With Colorado’s rebuilding youth movement in full swing as the club attempts to turn the corner after consecutive 100-loss seasons, here are five Rockies prospects with the most at stake as non-roster invites in big-league spring training.
Chase Dollander
Colorado’s 2023 first-round pick has lived up to expectations so far. In his first full professional season last summer, he checked several boxes, including impressive showings in High-A Spokane (2.83 ERA in 14 starts) and Double-A Hartford (2.25 in nine) as well as an appearance in the All-Star Futures Game in Arlington, Texas.
With a mid-to-high 90s fastball plus a slider, changeup and curveball, a solid spring training performance could help Dollander skip Triple-A and land on the opening-day roster. Colorado sees the right-hander as its future ace.
“You’ve got arguably one of the most dominating in-zone fastballs in the minor leagues overall,” Rockies farm director Chris Forbes said. “If he comes into this camp and he’s one of our best five starters, (GM) Bill (Schmidt) is adamant about wanting (to give him a shot). Then you could break him in in that four or five spot, with all signs continuing to point to developing him into an ace.”
Carson Palmquist
The southpaw has a low-90s fastball with a late gear to it, plus a sweeper and changeup. The 2022 third-round pick can get consistent outs with all three pitches. Also a non-roster invite to camp in ’24, he impressed with a 3.83 ERA in 18 starts in Hartford last year before finishing the season in Triple-A. Despite below-average velocity, he misses lots of bats (144 Ks in 117.2 innings in ’24).
Palmquist is adept at pitching inside and a near sidearm slot makes his delivery challenging. If he pitches well in the Cactus League, Forbes said Palmquist has a chance to make the opening day roster as a reliever, though the club sees him as a starter.
“If we need that extra lefty (in the big-league bullpen) who can provide that two-plus-inning type of outing, then that’s what we could do,” Forbes said. “Mentality-wise, there are shades of Kyle Freeland through the minor leagues, where there’s a little piss-and-vinegar in there. He’s got such great deception with his delivery and arm slot, and such good contrast with how he does it by moving the ball around and mixing his pitches.”
Sean Sullivan
The other southpaw starter high on the Rockies’ radar, Sullivan dominated in Spokane (2.16 ERA in 14 starts) and then pitched even better in the hitter-happy Eastern League in Double-A (1.97 in seven). The 2023 second-round pick did all that while dealing with a hip impingement, which was fixed with an offseason surgery.
Sullivan has a low-to-mid 90s heater that seems faster because of a unique lower delivery and long stride. He also has a slider and changeup. He will likely start ’25 in Hartford. Spring training is a chance to continue his rapid rise through the system.
“There were times last season he would be on a pitch count, and you’d look up, and he’s pitching in the eighth inning on that pitch count,” Forbes said. “It’s not a guy to wait around for the third pitch of an at-bat, because you’re going to be sitting 0-2. You rarely saw a bad outing out of him, and we expect that to continue in 2025.”
Gabriel Hughes
The 2022 first-round pick didn’t pitch in the minors last year as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. He threw some innings in the instructional league, then posted an 8.31 ERA in six starts in the Arizona Fall League. Hughes is still working on regaining his mid-90s velocity, something he showed flashes of in the AFL amid an overall uneven performance.
Hughes will likely start 2025 back in Hartford, where the righty will be on an innings limit. The Rockies plan to have another starter piggybacking him throughout the first half of the season. Spring training presents a chance to show he still can be a big-league starter.
“He looks good and he looks healthy,” Schmidt said. “He’s just got to get on the mound and going every five days. We’re trying to make up for some lost time here.”
Benny Montgomery
The speedy outfielder’s 2024 was derailed by a left labrum injury that resulted in shoulder surgery. He came back from that to appear in instructional league games and then played a half-season in the Puerto Rican Winter League. The 2021 first-round pick is fully healthy again and has muscled up to around 220 pounds.
While he’s played mostly center field so far in pro fall, the Rockies plan on giving Montgomery (also a non-roster invite) more innings in corner outfield this season. He’ll start in Double-A, but spring training is a chance for him to prove he belongs in the conversation alongside other young corner outfielders such as Jordan Beck (debuted in ’24) and Zac Veen (on the 40-man roster).
“Last year, we saw a guy maturing mentally and as a professional, and there was intent to everything he was doing,” Forbes said. “That showed up right out of the gate when he got to Hartford. … It’s not always going to look how you want it to look (because of unorthodox athleticism), but this is what makes Benny, Benny. All five tools are there.”
Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.