Earlier this week, Justin Wick took a look at what the Colorado Rockies have in reserve for bullpen arms if a call-up is to be made. The bullpen has been an atrocity, especially lately, so seeking an answer to the question of “What else we got? ‘Cause this ain’t working” is pertinent.
That got me thinking about the other side of the ball. We’ve already seen Alan Trejo, Connor Joe and Matt Adams receive the call to the big leagues this season, so what other reinforcements do we have laying around in the minors? In any season, injuries and underperformance are bound to occur throughout the campaign and this season the Rockies are more of a clear “seller” than ever, so spots could open in the not too distant future because of departure as well.
The looming Yonathan Daza decision
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Fresh off of a tough 2017 NL Wildcard loss, the Rockies front office had some decisions to make. Just as every club had to do, the Rockies needed to decide who to protect in their minor league system from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.
That year’s list of eligible players to be snagged included LHP Sam Howard, 21-year-old catcher Dom Nuñez, RHP Jesus Tinoco and LHP Harrison Musgrave, among others. Ultimately, the Rockies decided to protect four players: top eligible prospect Sam Howard along with three relatively fringe prospects Tinoco, catcher Chris Rabago, and 23-year-old outfielder Yonathan Daza who was coming off of hitting .341 at High-A Lancaster.
Colorado Rockies positional battles: The catching position is up in the air in 2021 purplerow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from purplerow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Colorado Rockies prospects: No. 22, Dom Nuñez
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22. Dom Nuñez (94 points, 10 ballots)
In 2020, the Rockies rolled with a catching unit of Tony Wolters, Elias Díaz, and Drew Butera. Combined, the three players hit .217/.266/.285 in 225 PAs, which led to a truly terrible, 29th in MLB 35 wRC+ and -1.2 fWAR (dead last). Notably absent from that Cobra Cabal of Catchers was Dom Nuñez, who has now been on 14 of the last 15 PuRPs lists (and was #31 in the other one) since 2013 because he’s been one of Colorado’s top two catching prospects basically since 2013 along with Tom Murphy.