Rockies Select Sam Hilliard

The Rockies announced they’ve selected outfielder Sam Hilliard onto the MLB roster. Colorado also reinstated second baseman Brendan Rodgers from the 10-day injured list. The Rox placed Charlie Blackmon and Adael Amador on the 10-day IL in corresponding moves. Amador has right oblique tightness — manager Bud Black had termed it a mild strain last night — while Blackmon suffered a strained right hamstring. Blackmon’s placement is retroactive to June 19.

Hilliard joins the big league club for the first time this year. He’s in line for his second major league stint with the Rockies. Colorado initially drafted him back in 2015. Hilliard turned in a .212/.294/.424 line in parts of four seasons. The Rox traded him to the Braves within days of the 2022-23 offseason getting underway. Hilliard played in 40 games for Atlanta a year ago, running a .236/.295/.431 slash in 78 trips to the plate.

Last winter, the Wichita State product bounced from Atlanta to the Orioles and back to Colorado via waivers. The Rox designated him for assignment in Spring Training and successfully passed him through the waiver wire. Hilliard reported to Triple-A Albuquerque and has had an excellent season. He owns a .288/.374/.542 mark with 14 homers and 13 stolen bases over 65 contests. Hilliard has drawn walks at a strong 12.5% clip while striking out around a quarter of the time.

Whiffs have been the biggest problem for Hilliard at the MLB level. He has significant raw power in a 6’4″ frame but hasn’t made enough contact to tap into it on a consistent basis. The left-handed hitter has punched out in 33.8% of his 717 MLB plate appearances. Despite a decent 9.8% walk rate and 32 home runs, the strikeouts have led to a subpar .215/.294/.424 career batting line.

Blackmon’s injury will give Hilliard another opportunity to put things together offensively. Colorado’s veteran DH/right fielder has taken his customary spot atop the batting order. He’s hitting .266/.337/.410 across 246 plate appearances. Blackmon returned for his 14th season in Denver on a $13MM extension last fall. He would unlock up to $2MM in incentives by tallying 500 plate appearances ($500K apiece at 425, 450, 475 and 500 PAs).

Colorado had an open spot on their 40-man roster for Hilliard after placing reliever Gavin Hollowell on waivers earlier this week. They’ll need to create a 40-man spot on Sunday when they reinstate Kyle Freeland from the 60-day injured list. Hilliard is out of options, so the Rox can’t send him back to Albuquerque without again exposing him to waivers.