Coloradans in the minor leagues: 37 high school and college players trying to climb the ladder
May 5—Chad Bell, 3B (Rocky Mountain)
New York Yankees — Low-A Tampa Tarpons
Drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round in 2019 from Louisiana-Monroe.
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Greg Bird, 1B (Grandview)
Colorado Rockies — Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes
Played in 186 games with the Yankees between 2015 and '19 and signed a minor league deal with Colorado this past offseason.
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Beau Brieske, RHP (CSU-Pueblo)
Detroit Tigers — High-A West Michigan Whitecaps
27th-round pick by Detroit in 2019, Brieske went 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings in his pro debut at two levels in 2019.
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Brock Burke, LHP (Evergreen)
Texas Rangers — Triple-A Round Rock Express
A third-round pick by Tampa Bay out of high school in 2014, Burke reached the major leagues for six games with Texas in 2019.
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Ryan Burr, RHP (Highlands Ranch)
Chicago White Sox — Triple-A Charlotte Knights
A fifth-round pick out of Arizona State in 2015, Burr reached the big leagues in the 2018 and '19 seasons after ripping through the minor leagues with a 2.02 ERA in 124 appearances.
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Quin Cotton, OF (Regis Jesuit)
Cincinnati Reds — High-A Dayton Dragons
Drafted by the Rockies (38th round) out of Regis Jesuit, but opted to attend Grand Canyon University and was taken three years later in the eighth round by the Reds. Hit .283/.376/.409 in his Rookie League debut in 2019.
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R.J. Dabovich, RHP (Pueblo West)
San Francisco Giants — High-A Eugene Emeralds
Drafted in the fourth round in 2020 by the Giants after serving as Arizona State's closer.
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Ashton Easley, OF (Air Force)
Miami Marlins — Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads
Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020, has yet to make pro debut.
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Mitch Horacek, LHP (ThunderRidge)
Atlanta Braves — Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers
Minor League veteran with an Ivy League degree from Dartmouth signed as a free agent with Atlanta in March after spending 2018-19 in Colorado's system.
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Julian Garcia, RHP (Fossil Ridge/Metro State)
Philadelphia Phillies — Double-A Reading Fightin Phils
A 10th-round pick in 2016, Garcia is 20-19 with a 3.37 ERA and 336 strikeouts in 293 2/3 minor league innings.
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Max George, C (Regis Jesuit)
Colorado Rockies — Double-A Hartford Yard Goats
Sixth-round pick in 2014 was converted to catcher prior to the 2019 season.
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Jake Gilbert, RHP (Air Force)
Cincinnati Reds — High-A Dayton Dragons
The 6-foot-7 former Falcon appeared in the first game of the season for Dayton, striking out a pair.
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Chris Givin, SS (Rock Canyon)
San Diego Padres — Double-A San Antonio Missions
Taken in the 19th round out of Xavier in 2019, Givin drove in 30 runs in his first 44 professional games with an .815 OPS.
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Matt Givin, RHP (Rock Canyon)
Miami Marlins — Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads
Givin signed in 2017 for $458,000, well above slot value as a 20th-round pick that coaxed him out of a commitment to Xavier. He is 5-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 69 1/3 professional innings at the Rookie League level.
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Devlin Granberg, OF (Holy Family)
Boston Red Sox — High-A Greenville Drive
Sixth-round pick out of Dallas Baptist in 2018, has posted a career .370 OPB in 185 minor league games with 43 doubles.
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Nick Green, RHP (Fountain-Fort Carson)
New York Yankees — Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
A seventh-round pick out of Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, Green will jump to Triple-A despite having struggled at Double-A in the pre-pandemic 2019 season (7.08 ERA in 13 starts).
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JD Hammer, RHP (Fort Collins)
Philadelphia Phillies — Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs
24th-round pick by the Rockies from Marshall in 2016, Hammer went to the Phillies in a deal for Pat Neshek and reached the majors for the first time in 2019.
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Maverick Handley, C (Mullen)
Baltimore Orioles — High-A Aberdeen IronBirds
Taken by Baltimore in the sixth round from Stanford in 2019, he started the first game of the season and scored twice after collecting a hit and a walk.
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Alec Hansen, RHP (Loveland)
Chicago White Sox — Double-A Birmingham Barons
A second-round pick out of Oklahoma, Hansen will pitch in his fifth minor league season this year.
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Jakob Hernandez, LHP (Chaparrel)
Philadelphia Phillies — Double-A Reading Fightin Phils
A 21st-round pick out of Texas-Arlington in 2017, Hernandez went 5-1 in 2019 in 47 appearances with a 1.68 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings.
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Nick Highberger, RHP (Rye)
Oakland Athletics — Double-A Midland RockHounds
Former 30th-round pick from Creighton has recorded 16 professional saves.
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Trevor Kehe, OF (Lakewood/Colorado School of Mines)
Baltimore Orioles — Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds
Division II All-American was a 36th-round pick by Baltimore in 2019.
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Griffin Jax, RHP (Cherry Creek/Air Force)
Minnesota Twins — Triple-A St. Paul Saints
Will open the year in the Triple-A rotation in the No. 3 spot as he seeks to become the first Air Force grad in the majors.
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Kyle Leahy, RHP (Erie/Colorado Mesa)
St. Louis Cardinals — Double-A Springfield Cardinals
A 17th-round pick in 2018, Leahy has posted a 4.31 career ERA in 181 2/3 innings.
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Braxton Lorenzini, RHP (Eaglecrest)
Colorado Rockies — High-A Spokane Indians
Entering his sixth minor-league season after being selected in the 33rd round in 2016 out of West Hills Community College in California.
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Bligh Madris, OF (Colorado Mesa)
Pittsburgh Pirates — Double-A Altoona Curve
A ninth-round pick in 2017 by Pittsburgh, Madris has hit .255/.317/.387 in 291 minor league games, reaching Double-A in 2019.
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Nic Ready, 3B (Air Force)
Miami Marlins — High-A Beloit
24th round pick in 2019, the former NCAA home run derby champion impressed in his pro debut when he slugged .503 at Low-A Batavia in 2019.
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Peyton Remy, RHP (Legend)
Chicago Cubs — High-A South Bend Cubs
17th-round pick in 2017 from Central Arizona JC. Started the season opener for South Bend, striking out six in 4 2/3 innings while allowing one run.
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Matthew Schmidt, 3B (Regis Jesuit)
Kansas City Royals — Low-A Columbia Fireflies
Former 37th-round pick from Michigan, the Parker native has yet to make his professional debut.
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Taylor Snyder, 2B (CSU-Pueblo)
Colorado Rockies — Double-A Hartford Yard Goats
The son of former MLB slugger Cory Snyder, Taylor has hit 44 home runs in 332 minor league games in the Rockies system.
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Tyler Stevens, RHP (Rocky Mountain)
Miami Marlins — Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos
The Alamosa-born reliever reached Triple-A in 2019 after posting a 2.29 ERA in 27 appearances with Double-A Jacksonville.
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Reagan Todd, LHP (Regis Jesuit/Colorado Mesa)
Colorado Rockies — Double-A Hartford Yard Goats
The 32nd-round pick in 2018 has appeared in 43 games at low levels in Colorado's system, posting a 4.14 ERA in 58 1/3 innings with 71 strikeouts.
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Troy Watson, RHP (Northern Colorado)
Toronto Blue Jays — High-A Vancouver Canadians
Owns a career 9-5 record with a 2.96 ERA in 123 2/3 minor league innings.
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Blake Weiman, LHP (Columbine)
Pittsburgh Pirates — Triple-A Indianapolis Indians
The reliever, taken in the eighth round in 2017 from Kansas, has posted a 2.88 career ERA in 84 appearances.
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Case Williams, RHP (Douglas County)
Cincinnati Reds — Low-A Dayton Tortugas
Fourth-round pick in 2020 was traded from the Rockies to Cincinnati this past offseason along with RHP Jeff Hoffman for RHP Robert Stephenson and CF Jameson Hannah.
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Steven Wilson, RHP (Dakota Ridge)
San Diego Padres — Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas
Wilson, a reliever, pitched in Triple-A in 2019 but saw action in 2020 only in the Dominican Winter League.
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Grant Witherspoon, OF (D'Evelyn)
Tampa Bay Rays — High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods
Fourth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2018 from Tulane, Witherspoon has 30 stolen bases in 175 professional games.
