SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — There are a lot of young baseball players in the Dominican Republic who throw sizzling fastballs, mash line drives, field with aplomb and light up the basepaths.
Some possess the “it” factor.
Adael Amador had it when he was barely a teenager, and he’s flashing it now as he competes in his first big-league spring training with the Rockies.
“From very early on, he was a gamer,” said Chris Forbes, Colorado’s director of player development. “Adael was game-ready when we signed him, especially compared to some of the other Dominican players.
“Instead of just being a guy who could throw the ball across the diamond and run the 60-yard dash, he knew how to play the game. It showed up pretty early. And he’s also shown the ability to lead. You would see him over there in the DSL (Dominican Summer League) games and he’d be running the show a little bit. He has natural baseball instincts.”
Amador turns 21 in April. The shortstop-turned-second baseman ended 2023 ranked as the Rockies’ No. 1 prospect and entered this season as the No. 68 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com. He projects as a dynamic switch-hitter who’ll pair with shortstop Ezequiel Tovar to give Colorado a dynamic middle infield for years to come.
How quickly Amador develops, and what the Rockies eventually do with incumbent second baseman Brendan Rodgers will determine when the Tovar & Amador show begins.
For now, Amador, something of a social butterfly, is trying to fit into the big-league clubhouse.
“I’m really happy and really excited to be here,” Amador said through Rockies bullpen catcher and interpreter Aaron Muñoz. “I want to get better at everything. I have been learning and progressing every year. I think that’s going to continue.”
Adael Amador (79) of the Colorado Rockies fields the ball during Spring Training at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
After rubbing shoulders with major leaguers at Salt River Fields, Amador will begin the season at Double-A Hartford of the Eastern League, a place that traditionally provides tough seasoning for Rockies prospects. Unless Amador breaks down the door with a sensational showing in the Cactus League and the minors, his big-league debut will likely have to wait until 2025.
Amador is lined up to eventually supplant Rodgers, the 2022 Gold Glove winner. Rodgers, in his second year of arbitration eligibility, signed a one-year, $3.2 million agreement this winter. If the rebuilding Rockies struggle again on the heels of a 103-loss season, and if Rodgers plays well and becomes a coveted player, the club could explore trading Rodgers for prospects as the July 30 trade deadline approaches.
General manager Bill Schmidt declined to speculate on such a scenario. But with Rodgers eligible to become a free agent after the 2025 season, and Amador poised to inherit the position, the team might have to consider it.
“All I will say is that I believe in B-Rod,” Schmidt said. “He’s a good player and I’m looking forward to seeing him play this year. He’s come into camp in great shape, he’s looking good, and he’s ready to break out.”
Talk of a breakout is nothing new for Rodgers. He was the third overall pick in the 2015 draft, but injuries have already derailed multiple seasons for the 27-year-old. He underwent right shoulder surgery in 2019 and missed most of the season. Then he missed most of last year when he injured his left shoulder diving for a ball during spring training. When Rodgers returned, he showed flashes of his potential, slashing .348/.392/.580 with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs through his final 17 games.
Two years after drafting Rodgers and rewarding him with a $5.5 million signing bonus, the Rockies became seriously intrigued by Amador.
He first wowed the club while playing for the Dominican Republic’s 15U team in the 2017 Pan Am Championship in Cartagena, Colombia. At 14, he was the youngest player on a Dominican team that shared a co-championship with the United States.
“He might have been the youngest player in the tournament,” said Rolando Fernandez, the Rockies’ vice president of international scouting and development. “He was just 5-8, 150 pounds, but he was the No. 3 hitter in their lineup. He was very aggressive at the plate, but smart, too. He hit .390 and we could see that he had great baseball instincts for a kid that age and that size.”
Martin Cabrera, Colorado’s international scout based in the Dominican Republic, kept tabs on Amador and stayed in touch with Amador’s family. Cabrera watched him grow into a 5-foot-10, 160-pounder at age 16. Amador now stands 6 feet, 185 pounds.
In July 2019, Colorado signed him to a minor league contract at the start of baseball’s annual international signing period. The deal included a $1.5 million signing bonus for Amador, who was the 12th-ranked international prospect at the time, according to MLB Pipeline.
His journey to the pinnacle of the Dominican baseball world began when he was six in his native Santiago. He tagged along with his father, Alexander, and older brother, Kenny, to a nearby baseball diamond. By the time he was 13, Amador was making trips to Chicago with his family to play in youth tournaments.
“There were a bunch of scouts watching me by then and that motivated me to try and go for (the majors),” Amador said.
The book on Amador reads like this: rare strike-zone awareness, keen hand-eye coordination and the ability to get his barrel on the ball. In 231 career minor league games, he’s hit .292 with 153 walks vs. 133 strikeouts.
“Rarely have I seen him get outside of his approach,” Forbes said. “He sticks to a plan. For a young kid to do that, it’s pretty refreshing. He’s a disciplined hitter. That’s an outlier in this game right now — a guy who walks more than he strikes out.
“He likes to grind out at-bats. He’s got some sneaky pop but it’s not going to be his carrying tool. He should be a pure doubles guy who gets maybe 12-15 homers over a full season.”
Adael Amador (79) of the Colorado Rockies fields the ball during Spring Training at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
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Last season, Amador was named the top prospect in the High-A Northwest League after compiling a .302/.391/.514 slash line with nine home runs and 35 RBIs in 54 games. In 259 plate appearances, he had more walks (31) than strikeouts (26).
Toward the end of his tenure in Spokane, however, he missed time with a hamate bone injury in his right hand. He was promoted to Hartford, but the hand injury limited him to 10 games and a .143 batting average with one home run.
With Tovar shining at shortstop — he was a Gold Glove finalist as a rookie last season — the Rockies needed Amador to switch to the other side of the bag. He’s had no problem doing so.
“It was an easy transition,” Amador said. “Ever since I was little, I played every position, especially back home in the Dominican.”
Forbes has been impressed not only by Amador’s skills at second base, but also by his willingness to put the team first.
“I think he’s reading the room quite well,” Forbes said. “He knows that Tovar is just 22 and was nominated for a Gold Glove. Moving to second base is not easy. When you’re on the shortstop side, you can attack everything. So Amador had to get used to being more stationary and making more stationary throws. But I think he’s taken to second base very well.”
Schmidt is not one to gush about prospects, but it’s clear he believes Amador has a chance to become something special.
“He always has a smile on his face,” Schmidt said. “He’s a very, very talented player. He has a high baseball IQ and he has an innate ability to hit. First and foremost, he’s a very solid young player.”
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