Ryan Vilade

Vilade has a couple things going for him: He might be a plus hitter who gets to call Coors Field home, which is a recipe for high batting averages. He is also on the 40-man roster and has already made his big-league debut with an organization light on solidified outfield regulars. Vilade's power and speed are fringe-average tools, but he had a 17.8 K% last season as a 22-year-old at Triple-A, which is very impressive. His defense is middling, but that's a distinction shared by most Rockies outfielders. If the right-handed hitter can secure everyday work, he could flirt with .300 batting averages while chipping in 10-15 home runs. That playing time is far from assured, given his organization and his lack of impact tools, but his hit tool and proximity make him relevant for now.

Vilade remains a prime candidate to join Colorado's big-league roster in the near future despite the fact that he's yet to play above High-A. He slashed .303/.367/.466 with 12 homers, 71 RBI and 24 stolen bases during the 2019 season in the California League, though he did play half of his games in a hitter-friendly home ballpark. The 21-year-old is unlikely to emerge as a starter on the left side of the infield for quite some time unless either Nolan Arenado or Trevor Story find themselves on the move, or Vilade begins to put up massive power numbers at the dish, something he's yet to do consistently. Vilade will in all likelihood begin 2021 at Double-A Hartford.

Consider this the annual reminder that when a hitter puts up monster numbers while playing half his games in Lancaster, we need to check the home/road splits. Vilade hit .356/.418/.561 in 253 at-bats in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in pro ball. He hit .250/.314/.371 in 256 at-bats in the rest of the Cal League parks. Vilade still played over half his games as a shortstop in 2019, but is one of those left-side infielders who could masquerade at short in the majors but could be a plus defender at the hot corner. He stole 24 bases on 31 attempts and is a decent athlete for his size (6-foot-2, 194 pounds), but most evaluators have him clocked as a 45-grade runner, so his steals are more attributable to the Rockies' permanent green light for their prospects once they get to first base. The depth chart is quite crowded ahead of him, so he will really need to bang down the door in a couple years.

The Rockies have a knack for snatching up position players in the 40-to-120 range of the draft who end up being top-10 hitters from their class. Vilade has a chance to follow in the footsteps of Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Ryan McMahon and Colton Welker in that respect. He has a pretty swing from the right side that could lead to 25-plus homer power and a .260 or .270 average, which could skew significantly higher if he gets to call Coors Field home. The 6-foot-2, 194-pound shortstop displayed an extremely promising approach (31:27 K:BB) as the second youngest hitter in the Pioneer League, which bodes well for continued success as he moves to full-season ball. He won’t be much of a threat on the bases, and his lack of quickness has many scouts projecting him to eventually move to third base or second base. A lower-back injury cut his season short and kept him out of instructional league games, but he is expected to be fully recovered in time for minor-league camp.