A New Generation
Rockies have debuted five players in the Majors through the first month - Who are they and who's next?
The past two weeks have been especially challenging for the Colorado Rockies. Its been such a poor start that the club did a thing they typically avoid: holding someone accountable for failure. Hitting coach Hensley Meulens was relieved of his duties and Special Assistant to the GM Clint Hurdle accepted this new role for the remainder of the season.
Even looking past the win-loss record — any way you dice it, it’s the worst start in franchise history — they’ve been without Ezequiel Tovar (10-day IL, left hip contusion) and Brenton Doyle (bereavement list), not to mention Kris Bryant (lumbar degenerative disc disease) courtesy of his ninth trip to the injured list.
It’s led some fans to look at the starting lineup and compare it to a Cactus League split-squad game. Others have viewed it as an opportunity for several of the younger service-time players on the roster to earn further big league experience. (Might as well have new players to go along with those new uniforms, right?)
Mickey Moniak has been a bright spot (three triples, three home runs) and the loss of Bryant as the designated hitter has allowed Hunter Goodman (team-leading four homers) to start most days when he’s not catching. This loss of such lineup linchpins has also allowed Colorado to call up more players from the minor leagues to give them a total of 10 rookies who have donned the purple pinstripes so far in 2025.
And five of those rookies through the first 24 games of the season have made their Major League debut: RHP Chase Dollander, OF Zac Veen, C Braxton Fulford, RHP Zach Agnos and RHP Juan Mejia. That’s most in the big leagues, one more than -- who else -- the Chicago White Sox.
Chase Dollander
Through his first four starts in the Majors, Dollander has shown bright spots despite a 7.91 ERA (19.1 IP, 17 ER); his 21 strikeouts is tied with Ryan Feltner (26.2 IP) for most on the club.
The 23-year-old was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 8 overall prospect in baseball to begin the year, tied with LHP Franklin Morales (2008) as the highest-ranked pitching prospect in franchise history. The ninth overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is one of only nine players to have debuted that year’s first round.
Zac Veen
Back down to Triple-A following the return of Doyle, this 23-year-old struggled to put the ball in play at times (37.8% strikeout rate) in his first big league stint. He did manage to hit one home run and steal a base in the same game, becoming the sixth-youngest player in Rockies’ history to accomplish the power-speed combo.
Braxton Fulford
Fulford has been an organizational favorite since he was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Texas Tech, earning an invite to big league camp the past three springs. Lubbock, TX native was invited to the Arizona Fall League after only his second season as a professional. Fulford, 26, is a cousin of former Denver Broncos QB Paxton Lynch.
Zach Agnos
Agnos, 24, played at three levels in 2024, solidifying his reputation as a reliable reliever at both sea level (Double-A Hartford, 1.95 ERA in 27.2 IP) and altitude (Triple-A Albuquerque, 2.25 ERA in 8.0 IP). During Spring Training 2025, he posted a 3.48 ERA -- with an even more impressive 9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio -- against mostly big league talent. A 10th round pick in 2022, Agnos was named a second-team All-American as a utility player by Baseball America and D1Baseball after batting .330 with 15 doubles, two triples and seven home runs as a middle infielder for East Carolina University.
Juan Mejia
Promoted as the 27th man for Colorado’s doubleheader in Kansas City on Thursday and debuting in the second game, the 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic was first added to the 40-man roster in November 2023. Though having a career earned run average north of 5.00 at his last three levels (High-A through Triple-A), Mejia has put it together as of late with the Isotopes. Over his last five outings (9.0 IP), he has not allowed a run or a base hit, striking out 17 and walking three in the process.
A slew of other prospects in Double-A and Triple-A have the potential to make their debut this year. In no particular order, here’s 14 more that could suit up in purple to become official big leaguers in 2025…
Triple-A Tier 1: OF Yanquiel Fernández*, IF Ryan Ritter^, IF/OF Sterlin Thompson^, LHP Carson Palmquist^
Triple-A Tier 2 (all have been and will be Rule 5 eligible): LHP Ryan Rolison, 3B Warming Bernabel, IF Julio Carreras, LF Jefry Yan and LHP Antoine Kelly
Double-A: 3B Kyle Karros, OF Benny Montgomery^, RHP Gabriel Hughes^, RHP Blake Adams^, OF Cole Carrigg
*On the 40-man roster
^Need to be added to 40-man roster for the first time this winter or else risk getting exposed to the Rule 5 Draft
Trivia
Q: When Dante Bichette, father of Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, hit a walk-off home run in the 14th inning of the first regular season game at Coors Field on April 26, 1995, there was two second-generation ballplayers who took the field that day for the New York Mets. Who are they?
What’s Up With The Rockies… In 1 Minute
Rockies Rewind
4/23/1997: Jeff Huson was traded to Milwaukee for a player to be named later. The Brewers sent Creighton Gubanich (August 5, 1997) to the Rockies to complete the trade.
If you watch enough Rockies games on television, you’ve probably already heard from Huson about his two stints with the team. He never actually played for Colorado, but did play nine games at Triple-A Colorado Springs for the club. Huson re-signed with the Rockies in the offseason after this trade only to be poached by the Seattle Mariners a month later in the Rule 5 Draft.
Also, baseball is weird in that you can complete a deal like this more than three months later. “Hey, Creighton. We agreed to trade you back in April, but we didn’t realize it. Best of luck in Colorado Springs.”
4/23/2023: Miguel Cabrera becomes the 33rd member of the 3,000 hit club with a 1st-inning single off Antonio Senzatela of the Rockies at Comerica Park
Four of the last nine players to reach this milestone have done so against the Rockies. What makes this one particularly special is that the Venezuelan-born Cabrera notched the hit against fellow countryman Senzatela with two more Venezuelans on the field for the play: C Elias Díaz and CF Yonathan Daza.
4/24/2023: Brenton Doyle makes his Major League debut in Cleveland
One day after Cabrera’s 3,000th hit began the Brenton Doyle era. Despite missing some time with Triple-A Albuquerque on the injured list after crashing into the outfield wall and being limited to only 12 games up to that point in the season, Doyle’s defense was more than enough to earn his a place in the Majors, stay there and earn an NL Gold Glove Award.
4/26/1947: Amos Otis is born
If you include the Rockies’ coaching staff alongside all the players, Otis -- the club’s first hitting coach in 1993 -- was the very first member of the organization to appear on a BBWAA ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was 1990 and Denver had yet to even be awarded an expansion franchise. The 17-year veteran most known for his time with the Kansas City Royals was selected to the All-Star Game five times and recorded 2,020 hits.
4/26/2002: Buddy Bell is fired and hitting coach Clint Hurdle is named manager by GM Dan O’Dowd following a 6-16 start
Buddy out. Hurdle in. A tale as old as time?
4/27/2009: Dexter Fowler steals five bases against the Padres during a 12-7 victory.
The 23-year-old rookie tied a modern day record by swiping five. The last to do it in the Majors before him: Willy Taveras of the Rockies one season prior.
Trivia
A: 1B David Segui (son of Diego) and C Todd Hundley (son of Randy)