Finding A First Baseman In Colorado
The Rockies made a pair of additions in the first base department in late January. The club added Edouard Julien in a trade with the Twins, then picked up T.J. Rumfield in a deal with the Yankees. Even after bringing in two first base options in one day, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta didn’t close the door on more acquisitions at the position.
Colorado’s first basemen ranked 29th in OPS last season. Michael Toglia “led” the way with a .592 mark in 329 plate appearances. The former first-round pick opened the season as the everyday starter. Toglia struck out nearly 40% of the time through two months and found himself back in Triple-A before the end of May.
Warming Bernabel looked like a possible answer after a ridiculous start to his career. The 23-year-old piled up 14 hits, including three home runs, in his first seven games. It went downhill pretty quickly from there. Bernabel finished the year with a 78 wRC+ and was outrighted off the roster in December.
No other Colorado bat reached 60 plate appearances at first base. A hodgepodge of Kyle Farmer, Orlando Arcia, Keston Hiura, and Blaine Crim filled in after Toglia was sent down. Crim is the only one of the group still on the roster (more on him in a bit). Here’s a rundown of the Rockies’ options at the position…
A waiver claim is the leading candidate to occupy the first base role, which might say something about the position battle. Johnston was scooped from the Marlins in early November. The move came shortly before DePodesta was announced as the new top executive, so it’s unclear who actually executed it.
Johnston was solid in his first foray into the big leagues, posting a 109 wRC+ across 121 plate appearances last season. While he’s often been old for each level, the 28-year-old also has a strong minor league track record. Johnston slashed .307/.399/.549 in 134 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. He’s put up 23 home runs and 48 steals at Triple-A the past two years.
Blaine Crim
The 28-year-old Crim should at least be the right-handed complement to Johnston to begin the season. He went 0-for-11 with the Rangers last year, but found some success with Colorado after getting claimed off waivers. Crim popped five home runs in 15 games with the Rockies. The power production also came with a 36.1% strikeout rate.
Crim has taken a similar path to Johnston. He’s put up solid minor league numbers across multiple seasons, but has typically been older than the competition. Crim hit .284 with 18 home runs over 83 games at Triple-A last year before leaving the Rangers’ organization. He wasn’t nearly as productive in the minors with Colorado, though.
T.J. Rumfield
Julien is likely ticketed for the second base job, but the other aforementioned trade acquisition could factor into this race. Colorado sent reliever Angel Chivilli to New York in exchange for Rumfield. The 25-year-old slashed .285/.378/.447 at Triple-A in 2025. He’s delivered a 116 wRC+ or better in both stints at the highest minor league level.
Rumfield has already compiled 252 games at Triple-A, so there isn’t much left for him to prove. He’s in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee. A decent spring would go a long way toward challenging for a roster spot.
The third overall pick in the 2024 draft will likely have this job someday, but it might not be as soon as Rockies fans would want. The 22-year-old maxed out at Double-A in his first full professional season. He put up a 132 wRC+ at the level, so it’s hard to argue with the production, though some time spent in Triple-A is likely on the horizon.
Condon had an .820 OPS at three minor league stops last season, but the 70-grade power hasn’t shown up just yet. He finished with 14 home runs in 433 plate appearances last year.
A Free Agent Signing
DePodesta didn’t rule out another addition, and a handful of veterans remain available. Assuming the left-handed Johnston has at least a platoon role, that rules out Rowdy Tellez. Wilmer Flores, Rhys Hoskins, and Donovan Solano are right-handed options who could be had for a reasonable price. The 41-year-old Justin Turner probably won’t be signing up for part-time work on a rebuilding team.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Rockies’ Prospect Charlie Condon Sustains Non-Displaced Wrist Fracture
Rockies prospect Charlie Condon suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist, reports Manny Randhawa of MLB.com. He’ll be in a splint for a month and will not resume baseball activities for six weeks. Condon will not require surgery, but this will delay his season debut until at least May.
Colorado drafted Condon third overall last summer. The righty-hitting outfielder/third baseman was a candidate to go at #1 after a monster junior season at Georgia. Condon slugged 37 homers with a .433/.556/1.009 line against SEC pitching. Baseball America, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Keith Law of The Athletic all ranked Condon as the top prospect in the class leading up to the draft. It registered as a slight surprise that he even got to the Rox at three. Cleveland took hit-first second baseman Travis Bazzana first, while the Reds went with righty Chase Burns with the #2 pick.
Condon’s professional career hasn’t begun as hoped. The Rockies assigned him to High-A Spokane. Condon hit .180 with 34 strikeouts and four walks in 25 games. He managed only one home run in 109 plate appearances. GM Bill Schmidt said last month that Condon was playing through a thumb injury. It’s a small enough sample that it’s not cause for too much concern, though the Rockies clearly anticipated he’d perform better after he obliterated the top college pitching in the country. Condon still ranks among the sport’s top 50 overall prospects at Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN and MLB Pipeline.
The wrist injury gets his first full minor league season off to a tough start. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that the injury occurred when he dove for a fly ball in a minor league Spring Training contest on Tuesday.
Rockies Notes: Marquez, Relief Pitching, Condon
Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt spoke with reporters (including the Denver Post’s Kyle Newman and Just Baseball Media’s Patrick Lyons) at the “Rockies Fest” fan event this weekend, addressing such topics as the health of several notable Colorado players. German Marquez was one of those players, as Schmidt said the right-hander is recovered from the stress reaction in his right elbow that prematurely ended Marquez’s 2024 season.
Injuries have limited Marquez to five starts and just 24 innings for the Rox over the last two seasons. The bulk of that injury layoff came in the form of Tommy John rehab, after Marquez underwent the procedure in May 2023. He made it back to the big leagues by July of last season, but Marquez’s return lasted just a single game, and four innings in Colorado’s 8-5 win over the Mets on July 14. Elbow inflammation soon sent Marquez to the 15-day IL after that one outing, and the stress reaction was discovered shortly thereafter.
Marquez has spent all nine of his Major League seasons with the Rockies, posting a 4.40 ERA over 996 innings from 2016-22. The Rockies acknowledged Marquez’s durability and success at handling Coors Field with a five-year, $43MM contract extension in April 2019, with a $16MM club option for the 2024 campaign. The option never ended up coming into play, as Marquez inked a new two-year, $20MM deal with Colorado in September 2023 that covered the 2024-25 seasons, and gave both sides a little more flexibility as Marquez recovered from his TJ surgery.
With the first season of that deal unfortunately going down as a wash, Marquez now faces extra pressure as an impending free agent. Marquez’s first priority is just getting healthy and getting back onto a mound, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Rockies make a move to lock him up on another extension if he pitches well in the early part of the season. Despite his lengthy track record in the majors, Marquez doesn’t turn 30 years old until next month.
Any kind of rotation stability is sorely needed in Denver, both due to the infamous thin-air conditions and because of how hard the Rox have been hit by pitching injuries over the last few years. Marquez is penciled into a rotation that also includes Austin Gomber, Ryan Feltner, Kyle Freeland, and Antonio Senzatela (who also missed most of 2023-24 due to Tommy John rehab). Between this group and some Triple-A arms nearing their big league debuts, Schmidt is hopeful the Rockies have amassed enough depth to withstand any further injuries or any struggles from the regular starters.
Some more pitching could be on the way in the form of relievers, as Schmidt indicated that the Rockies could yet add to their bullpen before Spring Training. Diego Castillo, Jimmy Herget, Tommy Doyle, and Jake Woodford are among the pitchers with MLB experience who have been brought into the organization on minor league deals or waiver claims, and it remains to be seen if the Rockies’ pitching explorations will lead to any guaranteed contracts for bullpen help.
Infielders Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer are the only players the Rox have signed to guaranteed deals, both brought into the fold on one-year contracts. It isn’t necessarily surprising that a team coming off 204 losses in the last two seasons isn’t aggressively spending, but the Rockies are continuing their unusual path of not entirely rebuilding, but also clearly focusing on younger talent.
Charlie Condon is one of those key building blocks for the future, and Schmidt said the team hadn’t yet decided where Charlie Condon will play in the minor leagues next season. The third overall pick of the 2024 draft began his pro career in inauspicious fashion by hitting only .180/.248/.270 over 109 plate appearances for high-A Spokane, but Schmidt said Condon was trying to play through a bruised thumb that “he kind of didn’t tell us” about.
This injury could well explain those struggles, even though it isn’t unusual for even star prospects to face some growing pains in their first taste of professional baseball. Condon was also moving right into his pro career on the heels of 60 games with Georgia during the 2024 NCAA season, with Condon crushing college pitching to the tune of a .433/.556/1.009 slash line and 37 homers over 304 PA. In recently-released top-100 lists, MLB Pipeline rated Condon as the 29th-best prospect in the sport, and Baseball America ranked him 42nd.
Rockies Agree To Terms With No. 3 Overall Pick Charlie Condon
The Rockies and outfielder Charlie Condon, the third overall pick from the 2024 draft, have agreed to a $9.25MM signing bonus. That matches Chase Burns, who signed with the Reds earlier this week, for the largest signing bonus in MLB history and slightly above the $9.07MM slot value for the #3 pick. Both Condon and Burns are represented by Vayner Sports. Jeff Passan relayed the details of the agreement on X.
Condon, now 21, is coming off an absurd two-year run with Georgia. He hit 25 home runs in 56 games for them last year and slashed .386/.484/.800. Here in 2024, he took things to another level with 37 homers in 60 games and a batting line of .433/.556/1.009.
In addition to the power, Condon’s bat-to-ball abilities are also considered strong. He struck out 86 times over his two seasons with Georgia, a rate of 15.4%. He also drew 90 walks in that time, a rate of 16.1%.
He’s not considered a standout defender but has some versatility, having played the infield corners and all three outfield slots this year. His ultimate defensive home seems up in the air, with some suggesting he’s likelier to end up as a corner outfielder while other suggests third base is most likely.
But the bat is the real standout tool and that’s why he was considered one of the top players available in this year’s draft. Baseball America, ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic all had him in the top spot. MLB Pipeline had him second behind Travis Bazzana, who was selected first overall by the Guardians. The report from FanGraphs is slightly more bearish, putting Condon fourth and expressing some worry that his uppercut swing will leave him vulnerable at the top of the zone, especially once he climbs to higher levels and eventually the majors.
While Condon’s power potential is exciting in a vacuum, the idea of him playing his home games at Coors Field is even more enticing. The Rockies have Ryan McMahon at third base, with his contract running through 2027. In the outfielder, Brenton Doyle seems to be emerging as a core piece in center, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored.
For Condon’s other possible positions, things get murky. Kris Bryant is under contract through 2028 but has hardly been able to stay on the field since coming to Colorado, even though the Rockies moved him to first base to try to lighten the wear and tear on him. Charlie Blackmon is 38 years old and on a one-year deal. Nolan Jones seemed to breakout last year but has stalled here in 2024.
The picture will undoubtedly change in time but the Rockies will surely be hoping for Condon to be a part of their roster in the future. His defense might require a bit of experimentation but perhaps his bat can vault him towards the majors quickly.
2024 MLB Draft, First Round Results
This year’s amateur draft is officially underway, and we’ll be updating this post throughout the night with every first-round selection. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
The first-round picks…
- Cleveland Guardians: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
- Cincinnati Reds: Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
- Colorado Rockies: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia
- Oakland Athletics: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
- Chicago White Sox: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
- Kansas City Royals: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
- St. Louis Cardinals: JJ Wetherholt, 2B/SS, West Virginia
- Los Angeles Angels: Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep High School (MS)
- Washington Nationals: Seaver King, SS/3B/OF, Wake Forest
- Detroit Tigers: Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake High School (CA)
- Boston Red Sox: Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
- San Francisco Giants: James Tibbs III, OF, Florida State
- Chicago Cubs: Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State
- Seattle Mariners: Jurrangelo Cijntje, LHP/RHP, Mississippi State
- Miami Marlins: PJ Morlando, OF, Summerville High School (SC)
- Milwaukee Brewers: Braylon Payne, OF, Elkins High School (TX)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Theo Gillen, OF/MI, Westlake High School (TX)
- New York Mets: Carson Benge, OF, Oklahoma State
- Toronto Blue Jays: Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina
- Minnesota Twins: Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State
- Baltimore Orioles: Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Kellon Lindsey, SS, Hardee High School (FL)
- Atlanta Braves: Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguero High School (AZ)
- San Diego Padres: Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City High School (OK)
- New York Yankees: Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama
- Philadelphia Phillies: Dante Nori, OF, Northville High School (MI)
- Houston Astros: Walker Janek, C, Sam Houston
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View High School (AR)
- Texas Rangers: Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford
All 30 teams will have picks in the first round this year, though the Mets, Padres, and Yankees all had their first-round selections dropped back by 10 slots. These three teams surpassed the third luxury tax tier ($273MM) in 2023, and thus their punishment included a 10-space drop in their opening draft choice.
The 2024 draft will take place over three days, consisting of 20 rounds of selections. Rounds 3-10 will take place on Monday, rounds 11-20 will take place on Tuesday, and the draft’s first 74 picks will come off the board tonight. Those 74 picks consist of the first two proper rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents), and two Prospect Promotion Incentive picks.
The two PPI selections will go to the Diamondbacks at 31st overall and the Orioles at 32nd overall, awarded since Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson fit all of the criteria for their teams to receive the bonus picks. Carroll and Henderson won Rookie of the Year honors, both young stars were included on their respective teams’ Opening Day rosters, and were rated as top-100 prospects in at least two of three sets of preseason prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN.