In 2025, 13 different Rockies made their MLB debuts. The list includes
- OF Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP)
- LHP Ryan Rolison
- INF Ryan Ritter
- LHP Carson Palmquist (No. 19 PuRP )
- RHP Juan Mejia
- 3B Kyle Karros
- C Braxton Fulford
- RF/DH Yanquiel Fernández
- RHP Chase Dollander
- LHP Dougan Darnell
- RHP McCade Brown (No. 18 PuRP)
- 1B Warming Bernabel
- RHP Zach Agnos.
Of the 13, eight were sent back down to Triple-A Albuquerque for performance issues or as part of rehab assignments for injuries or bereavement (Agnos). While it’s not unusual to yo-yo a bit in the course of an MLB player’s development, for the Rockies, some players were forced to come up before they were ready because of lack of depth.
Only seven of the 13 ended the season on the 26-man roster.
Of the 13, only nine remain with the team
this spring.
- Rolison was traded to the Braves.
- Fernández was released and is now in the Yankees minor league system.
- Darnell was waived and is now in the Tigers farm syst…
- Bernabel elected free agency and is now in the farm system for the Washington Nationals.
As spring training continues, the Rockies’ new front office and revamped coaching staff will be making hard decisions about who makes the roster, especially in terms of which prospects might be ready and who might need more time to develop.
When to make the call
When it comes to deciding when a player is ready to be promoted to the Major League roster, Rockies new GM Josh Byrnes said there aren’t “hard and fast rules.” It’s just a matter of going back to the plan that the player has been tracking toward and making sure they are ready for the harsh reality of life in The Show.
He wants to make sure that players get a fair shake and at least 40 plate appearances at the MLB level.
“Hitting is so hard in the big leagues. It’s not easy … it’s turbo stuff, game planning, defense, everything, making it hard on you. There’s no soft spots. So it’s just even the mental game of baseball,” Brynes said. “It’s like, you’re going to go have 40 plate appearances, and there’s no soft underbelly. It’s just not how the Major Leagues is.”
At Rockies Fest in January, new assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas also talked about the importance of having a process to know when a player is ready. He, too, emphasized the value of communication and talking with the player and staff throughout the organization, so that the decision isn’t just based on a player’s recent Minor League performance.
“[We also look at] player playing goals, some work ethic things, routines, if they have enough chronic workload buildup. But you also do want to see him perform, right? So there is a process that needs to lead to winning and competitiveness and all of those things,” Ribas said, adding that there isn’t a computer screen that lights up green when a player is ready.
“There’s a human element. They’re taking into account their development path, their interaction with coaches, what their hard skills are, what their soft skills are.”
Brian Jones, Colorado’s director of research and development, believes it’s important to look at elements off the field as well.
“There’s other things going on, right? Are they a good teammate? Are they doing the things in the weight room like they’re supposed to? So there’s a lot of factors we talk about, like, is this guy mature enough to handle these responsibilities?” Jones said at Rockies Fest.
“It’s not just having some success on the field and looking like he should be called up. So there’s a ton of things that go into being Major League ready. It’s not just looking at the stats.”
Who to look for
When it comes to thinking about which prospects the Rockies have in their farm system, Ribas is encouraged — especially when it comes to pitchers.
He specifically said 23-year-old RHP Brody Brecht (No. 3 PuRP) — the Rockies’ No. 38 overall pick from the 2024 Draft, who played in Single-A Fresno in 2025 — and Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP) — the Rockies’ second-round pick from 2023 who played for the Single-A Grizzlies and Double-A Yard Goats last season — stand out.
He also has high hopes for Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP), who has had a bumpy path with injuries, but still has the stuff that made him the No. 10 overall pick in the 2022 Draft.
“I have three years of experience of being in the draft room, and every year I walked away from our Tigers draft saying the Rockies had a great pitching class. Like, there are real arms coming out of here,” Ribas said.
“Everybody in this room should be really excited about some of the pitchers that are going to show up here in Denver this year because I think the draft strategy has been good. It will be refined. We’ll communicate and collaborate more frequently, but there has been a lot of exciting arms infused into this organization. So get to know their names. There’s a lot of good ones.”
Jones shares the same excitement.
“I think there’s a lot of unique guys that we have that are gonna be fun to see how they develop,” Jones said. “I mean, you have guys that are hard throwers and guys that are deceptive.”
Jones also highlighted Sullivan, who doesn’t have the velocity like some young arms, but has traits that don’t rely on movement as much — like a later release point — that are altitude-friendly.
“The slot is unique and he’s left handed, so it’s coming from the A [slot], that you typically don’t see,” Jones said. “You saw Jimmy Herget last year. [He’s] not the hardest thrower, but has some weirdness to him. So weird is pretty good.”
Jones also shouted out Welinton Herrera (No. 17 PuRP), the 21-year-old LHP who the Rockies signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2021.
“One guy you might see sooner than some others could be Welinton Herrera,” Jones said. “He throws really hard. He also has a slider that he’s been working on, so you will see that show up here.”
For a team that struggled with promoting young pitchers in 2025, hopefully, Rockies pitching prospects fare better in 2026.
Rockies 2026 Spring Breakout rosters announced | Purple Row
Charlie Condon (no. 1 PuRP), Ethan Holliday (no. 2 PuRP), and several other top prospects will be in action for the Spring Breakout game on March 21 vs. the top prospects from the Arizona Diamondbacks. This year’s showdown will be the third installment of the new spring training tradition that gives fans a glimpse into what their future rosters might look like.
Ranking all 30 teams by tiers, 1-9 | MLB.com
Rockies fans are accustomed to finding their team at the bottom of MLB lists — and for good reason. After all, the Rockies lost 119 games last year. Heading into the 2026 season, the Rockies aren’t at the bottom of Mike Petriello’s list. Instead, they are one of four teams in Tier 8, one that is dubbed “Lots of losses ahead, but finally headed in the right direction.”
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