Two Players the A's Can Steal From the Colorado Rockies After Schmidt Hire

Aug 4, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; General view of the hat and glove of Colorado Rockies shortstop Pat Valaika (4) (not pictured) in the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

With the Athletics adding former Colorado Rockies GM Bill Schmidt recently, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if the two sides ended up coming together on a trade of some sort in the coming weeks. Schmidt had spent a couple of decades with the Rockies, including a number of years in charge of the team's scouting, which is where he'll be with the Athletics in his new role.

As we mentioned recently, this is an interesting hire, because when the A's land in Las Vegas (planned for 2028), they will be residing in the ballpark with the second-highest elevation in baseball—behind Coors Field. Given that Schmidt has a couple of decades targeting guys to play at altitude, this is at the very least a hire with a specific purpose. We'll have to wait and see if it pans out.

One way for this addition to the front office to have immediate dividends would be for the A's and Rockies to come together on a deal. If anyone will know about some of the hidden gems in the Rockies system, it's Schmidt, who scouted the players and then served as the team's GM.

He may also know which players could have a little more success at a place like Sacramento, or have an idea of who could do well in Vegas. With that in mind, here are a couple of players the A's should be targeting in trades with the Rockies.

Young, moldable relief arm

May 7, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Zach Agnos (36) delivers a pitch in the tenth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Zach Agnos, 25, made his MLB debut last season with the Rockies, putting up a 6.61 ERA with a 5.62 FIP in 31 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 13.8% of the batters he faced, and walked 12.3%, so there was plenty left to be desired in his numbers in Colorado.

He also notched 12 innings in Triple-A, striking out 30.4% of the hitters he faced, and walking 8.7%, which is loads better. He also faced the Las Vegas Aviators in a pair of games at the end of June, which is when Shea Langeliers was on a rehab assignment. While the A's catcher didn't face him, he could provide some intel on what he saw from Agnos, which could be helpful.

Selected in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of East Carolina, Agnos has a hard fastball, sitting 95.8, but he also has well below average extension, which will make that fastball look a bit slower to the batter. That's the bad news.

The good news is that he has a solid sweeper/slider (FanGraphs calls it a slider, Baseball Savant a sweeper), and that led to a 44.7% whiff rate for him in the big leagues, even while putting up an ERA well over six. That screams one adjustment until he's pretty effective.

Agnos showed off his toolset in Triple-A last year and had a tough time making the adjustment to the big leagues in his first go-around. Perhaps playing at slightly less altitude is one way to unlock him?

Former second rounder

Apr 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Jaden Hill (0) pitches against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Of course we're going to be focusing on getting arms out of Colorado. Next up on that list is 26-year-old Jaden Hill, a second-round selection of the Rockies back in 2021. He has made it to the big leagues in each of the past two seasons, and has a cumulative 3.83 ERA (4.17 FIP) across 40 innings of work.

He racked up 29 1/3 of those innings last season, holding a 3.38 ERA (3.44 FIP) and saw an increase in his strikeout rate (13.3 to 24%) while his walk rate stayed steady at 9.3%. He also throws the ball hard, averaging 96.8 with the heater, and in his small sample size, he was at least league average in most categories on Baseball Savant.

The key change he made year-over-year was that he went from being a four pitch pitcher that relied heavily on his sinker, to a four-pitch pitcher that lead with the sinker, but utilized all of his offerings a similar amount. Each pitch was used somewhere between 22-28% of the time. His slider was also his big weapon with a 45.1% whiff rate.

While it looks as though Hill took a huge step forward last season and could be a piece for the Rockies to utilize this coming season, he isn't listed in their projected 26-man roster on Roster Resource, which could be an indication that he could be had in a trade.

Regardless of Colorado's plans, they should be making any bullpen arm available in a trade since they're fairly far away from competing.