As a student-athlete at Massillon Washington High School in Madison, Ohio, Aidan Longwell had choices.
In addition to being an outstanding baseball player, he was also a standout quarterback and received offers to continue his football career at a D-1 school. For him, though, the way forward was clear.
“It’s always been baseball since as long as I can remember,” Longwell said.
“Just playing in the backyard with my dad and my brother, it’s always been baseball, and I just happened to be good at football
growing up. It was fun to entertain that a little bit, the recruiting process, going through that.”
But he was clear: “I always knew that’s what I wanted to do, be a professional baseball player.”
The former Kent State Golden Flash had a .409 batting average in addition to an impressive 1.45 ERA in 19.0 IP.
In 2023, the Colorado Rockies drafted 1B/pitcher Aidan Longwell in the 17 round of the MLB Draft. (He received a $130,000 signing bonus.)
His calling card has been getting on base, a skill that has contributed to his slow but steady rise through the Rockies system.
The Rockies sent Longwell to the ACL Rockies where the lefty spent 18 games. In 83 plate appearances, he slashed .366/.446/.479 before bring promoted to Low-A Fresno. While with the Grizzlies for 12 games, he earned a .295/.340/.341 slashline
In 2024, Longwell returned to the Grizzlies for 63 games (.313/.403/.425 with four homers). Things began to come together for him in 2025, however, when he was promoted to High-A Spokane. There in 121 games, he slashed .274/.345/.465 with 15 home runs.
This year, the 24-year-old’s baseball journey continues at Double-A Hartford. He’s primarily playing first base though the Yard Goats have let him play a few innings in left field.
Currently, in 191 plate appearances, he’s slashing .269/.319/.457 with five home runs. Longwell’s 14 doubles ties him for second-most in the Eastern League, and his 26 RBI leads the Yard Goats (and ties him with Roc Riggio). His 74 total bases tie him for fifth-most on the Yard Goats. (See him in action here.)
He has, in other words, been a productive hitter.
For Longwell, his success at the plate has been the result of situational adjustments.
“It’s just little little tweaks here and there, depending on kind of how they’re pitching me or what I’m seeing,” Longwell said, “But yeah, I think everything’s been pretty consistent throughout the first couple years here in pro ball.”
Still, he’s noticed a different between what he experienced in Spokane and what he’s seeing in Hartford and much of that comes back to the improved quality of Double-A pitching.
“In Double-A, you don’t get a night off every night,” Longwell said. “You’re seeing an elite arm with good stuff, and out of the bullpen, they’ve all got good stuff, and they all throw hard up here.”
Plus, the pitchers are just better.
“(There’s) a lot more consistency in Double-A, too,” he added. “They execute their pitches a lot more, which has been a little bit of an adjustment.” When there’s a mistake, Longwell has learned, he has to take advantage of it.
Still, he loves hitting because he appreciates the challenge it presents him.
“It’s a challenge every day,” Longwell said. “Every day, something new is going on. Your swing might not feel great that day, and you’ve got to find a way to get it done, or you’re seeing a great arm that night, and you’ve got to be ready to compete. Every time you step into the box, it’s a battle — it’s a one-on-one battle with with the defense behind the pitcher, but usually it’s between the pitcher and the hitter, which I love.”
And here’s a fun fact for the next time you happen to be playing “Rockies Prospects Trivia” with friends: In addition to his baseball skills, Longwell is an accomplished juggler, a skill he picked up during COVID.
“(I was) just kind of bored, sitting around the house, having some fun, messing around with the family,” Longwell remembered, “so just kind of learned it from there.”
In addition, he’s found it helps with hand-eye coordination.
As his journey continues through the Rockies system, Longwell continues to learn, building on what he already knows.
For him, it’s about “finding what works for you, and then being open to try and do stuff too.”
And it’s not just about baseball: He’s learned to embrace the diversity of a professional baseball clubhouse.
“(You’ve got guys) coming from guys from all over the world — different cultures, different parts of the country, to just being open to learning about other people’s cultures and having some fun with them, too,” he said.
This week on the MiLB internet
Clint Hurdle continues to be a presence in the Rockies system.
Weekly Pebble Report: May 26th-June 1st
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (4-2, 32-25 Overall)
The Albuquerque Isotopes continue to play excellent baseball as they secured their fourth series win of the season, doubling the total from 2025. In 2024, the team hadn’t secured its fourth series win until mid-August. The offense led the Pacific Coast League with a .330/.403/.606 slash line and also had 12 home runs and 50 runs scored. Despite a 6.33 ERA during the series that saw them allow 12 home runs, the Isotopes kept the walks relatively in check and did just enough to give the offense a chance to win ball games.
⬆️ Stock Up: Veen Proving Himself
Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) had one of his best weeks of the season during the season. Over six games, Veen slashed .500/.519/.958, going 12-for-24 with two doubles, three home runs, and six RBI. He homered in three consecutive games for just the second time in his pro career and has also managed to raise his batting average to .305 on the year. He has continued to show growth with excellent at-bats to draw walks and cut down on strikeouts while finding more of his power, as he now has seven home runs on the year and is second on the team with 36 RBI.
⬆️ Stock Up: Condon Keeps Rolling
After a strong series last week, Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) continued his hot streak during the home series. In five games, he went 7-for-17, slashing .412/.545/1.118 with three doubles, three home runs, and six RBI. He also struck out just three times while drawing five walks. He extended his hitting streak to 12 games and is slashing .366/.469/.829 with seven doubles, four homers, and eight RBI during the stretch. Condon also has an extra-base hit in seven straight contests. The highlight of his week came in the form of a walk-off solo home run on Sunday to give the Isotopes an 8-7 victory.
Upcoming:
The Isotopes open up a 12-game road trip by heading to Utah to face the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels) starting Tuesday.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (4-2, 27-22 Overall)
What a rise it has been for the Hartford Yard Goats. After scuffing to start the minor league season, the Yard Goats have slowly made their way up the standings and accumulated wins. Now after a successful winning series against the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) the Yard Goat sit atop their division in the Eastern League with a 0.5 game lead over New Hampshire. They also debuted their New Britain Rock Cats-inspired throwbacks.
⬆️ Stock Up: Return of the Fish Man
After a developmental stint in the Arizona Complex League, left-handed pitcher Griffin Herring (no. 10 PuRP) is back with the Hartford Yard Goats. Now a reliever, Herring made two excellent appearances against Altoona, throwing three hitless, scoreless, walkless innings and striking out five batters.
⬆️ Stock Up: A Heaping Helping of Stu
The ever-mustachioed Stu Flesland III is taking well to his new environment in the northeast. Flesland made two appearances for the Yard Goats at three innings apiece. While his command in the first was a bit shaky with three walks and two hit batters, he still kept the Altoona Curve off the board. Ultimately he pitched six shutout innings with six strikeouts.
Upcoming:
The Yard Goats are on the road up in Maine to square off against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) in a six-game set.
High-A: Spokane Indians (2-4, 21-30 Overall)
It was a tough series for the Indians, who dropped four games against the Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels) out on the road. Making matters worse is that this series could have been easily flipped in the other direction—or even a sweep—as three of their losses were by just one run and the fourth was by two runs.
⬆️ Stock Up: Cox Rox
Right-handed pitcher Jackson Cox (no. 16 PuRP) continues to ascend post-Tommy John surgery. Cox was named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week for his six inning shutout performance against the Dust Devils. He gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out nine batters. His 11.98 K/9 is second-best in all of Minor League Baseball.
⬆️ Stock Up: The Hughes Cruise returns to the Pacific Northwest
Right-handed pitcher Gabriel Hughes is nearing a return to action after being shelved due to injury for a few weeks. Hughes returned to the Spokane Indians on a rehab assignment this week and pitched a strong three shutout innings without giving up a hit. He struck out four batters and walked two.
Upcoming:
The Indians are back at home for a six game series against the Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks). More important, however, is the fact that on Wednesday we celebrate the birthday of one of the best mascots in baseball: RIBBY the Redband Trout.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 27-24 Overall)
The Grizzlies are still above .500, but a four game stretch of the bats going relatively cold sank their series against the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants) despite a promising start. Now the Giants are back in the lead for the division with Fresno sitting two games behind them.
⬆️ Stock Up: Parker (not the bear) finds form
After a rough start to the season, Rockies 2025 draft pick and right-handed long reliever Brady Parker has quietly settled in to pitch 16 straight shutout innings with 26 strikeouts. Against the Giants he continued his streak with four shutout innings of one hit baseball and another seven punch-outs.
⬇️ Stock Down: All Riley’d Up
Right-handed pitcher Riley Kelly (no. 27 PuRP) had a tough week against the Giants. In two starts and eight total innings he gave up a combined eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits—two of which were home runs—while walking four and hitting a batter. However, he did strike out seven batters.
Upcoming:
The Grizzlies remain at home as the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres) come to visit.
Arizona Complex League: ACL Rockies (3-2, 15-7 Overall)
Two losses by just one run stained an otherwise excellent week in the Complex League, including two blowout victories against the ACL Angels and ACL Cubs. The ACL Rockies still sit atop their division and have the second-best record in the Complex League.
⬆️ Stock Up: No Blancos on the score card
18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Sebastian Blanco had multiple hits in four of the five games he played last week, going 9-for-20 at the plate with three doubles, five RBIs, and two stolen bases.
⬇️ Stock Down: Unlucky Luciano
Right-handed reliever Ismael Luciano gave up a combined give earned runs on six hits—including a home run—and two walks over two appearances and 2.2 innings. He did strike out six batters.
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