Coming into the 2024 season, Colorado Rockies prospect Adael Amador was listed as the best in their farm system and in the Top 30 across all of baseball.
Despite still only being 21 years old, the Rox gave him an extended look at Spring Training where he showed an impressively mature process from both sides of the plate. Oh yeah, this remarkably solid middle infield defender with plus speed is also a switch-hitter.
In two minor league seasons prior to camp, Amador walked more than he struck out, carving out a reputation as one of the very best contact hitters in the minors.
In 231 games played down on the farm, he tallied 259 hits, drew 153 bases on balls, and struck out just 133 times. He also managed 31 homers and 51 stolen bases in that time for a park-and-league-adjusted wRC+ that ranged from 121 to an astounding 201.
Oddly enough, he went back to Double-A this season carrying lofty expectations and managed to do everything well… except make contact. He spent the first 22 games in a slump, tallying only nine hits, but drawing 18 walks and stealing 11 bases to make sure that he remained a threat on offense for his team.
Interestingly enough, this short sample size caused a few prospect evaluators (including MLB Pipeline) to drop Amador down their lists a bit while most of the rest of the Rockies top prospects, especially Jordan Beck, Zac Veen, and Chase Dollander, are surging.
Shortly after those updated evals came out, the Rockies newest middle-infielder started to turn things around. Dramatically.
Hits started to come over the next week before he caught fire for 17 games, hitting .275 with 10 more walks and seven home runs to earn a call-up to MLB.
Amador wasted no time at the Bigs, smacking a base hit on the very first pitch he saw.
Much like Ezequiel Tovar before him, who also lined a single on the first MLB pitch he saw, Amador brings a ton of excitement and potential at an incredibly young age.
At current time, an injury to Gold Glove winner Brendan Rodgers has created an opportunity for playing time and unless he truly takes the world by storm, this first taste is likely to be largely a learning experience that he will take with him back to the minors.
If he does take off right away, it might force the team to make a trade, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. For now, he still has a lot to prove and a long way to go. Still, it’s only natural to wonder on the potential of this the Tovar/Amador tandem. The 22-year-old is already breaking out as a star and who knows how far behind the rookie might be?
Either way they both, along with players like Brenton Doyle, Nolan Jones and a few others still down on the farm, represent what has been a fleeting commodity for Rockies fans.
Hope.
