3 Rockies Prospects Who Could Become Breakout Stars At Arizona Fall League

These three Colorado Rockies prospects could make a name for themselves in the Arizona Fall League.

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

While the Colorado Rockies won't be playing October baseball this year, the Arizona Fall League that's set to get underway on Oct. 5 will give the fanbase an opportunity to see some potential future stars for this franchise.

Charlie Condon headlines the group being sent by the Rockies, and as such, he is going to get a lot of attention by fans and media alike as the second-ranked prospect in the team's farm system goes up against other elite minor leaguers.

The hope is Condon can have a notable performance to put a punctuation mark on the strong close to the Double-A campaign he's been able to have. But when trying to look at who can become a breakout star for Colorado during this event, it would have been too easy to highlight the 58th-ranked prospect in baseball.

So here are three players the Rockies are sending to the Arizona Fall League this year who could raise their stock with solid performances.

Jared Thomas

Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Ranked eighth in Colorado's pipeline, the 2024 second-round pick has turned in a sensational year during his first full professional season. Slashing .330/.427/.495 with 11 home runs, 25 extra-base hits and 45 RBIs across 73 games at the High-A level, that earned him a promotion to Double-A Hartford.

Jared Thomas ran into a bit of trouble there with a slash line of .239/.343/.368 across 43 games with just one homer and three RBIs, but he did produce nine doubles and a triple to put his extra-base total number at 11.

His high walk rate and ability to be a force on the basepaths could allow him to pop in the AFL, so even though the Rockies appear to have a crowded outlook in the outfield going forward, the 22-year-old could throw his hat in the ring with a good showing.

Welinton Herrera

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Colorado needs pitching. And preferably they find another young arm who can become a starting pitcher for them down the line. While that won't be Welinton Herrera, that doesn't mean the 21-year-old left-hander can't make a name for himself this fall.

Coming up the ranks as a reliever, Herrera is proving to be a high strikeout guy, ringing up 97 batters in 63 1/3 innings pitched across 51 total outings to go along with a 2.56 ERA. However, the most impressive thing about the lefty is he actually flashed better stuff at the Double-A level compared to when he was at High-A.

With 68 strikeouts and 19 walks across 45 innings pitched at Hartford, Herrera showed his stuff could still play even at a higher affiliate level. He'll be someone to keep an eye on in the AFL, because if he performs well, there's a chance he could make his MLB debut at some point in 2026.

Cade Denton

Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher is a bit of an unknown compared to others in the pipeline. He's not viewed as a top 30 prospect at the moment, but that doesn't mean he can't become one heading into the 2026 season with a good showing in the AFL.

He had a 3.73 ERA across 42 outings with High-A Spokane. That comes after posting a 3.63 ERA across 34 outings in 2024. While Cade Denton struggled with walks a bit more this year compared to last, he increased his strikeout total by fanning 63 batters in 50 1/3 innings pitched.

The 2023 sixth-round pick will look to keep his momentum going during the Arizona Fall League, using this circuit as a chance to perform against some of the best prospects in the sport and make his case for becoming a bullpen arm at the big league level sooner rather than later.

More Rockies News

feed