Colorado Rockies prospect rankings, mid-season 2026: Numbers 43 to 36

After revealing the players who appeared on a single ballot on Monday and 11 multi-ballot players yesterday, it’s time to write about the seven players who fell short from Honorable Mention Purple Row Prospect (PuRP) status in the pre-season 2026 voting but who were listed on at least six of the 29 ballots.

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

43. Richard De Los Santos (21 points, 6 ballots) — The 17-year-old lefty-hitting, righty throwing Dominican shortstop was Colorado’s headline signing this year as an international free agent, garnering a $1 million bonus.

The Dominican Summer League hasn’t been too big for De Los Santos, who has shown advanced plate discipline with his .250/.464/.386 batting line with two homers and 14 steals in 196 plate appearances as a pro, good for a 128 wRC+. Between walks (26.5% of PA) and strikeouts (23.5% of PA), half of De Los Santos plate appearances end without a ball in play. Defensively, the 6’1” shortstop has committed 21 errors in 44 games, so he has some work to become playable there at higher levels.

FanGraphs ranks De Los Santos 49th in the system as a 35+ FV player, highlighted by a plus future raw power grade:

De Los Santos is an exciting athlete with a blend of present physicality and long-term projection. He could develop plus raw power at peak, and he already has something approaching a plus arm. Potential swing-and-miss issues will become a bigger deal if he ends up outgrowing shortstop.

MLB Pipeline ranks De Los Santos 29th in the system as a 40 FV prospect with 50 grades on every tool except power:

One of the younger players in the class, De Los Santos doesn’t turn 17 until right before the Dominican Summer League season starts. He’s already started adding some strength to his projectable and lean 6-foot-1 frame, which should help his overall offensive profile. He has clean mechanics in the box, showing he can be on time with his smooth left-handed swing. He uses a slight front-foot toe tap for timing, and there’s some ability to drive the ball starting to surface.

The hope is that De Los Santos, with a good first step and improving arm strength, will be able to stick at shortstop. Some scouts feel he doesn’t always have the cleanest slot and might eventually need to move to third as a result, though that’s obviously not something the Rockies have to worry about just yet.

Normally Colorado’s top international signing finds his way onto my list, if only to provide me a platform to highlight some far away players of interest. This time around, De Los Santos is a 40 FV prospect but the depth of good players in the system right now pushed him just off my list. Given his youth, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rockies had De Los Santos stay in the DSL next year, but a complex league assignment is quite possible.

41. Luichi Casilla (24 points, 6 ballots) — The 21-year-old lefty was a pop-up arm in 2024 for scouts after signing for $160k back in 2022 and was PuRP No. 30 in the pre-season 2025 list. When he’s right, Casilla boasts an upper-90s fastball with a potentially plus curveball (ranked as the best in the system by Baseball America in the pre-season), but he’s battled wildness and hasn’t yet seen performance matching his stuff. Unfortunately, the 6’2”, 180-pound Dominican needed Tommy John surgery in March 2025 and missed the season as a result.

Casilla finally returned to action this June with the championship ACL team. The Rockies brought him along slowly, building him from one inning stints to a 3 2/3 inning outing in late July as the ACL season ended. He was assigned to Low-A Fresno in early August and has since made two additional three inning starts where he didn’t eclipse 65 pitches. In total, Casilla has made nine appearances and completed 19.1 innings. Though his ERA is elevated at 5.12 with a 1.76 WHIP, he has struck out 31 hitters against just six walks, so the strikeout stuff appears to be coming back well.

FanGraphs ranks Casilla as a 40 FV prospect back in 2025 (before the season-ending nature of his injury was known) but listed him in their “Clipped Wings” section back in March:

Casilla flashed big stuff and was up to 97 amidst a rough statistical spin through the ACL in 2024. He had Tommy John last spring, and we’ll see how everything looks when he’s back on the field. Castillo has plus-plus arm strength but round-down shape and pitchability. He’s on the 60-day IL with a lat injury.

I’m still a believer in Casilla’s potential (he was a 40 FV player for me but didn’t make my list), but the lost reps from the injury makes it less likely he will be able to realize it. Casilla will be Rule 5 eligible this off-season and he only made his Low-A debut this month. The good news is that the injury makes it unlikely he’ll be selected in the Rule 5 draft, so I would suspect he’ll get a chance in full season ball, fully stretched out to start next year.

40. Ben Davis (28.7 points, 7 ballots) — Colorado’s fourth-round pick (the first in the round) this year was the 6’4” Davis, a right-handed pitcher out of Mississippi State. The 22-year-old signed for a $447.5k bonus that was well below the $755.3k slot value of the 104th overall pick but which still ranked as the seventh highest bonus for a Rockies draft pick this year.

Davis was a two-way player for his first two years in college, both pitching and catching for a Mississippi junior college before focusing on pitching for two years at Mississippi State. He made four starts as a junior out of 23 appearances, but as a senior this year Davis was strictly a bullpen arm in 26 appearances. In 47 innings this year in the tough SEC, Davis posted a 3.64 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 10.9 K/9 rate, and 2.7 BB/9 rate with five saves for the Bulldogs. We probably won’t see Davis in professional games this season, but I expect he’ll be in High-A to begin next year.

Davis was ranked #232 overall in the draft by MLB Pipeline as a 40 FV player with a 60 grade on the fastball, a 55 on the cutter, and a 55 on the slider:

Few pitchers in this Draft can match Davis’ combination of velocity and movement on his heater, which sits at 94-97 mph and tops out at 100 with heavy sink, as well as some armside run. His fastball is so lively that it’s difficult to command, and he gets a lot more chases and empty swings with a pair of solid secondary pitches. He averages 91 mph with his cutter and 87 mph with a slider that features more depth than sweep.

Though he has started in the past and has a strong 6-foot-4 build, Davis’ lack of an offspeed pitch and spotty command mean he’ll remain a reliever in pro ball. He’s more hittable than he should be because he doesn’t always locate his pitches well. But he also has late-inning upside and will move quickly through the Minors if he can do a better job of harnessing his stuff.

Davis is ranked 50th by FanGraphs as a 35+ FV player, stating that “Davis throws hard with big sink and will profile in relief if he can find an above-average breaking ball”.

Keith Law of the Athletic had this to say about Davis after the draft this year:

Mississippi State senior Ben Davis (4) is probably a money-saver pick, as he’s a straight reliever, with a low three-quarters arm slot where he still gets on top of the ball well. He’s up to 97 with a slider and cutter.

Davis is a 35+ FV player for me at the moment, off my list. If the Rockies continue to use Davis as a reliever, he could be a fast riser in the system. If they think a starter path is worth pursuing, more patience will be needed.

39. Tanner Thach (30 points, 6 ballots) — The 22-year-old first baseman has big-league bloodlines, as he is the great-nephew of Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter. After setting the UNC-Wilmington single-season homer record with 27 in 2024, the 6’4” lefty only hit 12 homers in 2025. However, Thach’s .325/.409/.538 line was enough for the Rockies to make him their eighth-round pick in 2025, signing for an above slot $325k bonus.

Thach is a first baseman defensively, so he needs to be a big bopper. Thach is known for his all fields power, bat speed, and his ability to handle elite velocity, which is often the first hurdle for college hitters moving to the pros.

This year, Thach began the season with Low-A Fresno, where he was 0.9 years older than league average. As befits a player of his age and polish, Thach dismantled California League pitching over the season’s first three months, hitting .339/.414/.541 with 11 homers among 35 extra base hits in 338 plate appearances, good for a 141 wRC+.

That led to a promotion to High-A Spokane at the end of June, where Thach is 0.5 years younger than league average. The new level has been more of a challenge for Thach so far, who has a .207/.280/.371 line in 132 plate appearances that includes four homers (57 wRC+). The positive sign so far, despite the struggles, is that Thach has kept his strikeouts to under 16% of plate appearances while walking in nearly 8% of them.

MLB.com ranks Thach 20th in the system as a 40 FV player with 55 power (after ranking him 151st in the draft):

The big left-handed hitter offers an intriguing combination of strength and bat speed coming from his 6-foot-4 frame that provides optimism he can send the ball a long way and catch up to good velocity. He hits the ball very hard, registering high exit velocities and his well-above-average raw power can show up to all fields, though most of his home run thump comes to his pull side. He doesn’t strike out a ton, especially given his power, but he does chase out of the zone too much, something that will have to improve as he moves up the ladder.

A former two-way player who was up to 90 mph on the mound, Thach’s well-below-average speed almost certainly limits him to first base, though he has seen a little time in right field as a pro. He’ll have to keep getting to that raw pop to profile well in either corner spot.

The bat has to do the heavy lifting for Thach as a prospect (he’s a 35+ FV player in my eyes). If he can get back above average offensively in the upper minors, he’ll stay on the radar.

38. Juan Martinez (30.1 points, 7 ballots) — The 19-year-old Venezuelan switch hitter was half of the return in the Antonio Senzatela trade earlier this month with the Brewers. Martinez, who was signed in 2024 by the Brewers for a $125k bonus, caught Colorado’s eye no doubt with an excellent DSL performance in 2025 (150 wRC+). Martinez followed that up this year with an even better performance in the ACL, hitting .356/.476/.599 with six homers and 21 steals in 164 plate appearances, good for a 160 wRC+.

Martinez’s 2026 was so good the Brewers called him up to Low-A in early July, a level where he’s stayed after the trade. Between the Brewers and Rockies systems at Low-A, Martinez is about two years below league average age. Before the trade he hit .209/.321/.269 in 78 plate appearances at the level (65 wRC+) and he’s hitting .273/.273/.455 with the Rockies in his first 22 plate appearances (bolstered by two triples). Combined this year, Martinez has walked more than he’s struck out. Defensively, Martinez has spent the most time at second base this year but has also gotten plenty of reps at third.

MLB Pipeline slots Martinez into 26th in the system as a 40 FV player:

A switch-hitting infielder, Martinez had surprised some in the Brewers organization with his bat. He can swing it from both sides of the plate, though he’s shown more impact left-handed, while obviously getting a lot more reps from that side of the plate. His arrow is pointing up offensively and his former organization believed it was sustainable.

In the Brewers’ system, Martinez’s time at shortstop was limited because he was blocked by other personnel. He could get a chance to see more time at the premium position in his new home, but he might lack the quick twitch and arm strength to stay there long term. He’s seen time at third and second, with the keystone the best chance for him to find one spot as a regular.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had this to say about Martinez (who he placed in the 35 FV bucket) after the trade:

Martinez is a switch-hitting second baseman who hit his way to full-season ball after a hot start on the Complex [.356/.476/.598], but he has struggled at Low-A [.209/.321/.269]. He has some low-ball power from the left side of the plate and has barely swung and missed as a righty. For a second base-only defender, his present tools (roughly average contact) are fair. He’s 19, but he’s more filled out than a lot of athletes his age, and we’re not inclined to project a ton. We like switch-hitting infielders like this as Honorable Mention types on the prospect list.

Martinez has had a strong start offensively as a prospect, so he’s definitely a player worth following as he gets a full year of baseball next year against more advanced pitching. I ranked him as a 40 FV player, albeit off my list.

37. Aiden May (31.5 points, 9 ballots) — The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher was half of Colorado’s trade of Victor Vodnik to the Miami Marlins. May was Miami’s second round pick in 2024 out of Oregon State, signing for a $900k bonus. Arthroscopic elbow surgery delayed May’s pro debut to July 2025 and he only threw 27 1/3 innings on the season across three levels. In 2026, May has spent all season at the High-A level, where in Miami’s system he was about league average age.

In 14 starts for Miami’s High-A club this year, May threw 68.2 innings of 3.80 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 7.6 K/9 rate, and 3.1 BB/9 rate baseball. He’s made one start for High-A Spokane with the Rockies so far, punching out six while allowing one run on two hits in 4.2 innings a few days ago.

May is ranked 28th in the system by MLB Pipeline with a 40 FV that is bolstered by a 60 grade on May’s slider:

At 6-foot-2 with a low release point, May has a sinker-slider profile, although he’s changed his pitch mix a bit since college. The sweeping slider remains his bread-and-butter pitch with biting action that he can land for strikes or get chases on, and his sinking fastball — up to 96 mph in starts and 98 in short stints — has almost equal horizontal movement in the opposite direction. This year, he’s been incorporating a high-80s cutter, which is dangerous glove side and a weapon against lefties, and his upper-80s changeup has promise but needs to land for strikes more.

May had solid control by the end of his college career, although he walked too many batters in his brief pro debut. Some of that can be chalked up to him working back from injuries in 2025. If he can stay healthy and improve his cutter or changeup as a platoon-neutral pitch, it’s easy to see May becoming a back-end starter. If not, he could still profile as a reliever whose movement will play up even more in short stints.

May was listed as a “Length Arm” in Miami’s system by Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs in June:

He’s a sinker-slider-change length arm. The change, and to a lesser extent the slider, miss bats, but the overall package is underwhelming, and it’s fair to wonder if there’s an out pitch for better hitters.

If you are taken with MLB Pipeline’s writeup on May, you can see the makings of a real prospect here, though if you lean toward FanGraphs, May is closer to org depth. May is a 35+ FV player for me and off my list. Fortunately, we get to see how May takes to the Northwest League down the stretch and decide for ourselves.

36. Nick Frasso (34.3 points, 7 ballots) — The 27-year-old right-handed pitcher was one of the two players acquired in the Seth Halvorsen deal last month with the Dodgers. Frasso has some pedigree, as he was a consensus top 100 overall prospect in the pre-season 2024 cycle, though his star has faded since then after he lost the 2024 season to labrum surgery. Frasso converted to relief before the 2025 season, during which time he didn’t distinguish himself.

Frasso was non-tendered by the Dodgers after the 2025 season and was re-signed as a minor league free agent. He returned to Triple-A as a reliever and was added back to the 40-man roster in early June after he triggered an upward mobility clause in his contract that would have made him a free agent had that not been done. That roster move was made because this season Frasso found the strikeout stuff that had eluded him in 2025. Frasso made 21 appearances and threw 24 2/3 innings for the Dodgers in Triple-A with a 4.74 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 14.6 K/9 rate, and 6.2 BB/9 rate.

Since the trade on July 20th, Frasso appeared in five games with Triple-A Albuquerque, allowing one run on five hits with a walk and eight strikeouts. He was called up last week for his Major League debut after six years in the minors. In three appearances with the Rockies, Frasso has allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits with three strikeouts in three innings of work, equating to a -0.2 rWAR figure so far (or 0.1 fWAR if you prefer that).

Frasso isn’t currently on any top prospect lists, but he represents a former top prospect who has seen his strikeout stuff and command return after some serious injuries. He’s a big leaguer now and could deliver some real value for the Rockies down the stretch in a relief role, a package that is worth a 35+ FV tag from me.

Tomorrow, the Honorable Mention PuRPs will be revealed!