The minor league baseball season is underway, and this week sees the Hartford Yard Goats open up another season at Dunkin’ Donuts Park on Thursday against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, the Yard Goats boast some of the brightest prospects in the team’s organization. As you get introduced to the 2019 edition of the team, here are some of the prospects with the greatest potential you’ll see in Hartford now, and maybe in the Major Leagues sooner than later:
Colton Welker:
The team’s number two prospect, the former fourth-round pick is in his first season in Hartford, after spending last year in High-A ball with Lancaster, winning the California League batting title. A .334 hitter through three professional seasons, he is considered a good hitter. A third baseman by trade, he’ll likely slide over to first at some point, as Colorado is set at third for the next decade after giving Nolan Arenado an extension.
Tyler Nevin:
Another corner infielder, he’s had trouble staying healthy since being selected in the supplemental draft in 2015. A good defender and decent contact hitter, Nevin has MLB roots, being the son of Phil Nevin, who spent 11 years in the majors and hit 41 home runs in 2001.
Ben Bowden:
A second-round pick of the Rockies in 2016, Bowden comes up as a future closer-to-be. A reliever at Vanderbilt, he tops out in the upper-90s with his fastball and adds a changeup into the mix. He will be a late-inning guy for the Yard Goats.
Reid Humphreys:
Humphreys is the closer for Hartford, finishing with 28 saves in 2018, including four with the Yard Goats at the tail end of the season. The 24-year-old Mississippi State product is another guy to throws in the high-90s (then again, doesn’t everyone now?), while relying mostly on a hard cutter. He projects as a very good setup man at the MLB level.
Rico Garcia:
Enjoying his second season in Hartford, Garcia is already 25 but had a breakout season in 2018, winning the organization’s pitching Triple Crown. He made 11 starts at the Double-A level, going 6-2 with a 2.28 earned run average and striking out 61 batters in 67 innings. He tops out as a depth piece at the big league level, with his peak likely being a back-end rotation starter. Colorado wants him to build up innings, so when he pitches, expect him to go deep into games.
Vince Fernandez:
Looking like a new-age hitter (good power, good number of strikeouts, too) Fernandez could abuse the right field porch after hitting 24 home runs last year at High-A. A former 10th round pick in 2016 is a corner outfielder, projected to become a good left-handed hitter off the bench in the bigs.
Bret Boswell:
An eighth-round pick in 2017, Boswell found his stroke last year, hitting .296 with 27 homers across two levels with an OPS of .874 (and a 1.024 OPS with Lancaster). A late bloomer at 24, a repeat performance in 2019 could see the team’s 26th-rated prospect skyrocket up the list.
Ryan Vilade:
Nice short stroke with lift and oomph here from Ryan Vilade. Like the stroke, like the physicality #Rockies pic.twitter.com/fAdJ5NiYwz
— Wilson Karaman (@vocaljavelins) April 7, 2019
The infielder won’t start the year with the Yard Goats, but by season’s end he could very well be in Hartford. A second-round pick in 2017 is a shortstop right now and rated as the Rockies’ fifth-best prospect, with the possibility he moves to either second or third base as he progresses through the organization. A high-grade bat, he should have good power for the hot corner, or above-average for short or second. The only question appears to be at what position Colorado wants him.
