{"id":645679,"date":"2026-03-27T01:54:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/645679\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T01:54:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:54:51","slug":"rockies-top-10-most-intriguing-prospects-to-watch-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/645679\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockies’ top 10 most intriguing prospects to watch in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following three straight 100-loss seasons that led to a front-office house cleaning<\/a>, Rockies fans are peering down the road for glimmers of hope.\n<\/p>\n

Here are the top 10 most intriguing Rockies prospects to watch in 2026, with their estimated times of arrival to the big leagues.<\/p>\n

\"EthanEthan Holliday, the Rockies’ first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, takes batting practice prior to a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo\/Geneva Heffernan)
\nSS Ethan Holliday<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1: Last year\u2019s No. 4 overall pick hit .239 with two homers in 18 games for Low-A Fresno. He\u2019ll likely start 2026 in Fresno or High-A Spokane and brings a recalibrated offensive approach<\/a> into the season, including an adjusted stride to help with timing. For fans looking for light at the end of the Rockies\u2019 dark tunnel, a solid sophomore pro season from Matt\u2019s son would be a great sign.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02028<\/p>\n

1B\/OF Charlie Condon<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0Along with Holliday, Condon is the other primary reason to believe that star power is on the horizon for Colorado. The 2024 No. 3 overall pick turned in a stellar spring training,<\/a> and the first half of 2026 should be his final test in the high minors. If he can stay healthy \u2014 Condon had a thumb injury in \u201924, and a wrist injury in \u201925 \u2014 he\u2019s tracking to debut sometime this summer.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02026<\/p>\n

UTL Roldy Brito<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0The Dominican is a switch-hitter who plays middle infield and center field, and had a dominant season in \u201925 across rookie ball and Low-A. The 18-year-old was the Arizona Complex League MVP, an ACL postseason all-star, a Baseball America rookie all-star and the Rockies\u2019 minor-league player of the year. He hits for average with sneaky pop, too. A fast-riser to keep tabs on.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02029<\/p>\n

\"SterlinSterlin Thompson (60) of the Colorado Rockies fields a ball hit by Abraham Toro (31) of the Oakland A’s during Colorado\u2019s 5-1 Spring Training win at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)
\nOF Sterlin Thompson<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0The 2022 first-round pick swung a solid bat over 120 games in Triple-A Albuquerque last season, batting .296 with 18 homers and a .911 OPS. That led Colorado to add Thompson to its 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He\u2019ll start 2026 in Albuquerque again, and if he stays consistent, an injury could open the door to his debut this season.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo: 2026<\/p>\n

OF Cole Carrigg<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0When Carrigg was picked in the second round in 2023, there was a question about where he would fit defensively. That question has been answered, as Carrigg played outfield exclusively with Double-A Hartford in 2025, primarily in center. A switch-hitter with speed, Carrigg will need to bring down his strikeout rate (27% in \u201925) in order to take another step in \u201926.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02027<\/p>\n

RF Robert Calaz<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0The other most intriguing international prospect in the system besides Brito, Calaz tore it up in \u201924 in rookie ball and Low-A, before getting humbled in Fresno last year with a regressive season. But there\u2019s still hope the righty with raw power can develop a more seasoned approach starting in \u201926. He\u2019ll likely start in High-A; getting back on track could land him in Hartford.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo: 2028<\/p>\n

\"SouthernSouthern Miss right-hander JB Middleton was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the second round at No. 45 overall of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Courtesy of Southern Miss Athletics)
\nRHP JB Middleton<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0Following a high workload with Southern Miss ahead of Colorado taking Middleton in the second round, he\u2019s set to make his professional debut in \u201926. For an organization in desperate need of starting pitching depth at all levels, Middleton has a repeatable delivery, a three-pitch mix and competes with an edge. This summer will be the start of the test of his potential as a pro starter.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo: 2028<\/p>\n

OF Jared Thomas<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0The 2024 second-round pick raked last summer with a .330\/.427\/.495 slash line in High-A Spokane, earning a promotion to Double-A. Then he carried that momentum into the Arizona Fall League, batting .302 in 17 games. He has the wheels to rack up steals and play center field. He had surgery to fix a broken left hamate after last season; likely starts \u201926 in Hartford.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02027<\/p>\n

\"RockiesRockies right-handed pitching prospect Gabriel Hughes delivers a pitch during a Double-A Hartford Yard Goats game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on July 9, 2023, at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford, Conn. (Courtesy of Hartford Yard Goats)<\/p>\n

RHP Gabriel Hughes<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0The No. 10 overall pick in 2022 has been through the wringer, including on-field struggles (7.14 ERA in Double-A in 2023) and Tommy John surgery. Last year was his first full season back from the procedure, and he made to Triple-A. He\u2019s on the 40-man roster and pitched against Team USA<\/a> in spring training. The Rockies will soon see if he can fulfill his first-round potential.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02026<\/p>\n

LHP Konner Eaton<\/p>\n

The 4-1-1:\u00a0After taking a flier on Eaton in the sixth round in 2024, early returns suggest the Rockies got a steal. In his first full pro season in \u201925, the southpaw dominated High-A before earning a promotion to Hartford. He led all Rockies minor leaguers with 149 Ks, and also led the organization in Ks\/9 (9.58) and was second in WHIP (1.26). The Rockies\u2019 2025 MiLB pitcher of the year.\n<\/p>\n

ETA to LoDo:\u00a02027<\/p>\n

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following three straight 100-loss seasons that led to a front-office house cleaning, Rockies fans are peering down the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2405],"tags":[4763,5,4141,167,52,4316,22041,6489,1041,16903,853,1024,1199,4,1027,168,185,151,8565],"class_list":["post-645679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-colorado-rockies","tag-arizona-fall-league","tag-baseball","tag-charlie-condon","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-rockies","tag-coloradorockies","tag-double-a-hartford","tag-ethan-holliday","tag-front-range","tag-gabriel-hughes","tag-latest-headlines","tag-lodo","tag-milb","tag-mlb","tag-more-rockies-news","tag-rockies","tag-sports","tag-spring-training","tag-triple-a-albuquerque"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116298652397662326","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}