The Rockies announced they’ve selected first baseman/corner outfielder Sean Bouchard onto the big league roster. Infielder Garrett Hampson is going on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Colorado also announced that reliever Julian Fernández, who’d been designated for assignment over the weekend, has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Bouchard, 26, heads to the big leagues for the first time after spending five-plus seasons in the minors. A ninth-round pick out of UCLA in the 2017 draft, he’s a career .279/.352/.490 hitter as a professional. That includes a massive .338/.430/.683 line with 11 home runs across 165 trips to the dish in Albuquerque this season, his first at the minors’ top level. Playing in one of the most hitter-friendly environments in pro ball no doubt aided those numbers, but they’re still eye-opening enough the Colorado front office will give him a look against big league arms.
Fernández has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have three-plus years of MLB service time. He’ll thus remain in the system and try to pitch his way back onto the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old has spent this entire season on optional assignment with the Isotopes, where he’s struggled to a 9.47 ERA across 19 innings. Home runs have been particularly problematic, as he’s already given up eight longballs on the year.
The 26-year-old righty appeared in his first six major league games with the Rox last year. He averaged a blistering 99 MPH on his fastball, but he gave up a pair of homers in 6 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and walks apiece. A former Rule 5 draftee of the Giants, Fernández didn’t pitch in a game between 2018-20 due to elbow injuries that eventually necessitated Tommy John surgery and the pandemic cancelation of the 2020 minor league season.
