Rockies Call Up Top Prospect Brendan Rodgers
By Max Scoli
The Colorado Rockies' No. 1 prospect Brendan Rodgers has been hitting the cover off the ball in Triple-A, batting .356 with nine home runs and 21 RBI in 35 games for the Albuquerque Isotopes.
His red-hot start to the season has earned the young shortstop a spot on the MLB roster, and it's about damned time.
Although this call up is likely to due the fact that Trevor Story was involved in a collision that hurt his knee on Wednesday night, Rodgers is certainly deserving of the promotion. The 22-year-old is batting .382 with eight home runs and an 1.152 OPS since April 11.
Rodgers was selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies and has been in the organization since. Rockies Manager Bud Black spoke briefly about his excitement over this highly anticipated moment:
"He’s in a good spot. He’s doing really well. The reports from Glenallen [Hill] are that he’s swinging well and that he’s in a good spot. We are moving him around the diamond, having him play second and short."
- Bud Black
However, the Florida native still has some kinks to iron out before he is a polished MLB talent. This includes being flexible and learning other positions such as second base, where he was positioned in the majority of his games in the minors this year. He is still adjusting, but the Rockies staff understands the difficulty of the transition and seems to trust the process. Farm director Zach Wilson echoed this sentiment in the following quote:
"There’s some intricacies of the position that he’s still working on. Some of it is double plays around the bag, some of it is all the plays you have to make going toward first base. Unlike shortstop, everything is across your body.
- Zach Wilson
Rodgers is set to make his first appearance on a major league level on Friday night when the Rockies take on the Philadelphia Phillies.