Strike 3: MLB Draft: July 13-14.
It’s Draft season for three of the four major sports. The Denver Broncos finished theirs in April, but the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rockies are all prepping for their sports selections day(s).
Unlike the Nuggets and Avs, the Rockies are totally reliant on MLB’s amateur draft. The self-described “draft and develop” organization looks to collect draft choices in exchange for veterans, all of whom are on the back nine of their careers.
It is a team building strategy that always offers hope for the future. Unfortunately, hope is about all Rockies fans have to show for it. The singular strategy hasn’t been successful.
The current Rockies still have a large number of their high draft picks on the big league team or in Triple-A Albuquerque. Ryan McMahon was a second-round pick in 2013, and Kyle Freeland was the team’s top pick in 2014. Brendan Rodgers, now with the Houston Astros, was the team’s top pick in 2015 (when they also drafted Peter Lambert, Sam Hilliard and recently traded Justin Lawrence). In 2017, lower round picks like Lucas Gilbreath, Alan Trejo and Sean Bouchard reached Coors Field.
Ryan Rolison – the 2018 first-round pick – reached the show for the first time this season, and fifth-round pick Jake Bird will likely be the Rockies lone All-Star selection this season. Michael Toglia (the 2019 top pick) is a full timer for Colorado now, while fourth-rounder Brenton Doyle already has a pair of Gold Gloves to his credit.
The 2020 COVID-year draft was abbreviated, but the Rockies did take Zac Veen and Drew Romo, each of whom remain in the team’s long term plans. Hunter Goodman was a fourth-round pick in 2021. Jordan Beck, Carson Palmquist and Ryan Ritter were products of the 2022 draft, and first-rounder Chase Dollander and seventh-rounder Seth Halvorsen are also part of the team.
Last year’s top pick, Charlie Condon, appears to be on the fast track as well. So there are no less than a dozen current Rockies or Isotopes who were Rockies draft picks. That’s a decent return on any organization’s efforts.
With all this good drafting, you’re left to wonder what’s gone wrong on the scoreboard?
Because it’s not all about the draft.
Building a good base with your own picks is a sound strategy, but expecting the draft to fill your entire roster is misguided.
Keep in mind that the rival Los Angeles Dodgers have drafted, developed and later traded or released standouts like Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, (current Rockie) Kyle Farmer, Alex Verdugo and Gavin Lux and obtained guys like Mookie Betts and Mike Sirota in return.
The current Dodgers still have their own draft picks like Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, James Outman, and Will Smith on the roster. However, far more of their draft picks that have reached the majors are playing for other teams now. Like good organizations tend to do, the Dodgers make trades and acquire players Max Muncy – who was released by Oakland – via other means.
While the Rockies don’t have the deep pockets to go after free agents like Freddy Freeman or Shohei Ohtani, other organizations in similar financial situations and market sizes who choose not to go heavy in the free agent route still make those other kinds of roster maneuvers and build contenders.
So while the draft is important, it’s not the be-all, end-all. Just ask the Nuggets and Avs.
Draft day for the Rockies will be exciting once again this July as they hold the fourth overall pick. One mock draft has them selecting lefthander Kade Anderson, most recently seen throwing a dominant complete game shutout for national champion LSU in the College World Series.
The Rockies have done a good job of drafting, although the developing part has left something to be desired. They’ll be active again this year with the fourth overall pick. And they’ll be sticking to their singular plan, regardless of the scoreboard.
