Rockies Rumors

Rockies, Zac Veen Agree To Terms

By Steve Adams | June 24, 2020 at 12:22pm CDT

The Rockies have agreed to terms with first-round pick Zac Veen, Carlos Collazo of Baseball America reports (via Twitter). He’ll take home a $5MM bonus that checks in slightly north of his No. 9 overall selection’s $4.949MM slot value. Veen had been committed to Florida but will forgo that commitment to embark on his pro career.

A high school outfielder out of Florida, Veen was a consensus top 10 talent in this year’s draft based his 6’5″, 200-pound frame, plus raw power, potential for an above-average hit tool and above-average speed. Veen is a center fielder right now, though many scouting reports on him project that he’ll move to a corner as he fills out (and, perhaps, adds more power to his game). The Athletic’s Keith Law calls Veen the “best combination of probability and upside” among this year’s crop of high school bats.

The 18-year-old Veen ranked no “worse” than seventh in this year’s class on any of the rankings from Baseball America, MLB.com, FanGraphs, ESPN or The Athletic, and the Rockies were surely pleased to be able to select him with the ninth overall pick. Both Baseball America (No. 75) and FanGraphs (No. 80) already have Veen as a top-100 prospect in MLB on their updated rankings, so he’ll add some much-needed talent to what is regarded as a thin Rockies farm system.

Looking At The Rockies’ Post-2020 Payroll

By Jeff Todd | June 24, 2020 at 11:54am CDT

2020 salary terms may finally be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.

Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.

We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Rockies:

*Nolan Arenado may opt out after 2021

*Includes Charlie Blackmon 2022 & 2023 player options

*Includes buyouts on club options over German Marquez, Ian Desmond, Daniel Murphy, Jake McGee, and Bryan Shaw

*Includes buyout on mutual option in Wade Davis contract

(click to expand/view detail list)

Charlie Blackmon, 2 Other Rockies Test Positive For Coronavirus

By Connor Byrne | June 23, 2020 at 8:41pm CDT

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon, left-hander Phillip Diehl and righty Ryan Castellani have tested positive for the coronavirus after recently working out at Coors Field, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports. Only one of the three showed symptoms, though his identity is unknown.

Aside from Blackmon, Diehl and Castellani, the other players who have been working out at the stadium tested negative. As a result of the positive tests, which Newman writes “came late last week,” the facility has been closed for the week.

Even though Major League Baseball and the players reached an agreement on health and safety protocols Tuesday, paving the way for a 60-game regular season, this is another reminder of how challenging it will be for all involved to get through the campaign unscathed.

Blackmon, a four-time All-Star, is the highest-profile major leaguer to date who we know has tested positive for COVID-19. However, Colorado certainly isn’t the only team that has been affected by it. Just in the past few days, the virus has also impacted the Phillies, Yankees, Angels, Astros, Giants and Blue Jays, not to mention at least a few unnamed clubs.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/17/20

By Connor Byrne | June 17, 2020 at 5:59pm CDT

We’ll keep track of today’s amateur draft signing news here…

The Tigers have signed fifth-rounder Colt Keith for $500K, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. It’s an above-slot deal for Keith, the 132nd overall selection whose pick came with a recommended value of $426,600. The Mississippi high school third baseman was an Arizona State recruit, notes Callis, who adds that Keith has the ability to hit for average and power at the plate. His arm’s also so strong that he was a legit pitching prospect, per Callis. Notably, Keith was among the top 100 prospects in the pre-draft rankings of Baseball America (No. 57), MLB.com (87) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (99).
The Rockies have reached an agreement with fourth-rounder Case Williams, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. Williams’ pick (110) carried a recommended value of $527,800, but he’ll earn $450K, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. A high school right-hander from Colorado, Williams ranked as FanGraphs’ 231st-best prospect entering the draft.
Let’s update a couple previously covered signings that didn’t come with financial information when they were reported: Astros fourth-rounder and 131st overall pick Zach Daniels agreed to a deal worth $400K, down from the slot value of $430,800, according to Callis. Meanwhile, Rays fifth-rounder Jeff Hakanson, the 155th choice, received the full slot value of $340K, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays.

Each NL Team’s Top Recent Draft Class

By Anthony Franco | June 7, 2020 at 12:29pm CDT

With the MLB draft scheduled for next week, let’s take a look at each National League team’s most successful draft class in recent memory. Using Baseball Reference’s draft tracker, we can sum the combined career bWAR of each player selected by each team in a given year. It’s a simple shorthand, not a perfect measure, but it’ll give some insight into which teams have really hit on their picks in certain years.

First, a quick note on the methodology. For simplicity, we’re limiting this search to the 2006-2015 classes. A player’s value is only included if he signed with the club, although he needn’t have actually played for his drafting team in the majors. (So, the 2008 Yankees don’t get credit for drafting but failing to sign Gerrit Cole, while the 2007 Red Sox do get credit for drafting and signing Anthony Rizzo, even though he was traded before ever playing an MLB game for Boston). Of course, a player drafted in 2006 has had more time to rack up value than one drafted in 2015, so we’ll note in each team’s capsule if a more recent class is on the verge of taking over from an older class. On to the results…

Braves: 2007 (76.6 bWAR) – Hitting on Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman in the first two rounds goes a long way. Heyward has been a disappointment with the Cubs but had some electrifying seasons in his early days in Atlanta (and his year in St. Louis), while Freeman has emerged as a fixture in the Braves’ lineup as one of the best hitters in baseball over the past decade.
Brewers: 2009 (30.7 bWAR) – This was period of some underwhelming draft returns for Milwaukee. The 2009 class tops the list thanks to Khris Davis, Mike Fiers and Scooter Gennett, all of whom are better known for their play (or whistleblowing, in Fiers’ case) elsewhere.
Cardinals: 2006 (56.3 bWAR) – By virtue of putting up baseball’s best record in 2005, the Cardinals sat at the back of every round in 2006. No matter, as they managed to find a handful of highly productive big leaguers. First-rounder Adam Ottavino didn’t work out in St. Louis but went on to a strong career as a reliever in Colorado. Tommy Pham (16th round) and Jon Jay (2nd round) have each carved out strong careers, while Allen Craig (8th round) had a brief but productive peak.
Cubs: 2007 (54.4 bWAR) – Unfortunately for the Cubs, this class is almost all about Josh Donaldson, who did none of his damage in a Chicago uniform. Perhaps Javier Báez (2012 draft) or Kris Bryant (2013 draft) will match or exceed Donaldson’s stellar career in time.
Diamondbacks: 2009 (73.1 bWAR) – Paul Goldschmidt (8th round) went on to become the top position player in franchise history. First-rounder AJ Pollock had a couple star-level seasons of his own before injuries knocked him off track, while Chase Anderson (9th round) has emerged as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter.
Dodgers: 2006 (70.6 bWAR) – The Dodgers only signed two big leaguers from the 2006 class. When one of them goes on to become arguably the best pitcher of his generation, you can more than get away with it. Clayton Kershaw’s Hall of Fame plaque will boast at least three Cy Young Awards and an NL MVP.
Giants: 2008 (65.6 bWAR) – The late-2000’s draft classes set up the crux of the Giants’ three World Series titles the first half of the next decade. None was more impactful than 2008, when SF grabbed Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford in the first and fourth rounds, respectively.
Marlins: 2010 (56.1 bWAR) – Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto have matured into two of the best players in baseball, so the Marlins’ 2010 class (which also boasted late-blooming A’s slugger Mark Canha) has a chance to be really special. Of course, none of those players are still in Miami.
Mets: 2010 (50.5 bWAR) – Seventh overall pick Matt Harvey was briefly the ace the Mets hoped they were adding in 2010. As it turns out, Jacob deGrom (9th round) had a lot more staying power atop their rotation.
Nationals: 2009 (44.9 bWAR) – First overall pick Stephen Strasburg has more than made good on that selection, culminating in a World Series MVP effort in 2019. The 2009 class also brought in a handful of role players, including Drew Storen and Michael Taylor.
Padres: 2007 (38.9 bWAR) – Another team for whom the top player simply got away, the crown jewel of the Padres’ 2007 class was Corey Kluber (4th round). Obviously, even San Diego didn’t him expect him to go on to win a pair of Cy Young Awards.
Phillies: 2014 (24.2 bWAR) – There were some tough results for the Phillies on draft day in recent seasons, but 2014 looks to be a notable exception. Aaron Nola went seventh overall and has emerged as a high-level starter, while Rhys Hoskins (fifth round) looks like the Phils’ long-term answer at first base.
Pirates: 2011 (29.7 bWAR) – The Pirates’ 2011 class is almost exclusively about the contributions of first overall pick Gerrit Cole, but he obviously reached his peak after being traded to Houston. Josh Bell (2nd round) looked to have turned the corner at the plate in the first half of 2019.
Reds: 2007 (43.1 bWAR) – The Reds found three future everyday players in the 2007 class. Todd Frazier (supplemental first-round), Zack Cozart (2nd round) and Devin Mesoraco (1st round) all went on to become productive players in Cincinnati.
Rockies: 2009 (47.4 bWAR) – The Rockies graduated six players from the 2009 class to the big leagues, although only one proved a smashing success. Finding a player of Nolan Arenado’s caliber in the second round makes for a great draft even if the rest of the players taken underwhelm.

Rockies Release More Than 30 Minor Leaguers

By Connor Byrne | June 4, 2020 at 8:53pm CDT

The Rockies have committed to paying minor leaguers through at least the end of the month, but that doesn’t mean they’re keeping all of them. The club has released around 34 minor leaguers over the past couple months, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports. The most prominent member of the bunch may be right-hander Tim Melville, whose fate has been known for a couple of weeks.

Along with Melville, Baseball America has publicized the names of the minors players the Rockies have subtracted. Righty Jordan Foley was among those let go. Now 26 years old, Foley became a pro in 2014 when the Yankees chose him in the fifth round of that year’s draft. He pitched in the Yankees’ system through 2018, after which they traded him to the Rockies for fellow righty Jefry Valdez.

In 2019, his first and only season with the Colorado organization, Foley posted a 4.78 ERA/3.60 FIP with 10.03 K/9 and 4.17 BB/9 in 58 1/3 innings at the Double-A level. Foley told Newman his release “definitely caught me off guard… It sucks I didn’t have an opportunity to force their hand and earn a spot this spring. That’s the worst part about it in my mind.”

Quick Hits: Bitsko, AFL, Minor League Pay, Boras

By Connor Byrne | June 2, 2020 at 8:29am CDT

With the draft fast approaching, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com profiles Pennsylvania high school right-hander Nick Bitsko, who ranks among the highest-upside pitchers in this year’s class. Bitsko could go anywhere from the top 10 to the late 30s, per McDaniel, who reports that he has recently helped his stock with Zoom interviews and social media videos showcasing his enticing repertoire. While teams haven’t gotten an extensive look at Bitsko in person, McDaniel explains that the 17-year-old features a fastball that reached 98.5 mph last week and has so much spin that it could be near the top of the majors in that category already. Bitsko also has a pair of breaking balls that have the potential to turn into “above-average” offerings in the bigs, according to McDaniel, who goes into greater detail on those pitches in his piece. It’s worth a read for those interested in learning about an intriguing draft prospect.

Which 15 Players Should The Rockies Protect In An Expansion Draft?

By Tim Dierkes | May 26, 2020 at 1:00pm CDT

In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it! Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

So far, we’ve covered the Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles. The Rockies are up next.

First, we’ll remove free agents Daniel Murphy, Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Bryan Shaw from consideration. The relievers have 2021 options that could vest, but we’ll assume they won’t or at least that they wouldn’t get protected spots. Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon will take spots on the list, due to their no-trade protection. We’ll add five more players, starting off by protecting these seven:

Nolan Arenado
Charlie Blackmon
Jon Gray
Trevor Story
German Marquez
David Dahl
Brendan Rodgers

That leaves eight spots for the following 22 players:

Yency Almonte
Yonathan Daza
Ian Desmond
Jairo Diaz
Phillip Diehl
Carlos Estevez
Kyle Freeland
Josh Fuentes
Chi Chi Gonzalez
Garrett Hampson
Sam Hilliard
Jeff Hoffman
Tyler Kinley
Peter Lambert
Ryan McMahon
Dom Nunez
Scott Oberg
James Pazos
Antonio Senzatela
Raimel Tapia
Jesus Tinoco
Tony Wolters

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly eight players you think the Rockies should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Rockies Release Tim Melville

By Steve Adams | May 19, 2020 at 12:28pm CDT

TODAY: The reason the Rox were able to release Melville is that minor-league transactions are not presently frozen, MLBTR has learned. We haven’t seen any such deals of late, but they’re evidently permissible by rule.

YESTERDAY: The Rockies have released right-hander Tim Melville. The 30-year-old Melville posted a farewell message on Instagram, and the Denver Post’s Kyle Newman tweets that Melville confirmed he was indeed released today.

Normally, the release of a 30-year-old journeyman who had been in camp as a non-roster invitee wouldn’t be particularly surprising. But Melville’s release is indeed quite curious given the current circumstances throughout the league.

Not long after Spring Training was shut down and baseball was put on an indefinite hiatus, it was reported that rosters would be locked. Teams aren’t even permitted to discuss contract extensions with their players at the moment, so it’s rather peculiar to see a player confirm a recent release. It’s unclear at present just how to explain the circumstances surrounding his release.

Melville was a feel-good story for Rockies fans in a mostly miserable 2019 season. The 2008 fourth-rounder (Royals) had quick cups of coffee with the Reds, Twins and Padres in 2016-17 but didn’t find any success in his limited work. He spent time with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in both 2017 and 2019, which eventually led him to the Rockies organization. After a nondescript run with Triple-A Albuquerque last year, injuries on the big league roster opened the door for Melville in August, and he immediately turned in the two best performances of his professional career.

Over his first two outings with the Rox, Melville held the D-backs and Braves to just one run on seven hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts through 12 frames. He made five more starts down the stretch — a pair of brutal outings (10 combined runs in five innings) and three solid but less-spectacular outings. In all, he wound up with a 4.86 ERA in 33 1/3 frames — not bad for a depth pickup who made four of his seven starts at the daunting Coors Field.

Melville achieved folk hero status among Rox fans, both for his improbable success in his first two outings and his even more improbable return to the Major Leagues. As The Athletic’s Nick Groke wrote in a terrific profile of Melville (subscription required), the right-hander took a minimum wage job at Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix, Ariz., after the 2018 season, hoping to learn about barbecue. He left the club last April to join the Ducks and was back in pro ball after just two Atlantic League starts.

Melville returned to the Rockies on a non-roster deal over the winter but was slowed by a cracked rib in Spring Training. There’s virtually no certainty in baseball at the moment, so it’s hard to know whether he’ll latch on elsewhere or explore what’s next on his barbecue career path, but whatever route he takes, Melville is a pretty easy guy to cheer for.

Quick Hits: Howe, Johnson, Boras, Wright

By Mark Polishuk | May 17, 2020 at 10:16pm CDT

After five days in hospital, Art Howe is back at home and continuing to recover from a COVID-19 diagnosis. The longtime former manager and player told ESPN.com and other media outlets that he is “finally feeling a little bit better” following a harrowing week that included time in the intensive care unit. While Howe is “still not able to eat real good, taste buds are giving me a hard time,” the 73-year-old said “it’s just nice to be back home and hopefully continue to progress.” On behalf of the MLBTR staff, it’s great to see Howe on the mend, and we wish him all the best in his recovery.

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