Rockies get high marks for their 2020 draft class with 3 high schoolers

It will take time — years, actually — before the Rockies’ class of 2020 can be fully evaluated. The initial impression, however, is that the club had an excellent draft.

Most national draft gurus give Colorado an A grade or rank it in the top five. The Athletic’s Keith Law, for example, wrote: “The Rockies did exceptionally well this year, top to bottom.”

Colorado’s home run came with the ninth pick of the first round when they grabbed Zac Veen, widely considered the best high school prospect in the draft. Veen, a 6-foot-4, 195pound outfielder from Spruce

Creek High in Port Orange, Fla., is athletic and speedy and owns a pretty swing. He projects as either a center fielder or right fielder who could hit 30-plus home runs.

Still, Colorado took some risks in a unique draft that was shortened from 40 rounds to five because of the coronavirus pandemic. Keep in mind that the virus cut short the high school and college baseball seasons, depriving evaluators of one final look this spring. But that didn’t stop the Rockies from selecting high school players with three of their six picks.

Drew Romo, from The Woodlands (Texas) High School, was taken 35th overall, and he’s con

sidered by many as the best defensive catcher in the draft. There are, however, questions about his offensive potential. Moreover, the track record of high school catchers who turn pro is not very good.

The Rockies, however, consider Romo a very mature young man. He caught for the 18-and-under Team USA the last two years and impressed scouts.

“The last catcher to play on two straight Team USA 18U teams was Joe Mauer,” Romo said, referring to the Minnesota Twins’ six-time all-star. “And I did that, as well, with the national team the last two times in a row. That gives me a lot of confidence heading into my pro career.”

The most intriguing pick, especially from a local angle, was the selection of Douglas County High School’s Case Williams in the fourth round (110th overall pick). Williams did not show up on MLB.com’s list of its top 200 draft prospects, nor did he make Baseball America’s top500 list.

He was overlooked, in part, because some evaluators were not impressed with Williams’ firepower. But the Rockies confirmed that Williams’ fastball reached 96 mph last summer and they have seen tremendous growth over the last year. He’s listed at 6-2, 210 pounds.

While Colorado believes it found an overlooked gem, the analysts on MLB Network’s draft telecast were surprised by the pick and didn’t have a lot of information about the Colorado product.

“What we saw on the broadcast, some of the information that was talked about or is on some of the websites is just a little bit outdated,” Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said. “When you have great scouts and people that are in touch with every area, but especially here at home, you have the most up-to-date and recent information, and you feel you know the kid really well.”

The draft choice most likely to make the first splash in the majors is University of Miami right-hander Chris McMahon, who was selected in the second round (46th overall). McMahon, who was angry that he didn’t get picked in the first round, has a quality mid-90s fastball, a good cutter and is developing a changeup.

McMahon pitched for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer, throwing 12 innings across three appearances, posting a 2.25 ERA and a .154 opponent batting average. He also notched 15 strikeouts, the most of any pitcher on the roster.

Third-round pick Sam Weatherly (No. 81 overall), a hard-throwing lefty with a quality slider, finished his career at Clemson with a 4-0 record and an ERA of 3.48 over 33 appearances. He spent his first two seasons mostly pitching out of the bullpen and struggled with his command at times. The Rockies, however, saw a dominant pitcher in a shortened spring season and will give Weatherly a chance to be a starter.

In the fifth round, Colorado made a safe, solid pick, tabbing Jack Blomgren (No. 140) out of Michigan. He projects as a true shortstop who can handle the bat, but he doesn’t look like a power hitter in the mode of Trevor Story.