![\"Grizzlies](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FRE-GRIZZLIES-54.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a new era in Colorado, as the Rockies\u2019 front office received a major overhaul after the team finished with the worst record in 2025. That new group will have major assets to work with, including two big power-hitting first-round picks, plus some intriguing arms in the system.<\/p>\n
Fresno Grizzlies<\/p>\n
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Back in the 2023 international signing pool, the Rockies invested seven figures in Robert Calaz<\/a>. Calaz had two electric seasons in short-season ball (2023-24), highlighted by a 1.113 OPS campaign in the ACL back in 2024. Thus, the bar was set high for the 20-year-old heading into 2025.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, Calaz, who hit for plenty of power in 2024 and 2025, had more of a muted season with the Grizzlies. He slashed .259\/.338\/.399 with 10 home runs and 29 extra-base hits over 99 games. Calaz missed much of April on the injured list.<\/p>\n Still, Calaz led the team in home runs in what is generally considered a hitter-friendly league. High swing-and-miss, as indicated by a 33.4% Whiff% that ranked among the 30 highest rates in the circuit (min. 250 swings).<\/p>\n Derek Bernard<\/a>, also 20 years of age, had a strong overall year. Bernard slashed .302\/.385\/.448 with six home runs, 13 stolen bases, and 24 extra-base hits over 72 games. Kelvin Hidalgo<\/a> stole a team-high 43 bases over 116 games. Both, though, had Whiff% above 30%.<\/p>\n The Grizzlies also had one of the best contact hitters, infielder Roynier Hernandez<\/a> (14.5% Whiff%). Hernandez posted a .358 on-base percentage last season.<\/p>\n Fresno was also home to several of the Rockies\u2019 2025 MLB Draft picks. Most notably, Ethan Holliday<\/a>, who made his professional debut with the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n Holliday flashed power as he hit two home runs and six extra-base hits over 18 games. On the other hand, the swing-and-miss was high for Holliday in his abbreviated pro debut. The bloodline player had a Whiff% of 42.8% in the California League, where he struck out 33 times.<\/p>\n Tanner Thach<\/a>, an eighth-round pick out of UNC Wilmington, headed into 2025 with Day 1 potential, especially after a strong 2024 summer in the Cape. Thach, a prodigious power hitter in college, hit two home runs and four extra-base hits across 18 games, along with a 27.5% Whiff%.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Moving on to the pitching staff, two pitchers who performed very well in the California League were Fisher Jameson<\/a> and Brody Brecht<\/a>, two of Colorado\u2019s 2024 MLB Draft picks.<\/p>\n Jameson, a 10th-rounder from the Florida Gators, struck out 93 over 99.1 IP and posted a 52.4% GB% that ranked among the top-20 in the California League.<\/p>\n Brecht came into 2025 as one of the names to watch in the Rockies\u2019 organization. The former Iowa ace could regularly hit 100 MPH but command wasn\u2019t a strongsuit for him. In his first full pro season, he punched out 87 over 55.1 IP. Brecht had the fourth-best Whiff% (39.9%) in the California League<\/a> and induced groundballs at a rate above 50%.<\/p>\n Additionally, Lebarron Johnson<\/a> struck out 44 over 43.2 IP and posted a 29.4% Whiff%. Johnson, a fifth-round pick from 2024, was one of the better strikeout pitchers in the NCAA with UT-Austin over his college career. However, despite the good stuff, Johnson had his walk problems with the Longhorns. With the Grizzlies, the righty walked 25.<\/p>\n Spokane Indians<\/p>\n Charlie Condon<\/a> missed the first month of 2025 with an injury. And after a brief spell in the ACL, Condon returned to the Northwest League in late May, the same level where he posted a .518 OPS over 25 games.<\/p>\n Condon performed much better in his second run, which came nearly a year after he was drafted. The 1B\/OF hit .312\/.431\/.420 with three home runs and nine extra-base hits over 35 games. He didn\u2019t spend much time in Spokane this past season \u2014 and opposing pitchers didn\u2019t give him much to work with.<\/p>\n The former Georgia standout had a take rate just under 59%, among the highest in the Northwest League<\/a>. And more impressively, fewer than 28% of those takes resulted in a called strike.<\/p>\n Condon was one of several notable hitters who played for the Indians this past season. Also of note were Jared Thomas<\/a> and Cole Messina<\/a>, who were second and third-round picks in 2024, respectively, plus fourth-rounder Blake Wright<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thomas\u2019 28.2% Whiff% was a tick above the league median (min. 200 swings), one of the few blemishes on his 2025 campaign with Spokane. The 22-year-old slashed .330\/.427\/.495 with 11 home runs, 22 stolen bases, and 25 extra-base hits across 73 games. And like Condon, Thomas took his pitches; he walked 45 times.<\/p>\n Messina, an accomplished backstop from South Carolina, had his fair share of groundballs. Nonetheless, Messina picked up 31 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases. On top of that, Messina gunned down runners with regularity. He had a CS% of 39%.<\/p>\n Both Messina (20% Whiff%) and Blake Wright (20.7%) were among the best contact hitters in the Northwest League. The 23-year-old Wright, who only had 11 extra-base hits across 69 games with Fresno, had 25 over 56 games in Spokane. Seven of those were home runs.<\/p>\n Another notable player to point out is Aidan Longwell<\/a>, a 17th-rounder from Ball State back in 2023. Longwell had 15 home runs and 53 extra-base hits over 121 contests. He also made consistent contact (23.2% Whiff%).<\/p>\n Max Belyeu<\/a>, the Rockies\u2019 second-round pick from 2025, struggled in High-A Spokane. Belyeu, an accomplished power hitter with the Texas Longhorns, slashed .150\/.244\/.300 over 21 games. He did hit four home runs but also sported a high Whiff% of 33.3%.<\/p>\n Moving to the pitching staff, the Indians had two relievers, Cade Denton<\/a> and Welinton Herrera<\/a>, who raised their stocks before the two pitched in the AFL this past fall.<\/p>\n Denton, who works with mid-90s velocity and has a four-seamer, sinker, mid-80s changeup, and a slower curve, struck out 63 over 50.2 IP with Spokane. Herrera, a 21-year-old left-hander with a fastball\/sinker\/slider\/changeup combo, struck out 29 over 18.1 IP before he quickly moved to Hartford.<\/p>\n The Indians also had several rising starters.<\/p>\n McCade Brown<\/a> (33.6% Whiff%), who we\u2019ll get more into in the next section, struck out 48 over 33.2 IP. Griffin Herring, who rose very quickly in the Yankees\u2019 farm system<\/a> before the Rockies acquired him, struck out 47 over 30 frames with Spokane. A high Whiff% of 38.7%.<\/p>\n Hartford Yard Goats<\/p>\n Hartford\u2019s roster was not thin by any means, as the Yard Goats were filled with past first and second-round picks. However, how those players performed in Double-A greatly varied.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll start with Charlie Condon, who performed very well in his second run in Spokane. Things did get more difficult for Condon, as he slashed .235\/.342\/.465 (.807 OPS) with 11 home runs and 21 extra-base hits over 55 games.<\/p>\n Obviously, a higher power output. At the same time, there was more swing-and-miss, not surprising. In the Northwest League, he only whiffed 27.3% of the time. That spiked (32.9%) in the Eastern League<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cole Carrigg<\/a>, a 2023 second-rounder, slashed .237\/.316\/.394 with 15 home runs, 39 extra-base hits, and 46 stolen bases over 123 games. Carrigg (31% Whiff%) is an aggressive hitter. He struck out 145 times and with Hartford, looked at pitches below 47% of the time \u2014 below the EL median.<\/p>\n Kyle Karros<\/a> (.861 OPS, 24.6% Whiff%) performed very well in Connecticut, one of three stops for him in 2025.<\/p>\n On the flip side, former first-rounder Benny Montgomery<\/a> had an abysmal year in Hartford. Montgomery posted one of the worst Whiff% in the circuit, and also posted the highest GB% (58.8%) in the league.<\/p>\n Moving to the pitching staff, former first-rounder Gabriel Hughes<\/a> (55.3% GB%, 25% Whiff%) had a productive run in Double-A. The injury-hampered pitcher posted a 3.07 ERA, and opposing batters hit just .184 off him.<\/p>\n Additionally, the Yard Goats ad two of the best swing-amd-miss pitchers in Welinton Herrera and McCade Brown.<\/p>\n Herrera, who ranked in the top-10 in that category, punched out 70 over 46 innings. Brown, a 2021 MLB Draft pick, struck out 57 over 43 innings and posted a Whiff% above 33%. That performance helped Brown earn a call-up<\/a> in August.<\/p>\n Albuquerque Isotopes<\/p>\n In a hitters\u2019 paradise, how much stock can you put in the raw numbers down in the Pacific Coast League? It\u2019s a tough one, especially since hitters who aren\u2019t big power hitters do very well there.<\/p>\n Eleven different players had double-digit home run seasons, including Adael Amador<\/a>, Yanquiel Fernandez<\/a>, and Ryan Ritter<\/a>. Fernandez and Ritter both made their MLB debuts this past year.<\/p>\n Gabriel Hughes (22% Whiff%) was one of several notable pitches in the PCL, not a friendly circuit for pitchers, for the Rockies organization. He was hit around a little bit more in Albuquerque, where he posted a 6.11 ERA.<\/p>\n Carson Palmquist<\/a> (30.5% Whiff%) was arguably the best performer for the Isotopes this season. Palmquist punched out 94 over 77 and only gave up seven home runs,<\/p>\n Early Projected Top 5 for 2026<\/p>\n Ethan Holliday<\/p>\n Charlie Condon<\/p>\n Griffin Herring<\/a><\/p>\n Brody Brecht<\/p>\n Cole Carrigg<\/p>\n Holliday is #1 here. The son of Matt Holliday<\/a> may not be a shortstop long-term. But, the power potential is immense. It\u2019ll just be interesting to see how much contact he makes in a full season sample size.<\/p>\n Griffin Herring and Brody Brecht were two high risers in 2025.<\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0MLB<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Minor League<\/a>\u00a0coverage.<\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading\u2026<\/p>\n![\"Spokane](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SPOK-INDIANS-543.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Yard](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HART-YARD-GOATS-432.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Isotopes](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQ-ISOTOPES-43.jpg\")
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