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Rockies Prospect From Underrated Trade Surged After All-Star Break

The Colorado Rockies brought back some great prospects this past trade deadline, one of whom immediately started showcasing his talent on the mound.

Jeremy Trottier

Apr 8, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; General wide view during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Apr 8, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; General wide view during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The Colorado Rockies made quite a few moves this past MLB trade deadline to offload some of their key veterans; in exchange, they received a pretty decent plethora of prospects to choose from.

While names like Roc RiggioBen Shields, Josh Grosz, and Griffin Herring took the headlines; one other pitching arm went a bit under the radar initially, given the nature of the trade.

That prospect is righty reliever Austin Smith, the return piece from the trade sending Tyler Kinley to the Atlanta Braves. Kinley finished out the 2025 season extremely well, posting a 0.72 ERA and 0.680 WHIP with his new team. This was somewhat expected given how well Kinley had performed right before the trade, and the change of scenery typically helps pitchers, given Coors Field's hitter-friendly nature.

Smith was an arm that Colorado likely was looking into, and hand-selected for this trade, as he had been showcasing some impressive metrics in High-A for the Braves, but was still adjusting to the Double-A level at that point. He was seen as more of an expendable prospect for them. Little did they know, he would immediately turn things around with Colorado in the second half.

How Did Austin Smith Perform Following His Trade to the Rockies?

A black Colorado Rockies hat and a light brown fielding glove sit on the dugout railing during an MLB game.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Following his trade to Colorado, Austin Smith immediately found his footing in Double-A Hartford, which is a great sign considering how desperately the Rockies need pitching. In 15 appearances, he posted a 1.69 ERA, 1.063 WHIP, 12 strikeouts, six walks, 11 hits allowed, a 2-3 record and four saves.

This was a stark improvement from his numbers in Double-A before the trade, where in 18 appearances he had a 5.40 ERA, 1.550 WHIP, 21 strikeouts, 11 walks, 20 hits allowed, a 0-3 record and four saves.

While he did have a similar strikeout rate, he was giving up much higher-leverage hits, which resulted in significantly more runs allowed, bumping his ERA quite high.

Intriguingly, the WHIP differential notes it was not exclusively his fault, but it was still rather high with Double-A Columbus, and fell vastly with Hartford, showcasing that he was not getting lucky with these metrics, but was actually improving his game during this time.

Hopefully, as he prepares for 2026, he will be able to continue on this path, finding his way to Triple-A in the near future and being an option down the stretch for the Rockies' bullpen.

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Jeremy Trottier
JEREMY TROTTIER

Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.

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