Two of the Rockies top prospects, Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon, will participate in the 2017 Futures Game. Rodgers is the consensus top prospect in the organization. McMahon suffered a down year in 2016 making the jump from High- to Double-A, but he’s returned to form thus far in 2017. And with hit, he’s once again rising among prospect ranks.
The 20-year-old shortstop Rodgers began the season in Lancaster. He hit .400/.419/.700 over 222 plate appearances there, earning him a promotion to Double-A. The jump in competition has slowed him down a bit. It took him a while to hit anything other than a single, although he did hit his first Double-A home run a couple nights ago. He’s now hitting .222/.293/.302 in 58 plate appearances.
McMahon, a 22-year-old infielder, started the year in Hartford for his second try at Double-A. Things went much better this time. He hit .326/.390/.536 in 205 plate appearances. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A, where he’s posted a cool .390/.419/.676 line in his first 148 plate appearances.
Both Rodgers and McMahon will represent Team U.S. They’ll be joined by prospects such as Nick Senzel from the Cincinnati Reds and Bo Bichette, son of Dante, from the Toronto Blue Jays. The World roster includes prospects like Yoan Moncada from the Chicago White Sox and Eloy Jímenez from the Chicago Cubs. Rodgers and McMahon might also face a pitcher who could be a menace for the Rockies in the coming years, the Dodgers right-handed pitcher Yadier Álvarez.
The Futures Game begins at 2 p.m. MT. (Unfortunately, it will overlap with today’s Rockies’ game.) You can watch it on MLB Network, or you can stream it on MLB.com.