The Colorado Rockies have some up and coming arms both in the starting rotation and out of the bullpen. New president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta, would love for some of those arms to take a step forward sooner rather than later to the majors.

One relief pitcher who did not have the best 2025 as he would have liked was right-hander Cade Denton. He spent the season playing for the High-A Spokane Indians. He finished with an ERA of 3.73 with a 3-5 record in 50.2 innings pitched in 42 outings. He went to Arizona to play for the Salt River Rafters this fall and was rewarded for a good season.

Rockies Prospect Cade Denton Named Arizona League Reliever of the Year

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Over the last six weeks, Denton was very good for the Rafters. His numbers improved significantly, which is good news for the Rockies. Denton’s work was better than the Rafters team staff this fall. Joe Trezza of MLB.com announced the Arizona Fall League Award Winners, and Denton was named Reliever of the Year.

“Drafted out of Oral Roberts University in the sixth round in 2023, Denton spent the regular season at High-A Spokane, posting a 3.73 ERA in 42 games. He took things to another level in the Fall League, registering scoreless outings in six of his seven appearances for Salt River. He pitched to an 18-4 SO/BB, an 0.85 WHIP, and a .152 average-against while averaging more than an inning per appearance. Denton’s 3.46 ERA really stands out when it’s compared to the Rafters’ team mark of 6.74, even including his contributions,” Trezza wrote.

In Spokane, Denton saw his strikeout numbers rise this past season to 63 in his outings, and this fall saw his fastball top out between 94-96 m.p.h. He would like to tick it up a notch in 2026, but he admitted that it is his go-to pitch. He worked one inning in Sunday’s All-Star Game and gave up one hit and struck out one.

“The fastball has been my go-to pitch the past two outings, when I’ve generated the most strikeouts,” Denton said to MLB.com. “The majority of my strikeouts the past three outings have been fastballs, so that’s a little bit of a revelation to me, realizing I can get swings and misses on that.”

Denton is not a top 30 prospect, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be when spring training rolls around after a strong Fall League. The 23-year-old is someone the Rockies hope can develop into a reliever in Colorado at some point.

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