Just three of the Rockies 51 draft picks in 2010 have made it to the Major League level, with several more knocking on the door and one of the team's top picks out of baseball. Here's a look at how some of the team's top picks four years ago have fared in their pro careers.
1st Round, 26th overall: OF/1B Kyle Parker, Current Level: AAA
A dual-sport athlete out of Clemson, Parker was selected by the Rockies as an outfielder in 2010, but was moved to first base starting in 2013. Regardless of where he has played defensively, Parker has hit, and hit for power, at every level of the minors, with at least 20 home runs in each of his first three pro seasons. Currently in AAA at age 24, Parker is hitting .309 with a .918 OPS, five home runs and 24 runs driven in for the Sky Sox. If Justin Morneau were to go down with an injury, it would be no surprise to see Parker get his shot in the big leagues in 2014. He was No. 5 on the most recent PuRPs list.
Supplemental 1st Round, 47th overall: RHP Peter Tago, Current Level: High-A
Still just 21 years old, the righty out of Dana Hills High School in California has struggled so far in his pro career. Tago has posted a 6.62 ERA in 246 professional innings over four professional seasons. The issue for Tago has been control, as he has walked 6.3 batters per nine innings. One thing Tago has going for him is that he has been significantly young for his level at every stop, including being more than two years younger than average in Modesto in 2014, where he has a 6.06 ERA in a dozen relief appearances.\
2nd Round, 76th overall: RHP Chad Bettis, Current Level: AAA
The right-hander out of Texas Tech had a breakout season in Modesto in 2011, posting a 3.34 ERA with 184 strikeouts and just 54 walks in 169 2/3 innings. However, he missed all of 2012 with a shoulder injury, setting back his development. Bettis had a strong start to 2013 in Tulsa, earning him a call to the big leagues in the second half of the season. He made his Rockies debut on August 1, 2013 against the Braves. He posted a 5.64 ERA in 44 2/3 big league innings in 2013. After struggling early in the 2014 season in a relief role with the Rockies, Bettis was demoted to AAA, where he is currently.
3rd Round, 107th overall: IF Josh Rutledge, Current Level: AAA
The middle infielder from Alabama was the first member of the Rockies' 2010 draft class to make his big league debut on July 13, 2012 and he did so in style, going 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and pair of RBIs against the Phillies' Cliff Lee in a Rockies win. Rutledge wound up hitting .274 with eight home runs and a .775 OPS in 277 MLB at bats in 2012 before splitting time between the Rockies and Sky Sox in 2013. Rutledge didn't see the same success in the majors in 2013 as he did in 2012, posting just a .630 OPS in 285 at bats. He has done the same so far in 2014, going 7-for-22 with a home run in limited big league action.
4th Round, 140th overall: 2B Russell Wilson, Current Level: N/A
Wilson posted a .710 OPS in 315 at bats over two seasons in Tri-City and Asheville before being selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks and electing to pursue a career in football. I'd say that decision worked out pretty well for him.
5th Round, 170th overall: RHP Josh Slaats, Current Level: N/A
Like Tago, Slaats has struggled thus far in his professional career. Coming out of the University of Hawai'i, Slaats got his pro career off to a strong start with a 1.95 ERA for Tri-City in 2010, and posted a 4.18 ERA in Asheville in 2011. However, Slaats posted a 5.99 ERA in 70 2/3 innings between Tri-City and Modesto in 2012 and struggled out of the gate in 2013 before being released by the Rockies in May of 2013.
Other notable selections
8th Round, 260th overall: OF Corey Dickerson, Current Level: MLB
All Dickerson has done since the Rockies drafted him in the eighth round out of Meridian (Miss.) Community College in 2010 is hit at every level of professional baseball. He has posted a .981 OPS in five seasons and nearly 1,500 at bats in the minors, with success everywhere from Casper to Colorado Springs. Hitting .371 in 315 at bats for the Sky Sox in 2013 earned him a Major League debut in Washington on June 22, where he hit a pair of doubles against the Nationals' Dan Haren. He hit .263 for the Rockies in 2013 with five home runs and a .775 OPS and has been even better in 2014, hitting .375 with four homers in just 56 at bats so far.
15th Round, 470th overall: C Will Swanner, Current Level: High-A
Swanner thrived in his first three seasons out of La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif., with an OPS over .900 in each of them between Casper and Asheville. He hit just .239 with 13 home runs and a .750 OPS in Modesto in 2013, but the offensive struggles weren't enough to knock him below No. 24 on the most recent PuRPs list. He has posted similar offensive numbers in 2014, again in Modesto.
17th Round, 530th overall: C Ryan Casteel, Current Level: AA
Like Swanner, Casteel was selected out of high school as a catcher y the Rockies in 2010. He was merely average offensively in his first three seasons before breaking out in Modesto in 2013, hitting 22 home runs in 411 at bats to go with a .270 batting average and .875 OPS. His strong 2013 vaulted him to No. 11 PuRP status in December. However, he has struggled so far in Tulsa in 2014, with just a pair of home runs in 92 at bats.
24th Round, 740th overall: RHP Christian Bergman, Current Level: AAA
Bergman, a righty out of UC-Irvine, has pitched well throughout his professional career, posting a 3.61 ERA in 523 2/3 minor league innings. He has commanded the ball well at every stop, with just 1.5 walks per nine innings for his career. A strong 2013 in Tulsa, a 3.37 ERA with just 23 walks in 171 innings, earned him the nod as the No. 26 PuRP in the offseason, and he has started strong at Colorado Springs in 2014, with a 4.06 ERA entering today's start for the Sky Sox.