MLB Re-Draft Exposes Reason Why Rockies Made Leadership Changes

The 2021 MLB draft is just another reason why the Colorado Rockies made so many chances for the 2026 season.

A detailed view of a Colorado Rockies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Hindsight has a way of exposing serious flaws. Just look at the Colorado Rockies.

Five years ago, the Rockies had the No. 8 overall pick in the MLB draft and selected Benny Cunningham. Selected out of Red Land High School in Lewisberry, Penn., the expectation was that he would need a few years to develop. Five years later, the 23-year-old hasn’t played higher than Double-A Hartford.

Injuries haven’t helped. In April of 2024 he was placed on the full season injured list after he needed surgery to repair his left shoulder. He may still make it to the Majors one day. But he must overcome his .201/.274/.263 slash at Hartford last season.

It’s turned into a personnel miss for the Rockies one of many that led to wholesale changes in franchise leadership. But what if Colorado could turn back the clock and make that pick with the benefit of hindsight — and knowing how each pick would develop?

Well, Baseball America (subscription required) did the homework recently as it re-drafted the first round of the 2021 MLB draft. Colorado ended up with an outfielder — Sal Frelick.

Sal Frelick as a Rockie?

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Frelick didn’t remain on the board much longer after Cunningham. The Boston College product was taken No. 15 overall by Milwaukee. Baseball America wrote at the time that he was “… one of the safer college hitters in the draft.”

He hasn’t disappointed for the Brewers. Since he was promoted in 2023, he’s put together a slash of .270/.337/.369 with a .709 OPS. He’s hit 51 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs and driven in 199 runs. He took a big leap in 2025, as he hit 12 home runs and drove in 63 RBI. In 2024, he won his first Gold Glove as an outfielder. He plays in right field for the Brewers, but he can play all three positions.

It’s easy to imagine Frelick as a Rockies outfielder, especially with his rock-solid slash, the ability to steal bases (44 for his career) and his versatility. The thin air in Denver might allow him to clear 20 home runs in a season. Like Milwaukee, he would be a building block for the Rockies.

Colorado changed over its front office this offseason. The Montfort family hired Paul DePodesta to be the new president of baseball operations, who in turn hired former Rockies assistant GM Josh Byrnes away from the Los Angeles Dodgers to be the team’s general manager. They opted to keep Warren Schaeffer as the team’s manager.

It will be up to the new leadership to find more Frelicks, starting in next July’s draft.  

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