Rockies again prioritized pitching in the draft and at the trade deadline

You can never have too much pitching at Coors Field. Plus, the system’s top prospects are mostly position players — only one pitcher makes the top five, two in the top ten, and five in the top 15. It’s clear where this system’s strengths lie, so four of the five prospects the Rockies acquired at the trade deadline were pitchers and 14 of their 21 draft picks were pitchers. Between the draft and trades, the Rockies added JB Middleton (12), Griffin Herring (14), and Josh Grosz (28) as arms to the PuRPs list. Meanwhile, Ethan Holliday (1), Max Belyeu (15), and Riggio (16) are position player PuRPs who joined the system through these avenues.

The Rockies are still feeling the effects of the 2023 Tommy John surgeries for Hughes, Jordy Vargas (22), Jackson Cox (25) and Brown (26). Hughes, Cox, and Brown have largely recovered but are developmentally delayed, while Vargas has yet to look like his pre-TJ self. The Rockies need a talent infusion to their rotation: of the 12 pitchers who have made a start for them, only four have above zero fWAR. Colorado needs those pitching prospects to make the big league leap if the team hopes to return to contention. The bullpen, now comprised mostly of recent PuRPs, is in better shape but there are fewer immediate reinforcements in waiting.

Colorado’s Latin America program is well represented

Seven PuRPs were acquired as international free agents from Latin America, including two players in the top ten. That group includes:

• A five-tool outfielder who is playing well in Low-A as a 19-year-old and is already getting some top-100 buzz in Robert Calaz (3)
• A corner outfielder with thunder in his hands and a cannon of an arm in Fernández (10)
• A tooled-up shortstop who got a $1.7 million bonus in Ashly Andujar (19)
• An upper-minors late-inning lefty reliever in Herrera (21)
• A pitcher who was on the fringe of top 100 lists until his injury in Vargas (22)
• The current starting first baseman in Bernabel (23)
• An out-of-nowhere low-minors breakout outfielder in Roldy Brito (29)

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As I do each PuRPs cycle, I’m going to look at the current system and project which players could be on the 40-man roster in the lead-up to the Rule 5 draft this off-season. The upcoming Rule 5 Draft will see players who were signed either in 2021 (if they were 18 or younger at signing) or 2022 (signed at 19+ years old) become eligible for the first time.

When I did this exercise in March, I listed 38 players who would be under contract, on the 60-day IL, had a likely team option, or were prospects that were very likely to be added before this off-season’s Rule 5 draft. Today, 24 of the top 26 on that list (the traded Ryan McMahon and Nolan Jones are the exceptions) which I deemed “likely” are still around, while among the bottom 12 there were three who aren’t in the org and another two that aren’t on the 40 man roster anymore. With that in mind, let’s take stock of the 40-man roster moves which could occur between now and the end of the year.

The Near Future: 40-man roster after 2025

Here’s how I would characterize each spot on the 40-man roster as it will exist after the 2025 season (assuming all free agents like Orlando Arcia leave the organization and most player/mutual options like Thairo Estrada’s are declined), the next time the Rockies will need to make mass additions to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft:

Sure things (current)

These players are on the current 40-man roster, have already seen major-league action, and will still be on the roster after the Rule 5 draft barring trades (which is a condition that applies to every category). Players with multi-year guaranteed deals are generally ranked higher than arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players:

1. Ezequiel Tovar
2. Kyle Freeland
3. Hunter Goodman
4. Jordan Beck
5. Brenton Doyle
6. Chase Dollander
7. Kyle Karros
8. Adael Amador
9. McCade Brown

Likely (current)

These players have major-league experience, are currently on the 40-man, and will likely be on the post Rule 5 draft 40-man roster — but under-performance could cause them to lose their spot to a DFA or non-tender — or they could retire. I also consider players with a likely to be picked up player or club option in this category. Presented roughly in my order of confidence:

10. Kris Bryant (60 Day IL, possible “retirement” in which he’s still collecting checks a la Prince Fielder)

11. Antonio Senzatela (guaranteed money is the only reason he’s this high)

12 Ryan Feltner

13. Ryan Ritter

14. Yanquiel Fernández

15. Zac Veen

16. Tyler Freeman

17. Victor Vodnik

18. Seth Halvorsen

19. Juan Mejia

20. Jaden Hill

21. Carson Palmquist

22. Zach Agnos

23. Angel Chivilli

24. Warming Bernabel

25. Bradley Blalock

26. Jimmy Herget

Likely (future)

These players haven’t yet seen MLB action but are in good shape to have a 40-man roster spot after the Rule 5 draft. Players who don’t need to be Rule 5 protected after the season (most notably Condon and Sullivan) aren’t listed, though a couple of them could also squeeze their way onto the roster. Again, presented in order of confidence:

27. Gabriel Hughes

28. Welinton Herrera

29. Sterlin Thompson

Under contract but at risk

These players are on the 40-man now but are serious candidates for a DFA or non-tender during or after the 2025 season (I also consider players with a possible player or club option in this category as well as those signed as minor league free agents who won’t have the service time for major league free agency) — presented from most safe to least:

30. Drew Romo

31. Luis Peralta

32. Tanner Gordon

33. Mickey Moniak

34. Michael Toglia

35. Braxton Fulford

36. Ryan Rolison

37. Dugan Darnell (60 Day IL)

38. Anthony Molina

39. Lucas Gilbreath

40. Aaron Schunk

41. Jeff Criswell (60 Day IL)

42. Blaine Crim

43. Nick Anderson

I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the above players were not in the organization after 2024, but in particular anyone below Fulford should consider their 40-man roster slot vulnerable. That gets us to 43 players (including three new prospects), so we’ve already got a full house.

Remember though that the Rockies will probably re-sign some free agents and/or exercise a mutual option, which also will take up spots (at the expense of some of the more vulnerable players above, some of whom could be designated for assignment or non-tendered).

Here’s how I would rank other players (among those with no non-IL MLB service time) in terms of getting a 40-man spot after 2025:

1. Jordy Vargas
2. Michael Prosecky
3. Yujanyer Herrera (depending on TJ surgery recovery)
4. Braiden Ward
5. Benny Montgomery
6. Carson Skipper
7. Austin Smith
8. Mason Albright
9. Andy Perez
10. Julio Carreras
11. Blake Adams
12. Victor Juarez
13. Sam Weatherly
14. Bryant Betancourt
15. Connor Staine
16. Evan Shawver

I would guess at least the top two guys would be protected, and I suspect two or three of the next five or six players could be added as well but I don’t know which. I listed 16 players here and still somebody from off this list could make a surprise appearance, as I think the bottom 10 or so slots on the 40-man are quite fluid. With the 40-man roster, change is always the expectation.

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Hopefully that summary of the system and the 40-man roster was helpful, I’d love to read your own projections and opinions in the comments. Until next time!