The Colorado Rockies are dormant as two teams they may look to model their game off of—the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays—do battle on the grandest stage Major League Baseball has to offer. The World Series is underway and two teams with smaller payrolls that excel in pitching, small ball, and analytics are both aiming to walk away with their first championship in franchise history.
While the team itself may be dormant—as fans wait for next steps in the rebuild following the firing of
Alon Leichman and a looming lockout—that doesn’t mean the players are.
Down in Scottsdale, Arizona, eight Rockies prospects and farm hands are taking part in the Arizona Fall League as part of the Salt River Rafters team. The Rockies’ standout star in Scottsdale isn’t one of their top prospects, though. It’s Jack O’Dowd, a 25-year-old undrafted catcher and infielder who played college ball at the University of Texas. O’Dowd (HM PuRP) was playing independent baseball in the Pioneer League a year ago, but joined the Rockies as a minor league free agent this year and quickly rocketed up the system after starting in Low-A Fresno and ending the season with Double-A Hartford.
Meanwhile, although it’s only October, Winter League baseball has already started in other parts of the World. The Mexican, Venezuelan, and Dominican Winter Leagues have already been playing for a week, while Puerto Rico’s Winter League will start in November.
There are surprisingly few players coming out of the Rockies’ 2026 season playing ball this winter so far, though three prospects are working on building their résumés. Infielder Roynier Hernanzes (no. 29 PuRP) and catcher Bryant Betancourt (HM PuRP) are both playing in Venezuela, while top prospect second baseman and center fielder Roldy Brito (no. 3 PuRP) is playing in his native Dominican Republic.
Farmhands in outfielder Drew Avans and right-handed reliever Patrick Weigel—both of whom spent their 2026 season with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes—are playing international baseball as well. Avans is playing in Mexico while Weigel is playing in the Dominican Republic.
Also playing in the Dominican Winter League is left-handed veteran José Quintana. Having missed most of the 2026 season due to an elbow injury after signing with the Rockies as a free agent, Quintana is working to build himself back up in order to get back to Major League Baseball in 2027.
With that being said, here’s what our staff here at Purple Row had to say this week:
To Read: Scaling the Rocks
- Monday: Game 6? Game 7? Rays? Guardians? | Sam Bradfield
- Tuesday: Take me to the Trop | Renee Dechert
- Wednesday: Waiting and watching | Skyler Timmins
- Thursday: Spending less for more | Cory Cohen
- Friday: It’s Senza time | Joelle Milholm
- Saturday: Colorado’s catching depth (might be) sneaky good | James Riggenbach
To Read: Rockpiles
- Monday: Sean Sullivan discusses his 2026 MLB season and AFL goals | Sam Bradfield
- Tuesday: What TJ Rumfield’s defense brings to the Rockies | Renee Dechert
- Wednesday: Should the Colorado Rockies pursue Teruaki Sato? | Skyler Timmins
- Thursday: Do the Rockies need an MVP candidate to compete? | Cory Cohen
- Friday: Rockies must play catch-up, get depth, and be creative to follow Rays | Joelle Milholm
- Saturday: A Rockies guide to a potentially truncated offseason | James Riggenbach
To Read: Ranking the Rockies, 2026
- No. 40: Tanner Gordon | James Riggenbach
- No. 39: Blake Adams | Zeke Perez Jr
- No. 38: Keegan Thompson | Joelle Milholm
- No. 37: TJ Shook | Sam Bradfield
- No. 36: John Brebbia | Cory Cohen
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