One future star to watch from the 30 player pools | MLB.com
Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com list out a prospect to watch in each club’s player pool. Left-handed Ryan Rolison gets the nod for Colorado: “[He] is consistently around the strike zone and knows how to use his entire four-pitch mix.”
MLB.com’s write-up on Rolison points out how he would have likely began 2020 in Double-A. He is listed as Colorado’s number two prospect on MLB.com, behind Brendan Rodgers and ahead of Michael Toglia.
Rolison was a first-round selection out of the University of Mississippi in 2018. His minor league tenure has sent him to Grand Junction, Asheville and Lancaster. J.T. Kohout of Pitcher List wrote of Rolison: “His fastball is very good, sitting at about 92-93 from the left side with excellent command. His curveball has good movement, and is shockingly well controlled for a pitcher this young.” Rolison also works with a slider and changeup.
In February, Jeff Aberle described Rolison as a “polished pitcher” and a “likely fast riser.” He made 25 starts in the minors last year, and his big league ETA is set for 2021.
Two players from Colorado are also listed on this MLB.com watch list: Bobby Dalbec (Red Sox) of Legend High School and David Peterson (Mets) of Regis Jesuit High School.
Colorado does not have a 2020 draftee in their roster pool, but a handful of draftees from this year will report to the summer camps of their respective clubs. 2020 selections Max Meyer (Marlins), Emerson Hancock (Mariners) and Jared Shuster (Braves) are featured on Callis’ and Rosenbaum’s list.
Too Far From Town: Lancaster JetHawks | Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is running a twice-weekly feature on minor league teams that are at risk of losing their MLB affiliation. Their latest feature is on the Advanced-A Lancaster JetHawks.
“JetHawks management and ownership have said they can’t continue to do business as an independent team. It led ‘Jethawk’ John to think of the seemingly impossible. ‘Baseball’s my life. Don’t let Major League Baseball take it away.’ He was crying when he said it.”
Rockies Release Zac Rosscup | MLB Trade Rumors
Right-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup has been released by the Rockies. Rosscup was signed to a minor league deal with Colorado and the six-year MLB veteran was not placed in the Rockies’ player pool.
Rosscup was a 28th-round selection in 2009 and appeared in 116 big league games. He made nine appearances for the Rockies in 2017, before spending 2018 with the Dodgers and 2019 with the Mariners, Blue Jays, and again with the Dodgers.
“Terrin was in minor league camp with the Rockies in Arizona when the pandemic started to grow onto the nationwide conscience. He returned to the Chippewa Valley and has been working out at Triple Threat Training in Downsville — a baseball and softball training facility owned by brothers Tanner, Trey and Terrin — ever since.”
In a year where Nolan Arenado was kicked off his high school field, Rockies prospect Terrin Vavra is able to spend the time training at his co-owned facility.
The 23-year-old Vavra will presumably stick around Wisconsin as he waits in the wings along with many other minor leaguers. He spoke of the canceled minor league season: “It’s something we kind of expected for a while and were told to anticipate so it wasn’t out of nowhere but its official, it’s definitely a bummer.”
After being drafted out of the University of Minnesota, Vavra began his professional career in 2018 with the Boise Hawks. He spent all of 2019 with the Asheville Tourists.