Colorado Rockies Pass on Brendan Rodgers for All-Star Slugger in 2015 MLB Redraft

The Colorado Rockies pass on Brendan Rodgers in a redo of the 2015 MLB Draft.

Apr 28, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (27) hits a single in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

One of the major reasons that the Colorado Rockies are in the position which they are now is because their recent draft picks have not panned out.

When selecting near the top of the draft, it is imperative to land talented players and develop them so that they can become the foundation of the franchise for years to come.

That is what the Rockies thought they were doing when they had the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.

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With that pick, they added middle infielder Brendan Rodgers to their organzation, selecting him out of Lake Mary High School in Lake Mary, Fla.

The only players pickeed before him were shortstop Dansby Swanson, who went No. 1 overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks and third baseman Alex Bregman, who was selected No. 2 by the Houston Astros.

Many people loved the pick by Colorado, with Rodgers being one of the top ranked prospects in baseball for several years. He reached as high as No. 10 on MLB Pipeline but never got close to living up to expectations.

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His defense has been excellent, winning a Gold Glove in 2022, but he has been underwhelming at the plate.

In his Rockies career, Rodgers had a .266/.316/.409 slash line with an OPS+ of 88. His bWAR was 5.9, mostly stemming from his defensive work.

If Colorado could do the draft over, they would go in a different direction knowing how things panned out.

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Who could they target instead?

In a re-draft of the 2015 class, David Schoenfield of ESPN has slugger Austin Riley landing with the Rockies at No. 3 instead of Rodgers.

Bregman is the No. 1 overall pick in the re-draft with right fielder Kyle Tucker going No. 2 to the Astros instead of No. 5, where he went originally.

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This is a sizable jump up for Riley, who was originally selected No. 41 overall by the Atlanta Braves.

He has produced some big seasons, recording at least a 6.0 bWAR in three straight years from 2021-2023.

Riley earned a spot on the National League All-Star Team twice in that span, won two Silver Slugger Awards and finished top seven in the NL MVP voting all three seasons.

His power numbers, with a 162-game average of 33 home runs and 33 doubles with a .493 slugging percentage, would have played well at Coors Field.

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