by Richard Douglas
I don't claim to be an expert baseball scout, but for the last few years we've done an excellent job at evaluating talent by looking at a prospects peripherals and also looking at mechanics and tendencies of any given player. Both aspects of a player's game are shockingly overlooked by most analysts and fans alike. Anyways, let's take a look at a few minor leaguers in the Rockies system that you may be hearing about in the future.
Top Prospect (Hitter)
David Dahl - Dahl is not featured as the top prospect on most lists, but he's the top prospect in the Rockies system on this one. The 2012 10th overall pick is admittedly very raw, but the lefty has shown a tremendous amount of success in his first full season. Dahl projects to become a major league center fielder with plus arm and excellent range. Dahl hit .379 in rookie ball by enabling his plus bat speed while hitting 9 home runs in 306 plate appearances. As he continues to mature and bulk up, he should be able to convert his plus bat speed into a fair amount of power. He still has a long way to go at just 18 years old, but he certainly has given Rockies fans something to be excited about.
Top Pitcher
Eddie Butler - It's no secret that the Rockies have had trouble developing pitching throughout the franchises history, but they've had success in recent years bringing up solid talent like Jhoulys Chacin and Juan Nicasio. Butler may be a a little under the radar as a second round pick, but he projects as a solid Major League starter. He has a ways to go in his development, but the Radford university righty has a plus plus fastball that pops through the zone on average at 95 mph. His slider and changeup at the moment are average pitches with the potential for turning into plus pitches. Butler has above average control as well. His future will likely depend on his secondary pitches to determine whether or not he's better suited for the bullpen, but is at the very least a future high leverage reliever.
Bronze Medal
Nolan Arenado - The 21 year old third baseman has the makeup to have success in the friendly confines of Coors field. Arenado has no problem against left handed pitching as he has shown plus bat speed and excellent power when pulling the ball. He won't ever be an elite power hitter as he has shown inconsistency in regards to pitch recognition, but as he matures, he should fulfill his potential of being able to hit for average. At the start of his career, Arenado was a very raw fielder with a big arm which is why the Rockies moved him over to third. He has since refined his fielding ability and has made the adjustments to throw more accurately in order to becoming a major league 3rd basemen. As I alluded to earlier, he probably won't become an elite hitter, but he has the potential to bat over .300 as he has a high average BABIP while also generating adequate power.
-Rich Douglas
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