Recent Spokane Indians moving quickly through Colorado Rockies development system

Major League Baseball condensed the minor leagues before the 2021 season, eliminating 42 teams and the short-season level altogether – going from 162 teams to 120.

Fewer teams mean fewer players. But it also condenses the number of top prospects for each organization. As a result, some teams are moving prospects through their system quicker than in the past.

The Colorado Rockies, the parent club of the High-A Spokane Indians, have been particularly aggressive in promoting their highest-ranked prospects.

First-base prospect Michael Toglia – who was drafted 23rd overall in 2019 and made his pro debut later that summer – played for three of the four Rockies affiliates the past two seasons and made his MLB debut in August.

“We’re trying to push guys up,” Toglia said from the Rockies’ spring training complex in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March.

“We need guys to be ready to play on the minor league side and be ready to contribute at the big league level. Things are definitely moving quick. I spent three weeks in Triple-A and then (MLB) debuted after that. It’s crazy how fast it can happen.”

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, the No. 24-ranked prospect in the big leagues, played for five affiliates the past two seasons, including just 32 games with the Indians in ’21. He was called up for nine games with the Rockies at the end of last year and was Colorado’s opening day shortstop.

“Once our prospects are doing things right, I think it is good to challenge them and let them show us what they can do,” first-year Indians manager Robinson Cancel said.

“If they’re performing and they’re doing the things they need to do, I think they just need to keep going and face the next big challenge.”

“The kids kind of tell us when they’re ready,” Rockies director of player development Chris Forbes said. “You know, physically, you see how they’re doing. Mentally, keep checking in how they’re doing.

“They all think they should be big leaguers now, right? But you know, you never want to move too fast. But also on the flip side, you don’t move too slowly either.”

Forbes said the jump into Double-A and then from Triple-A to the majors are the big ones.

“Ultimately, if we can put them in the best place where we’re checking as many boxes as we can, we can finish off their development at the big league level. Then we’re gonna be in a good spot.”

Recent Spokane Indians Toglia, Zac Veen (No. 26 overall prospect), Drew Romo (No. 83) and Brenton Doyle spent a lot of time in big league camp this year at the Rockies’ spring training complex in Scottsdale, Arizona.

None made the club out of spring, but Toglia was one of the last cuts and is at Triple-A Albuquerque. Doyle went with him, while the others were sent to Double-A Hartford where they finished last season.

Rockies manager Bud Black liked what he saw out of all the youngsters.

“They went at it in a nice way intermixing with the veteran guys in their first big league camp,” he said. “I think they learned, they listened, they showed their skill level at times. So that was good to see for the young guys.”

Veen and Romo were sent down roughly a week before the season started.

“They’re really just getting into the Double-A level,” Black said. “Hopefully, this year will be a good year for them to prove that they’re future major league players through their performance in the minor leagues.

“They’ll be exposed to good arms throughout the pitching staff of the opponent. I think there’s many, many high-level prospects at Double-A that they’re playing against, so it’s a good test.”

With a player like Veen, it’s about refinement in his development stage.

“Every technique he uses on a fly ball as a defender matters,” Forbes said. “How quickly you do your throw, hop and get the ball on the infield matters. It’s a game of inches and he’s learning that aspect of it. You can’t run as aggressively as you did in Spokane, because they play a higher degree of catcher in Double-A, Triple A, the big leagues.”

Veen soaked in everything he could in his second big league camp.

“It’s been great to meet a lot of new players, see a lot of different views on the game,” he said. “Just seeing how, you know, some of the guys that I’ve watched for so long ago about their business.”

Veen had an idea of what to expect this season, but he said last year there was an adjustment sharing the facility with MLB veterans.

“I got to see these guys in the halls and it was pretty eye-opening, being able to play with these guys and just see what they have to say and how they go about the game.”

Veen was disappointed when he was sent down but knows there are elements of his game he needs to work on. It reinforced his ultimate goal.

“I think me and the organization are, you know, on the same mindset on where we want to be,” he said. “I think it’s cool to see that they’re allowing some of the young guys to play a little more. It’s kind of out of my control, honestly. I’m just trying to play every day.”

Doyle appreciated his time with the Indians.

“The Northwest League was a very competitive league,” he said. “You have to fix a lot of your mistakes early on in your younger years and it was good moving forward. I learned a lot from that league.”

“Spokane was good, because it was my first full season in the minor leagues,” Toglia, a Gig Harbor, Washington, native, said. “I was in Boise for 70 games in 2019 and 2020, obviously, was a wash. So, it was good to play that many games and see what that was all about. I had family over a lot. I had a blast in Spokane.”

Black said it’s up to the player when they get promoted.

“Every player is different – where they are physically, where they are emotionally, where they are as far as their confidence level and playing level at that particular time when you’re moving them,” Black said. “There’s a lot built into that confidence of being moved and ready to move.

“But it’s as much mental as it is physical. And like I said, every player is different, every player handles it differently. I can see player movement quicker, but it’s more individual based.”