Four Colorado Rockies make MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects

June 16, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; General view at Coors Field before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies against the Colorado Rockies. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday night, MLB.com released their new Top 100 Prospect list on MLB Network. It was headlined by Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton and he was joined by 35 new members to list. Four out of the hundred prospects happened to belong to the Colorado Rockies led by Jonathan Gray, P (14), Eddie Butler, P (41), David Dahl, OF (71), and Rosell Herrera, SS (99). The Rockies had the 10th most prospect points with 179 with four players. The Houston Astros led the prospect points column with seven players in the top 100 while the Boston Red Sox were second with 9 players. Here is a preview of each of the four players that made the top 100 for the Colorado Rockies:

Jonathan Gray, starting pitcher:

Gray was just drafted last June by the Colorado Rockies with the third overall pick in the draft. He was a can’t miss prospect with an above-average fastball topping out in the mid-90’s and can hit triple-digits at times. He started with the Grand Junction Rockies which is the rookie affiliate and fared well in four starts. He would pitch in 13.1 innings giving up 15 hits with 6 earned runs with a 4.05 ERA. Although the ERA wasn’t magnificent at the time, the Rockies didn’t waste any time in promoting the young fireballer to the high-a affiliate Modesto Nuts. He would excel there, starting five games giving up just two earned runs in 24.0 innings while striking out 36 batters. Gray would be shut down the rest of the season as he was on a pitch count since he was just a workhorse that season for the University of Oklahoma.

Projected Starting Level: Tulsa Drillers, Double-A affiliate.

Eddie Butler, starting pitcher:

Butler made some noise in the 2013 campaign as he spent time with three different minor league affiliates. He would start out in Single-A Asheville where he went 5-1 with a 1.66 ERA. He ended up throwing 54.1 innings giving up just 25 hits while supporting a WHIP of 0.920. After 9 starts there, he would get promoted to High-A Modesto where he started 13 games in the California League. Eddie would go 3-4 with a 2.39 ERA striking out 67 batters in 67.2 innings of work. He would finish the season out with the Tulsa Drillers while he dominated the Texas League in six starts. Although he went just 1-0, he supported an ERA of 0.65 with just 6 walks in 27.2 innings pitched. Butler’s career minor-league statistics is eye-popping as the right-handed pitcher is 16-6 with a 1.90 ERA. Butler could possibly reach the major’s this season depending on how he does in Spring Training and his progress moving forward.

Projected Starting Level: Tulsa Drillers, Double-A affiliate.

David Dahl, outfielder:

Dahl would get terrible news last season as the first-round draft choice from 2012 would suffer a torn hamstring on May 7th against the Augusta GreenJackets. In his first season with the Grand Junction Rockies, Dahl would appear in 67 games knocking out 9 home runs, 10 triples, and 22 doubles. He would hit at an impressive line of .379/.423/.625 while collecting 57 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases. In his injury plagued 2013 season, Dahl would just appear in just 10 games. He would go 11-for-40 knocking in 7 RBI’s with four doubles with a line of .275/.310/.425.

Projected Starting Level: Asheville Tourists, Single-A or Modesto Nuts, High-A affiliate.

Rosell Herrera, shortstop:

Herrera was never viewed as a highly touted prospect but showed potential after a breakout 2012 season with the Tri-City Dust Devils. Herrera would appear in 47 games for the team going 55-for-194 hitting at a line of .284/.332/.351. 46 of his 55 hits were for singles and didn’t show much pop and is labeled as contact hitter. He would get promoted to the Asheville Tourists later in the season and he would struggle to say the least. Rosell would appear in 63 games for the Tourists, hitting at a clip of .202/.271/.272 while collecting 26 RBI’s with 8 doubles. He would bounce back in the 2013 campaign with Asheville, opening the eyes of many scouts and coaches. He would post an impressive clip of .343/.419/.515 in 126 games. Herrera would show some pop clubbing out 16 home runs to go along with 33 doubles and 76 RBI’s.

Projected Starting Level: Modesto Nuts, High-A affiliate.