A Road Paved In Perseverance: The story of Rockies rising star Josh Fuentes

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Colorado Rockies began their 2018 season without making a single 25-man roster transaction until April 22nd, when they demoted Mike Tauchman and promoted outfielders David Dahl and Noel Cuevas to replace the injured Carlos Gonzalez and suspended Gerardo Parra.

Since that day, many corresponding promotion/demotion transactions transpired, shuffling players along the Interstate-25 corridor between Denver and the Rockies Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sixteen such players have been shuttled between those two rosters, leaving only three players on the 40-man yet to receive the call to Colorado. Some names of these former Isotopes are more familiar than others, but all have featured in a Rockies box score.

Cuevas, Dahl, Tauchman, Harrison Musgrave, Brooks Pounders, Scott Oberg, Daniel Castro, Jeff Hoffman, Ryan McMahon, Antonio Senzatela, Pat Valaika, Sam Howard, Jerry Vasto, Tom Murphy, Yency Almonte, and now Jon Gray.

And yet, perhaps the best player to appear in an Albuquerque Isotopes uniform this season has rarely been mentioned in regards to a call-up by the Rockies.

A scan of the organization’s Top 30 prospect lists will not display his name. Nor will a thorough review of their draft picks or trade acquisitions.

He is often overlooked and underrated.

Even in his own family, he’s not usually the first player mentioned.

His name is Josh Fuentes.

His story is one of dedication and perseverance.

Starting Out

Raised in Southern California by a baseball-loving family, Fuentes played at Rancho Santa Margarita Little League as a youngster. His aspirations of playing in the majors were merely a dream as he was never deemed a supremely talented amateur like others from his area.

“I made one (All-Star team). I wasn’t very good,” he told BSN Denver. “I knew I could play, but it didn’t pan out like that.”

He stayed with baseball as a teenager at Trabuco Hills High School, who helped develop former Mustangs and future major leaguers Nick Punto and Andrew Romine on their way towards being drafted by the Phillies and Angels, respectively.

Fuentes wanted to continue playing baseball, but options were limited. He wasn’t afforded the option to play at a major Division I school like Arizona State University, where Romine attended, but he was able to continue playing baseball at nearby Saddleback College like fellow infielder Punto.

“I was never on anyone’s radar or anything like that,” says Fuentes. “I think it helped me.”

Fuentes was going to forge his own path on the belief that his abilities were good enough with or without mention of his family.

“I want to give my testimony to kids that you don’t have to do all this stuff and spend all this money,” he said. “If you can play and if you play in front of the right people, you have a shot.”

His opportunity at Saddleback College came in the form of 41 games in 2013. He led the team in games played, at-bats, hits, runs and runs batted in. His aspirations were turning into hope.

While Gauchos teammates had opportunities to transfer to Division I schools like UC Irvine, Hawaii and Indiana State, Fuentes went to the small NAIA school Missouri Baptist University located in St. Louis.

It would be one of many make-or-break moments for Fuentes in his baseball career.

“It was different. In Orange County, you get 75 degrees all year round. Going (to St. Louis) in the winter, it’s like 10 degrees. You’re freezing. I’ve got no locker room. There’s hardly anyone at the game. There are no scouts there. I think it was good for me at the time. I was miserable. Looking back, it showed, ‘Hey, do I want to play this game? This is a factor. If you can make it through this and you can grind your way through this, you can make it through the minor leagues and hopefully the major leagues.’ That helped me grow up and really appreciate the game.”

At Missouri Baptist University, Fuentes led the team in games played, at-bats, and runs, but his 60-1 at-bats-to-homer ratio was worst among Spartans’ starters. This lack of power for the 20-year-old corner infielder was a concern for scouts and major league teams.

Though eligible for the 2014 MLB Draft, Josh Fuentes never heard his name called after 1,215 selections were made over 40 rounds.

The Next Moves

Fuentes packed up his things and traveled east to ply his trade in a summer collegiate league in North Carolina for the Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plains League.

“I was going to NC for the summer to make the best of it. I was there for like a week. I was doing terrible. And I got a call (from the Rockies) saying, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about signing you as a free agent, so just wait around.’ I went 0-for-20 up to that point and that game, I had like four hits. That night, after the game, (the scout) called and said, ‘We’re going to sign you.’ It was awesome. Not as great as hearing my name called on (Draft day), but it was one of the best moments of my life.”

Fuentes signed that June in 2014 and started his professional career with the Tri-City Dust Devils, then the Rockies Low-A affiliate. Located 200 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington, Fuentes played 41 games, often in front of small crowds at Gesa Stadium with a capacity of fewer than 4,000 seats, far from the glamour of the major leagues.

After his first season as a professional, Fuentes had just one home run to his name in 150 at-bats. Though his OPS of .662 didn’t jump off the page, it was only slightly below the team average and established him as a player with abilities.

In 2015, Fuentes was given the opportunity to play ball for a full season in Low-A Asheville. The results of his first full-season were relatively good, yet similar to his previous year as Fuentes struggled to hit for extra bases. His slugging percentage improved from .327 to .383, yet he was still below the team average in on-base plus slugging.

Fuentes saw a lot of positives in his first full-season, but the Rockies felt he needed to show more in order to deserve a promotion to High-A Modesto. It would be a make or break moment for Fuentes, one of several he’d work his way through.

“My first year in Asheville, I did ok,” he remembers. “I thought I was going to be moved up. I was kind of an older guy. So, to be back there and being older than everyone else, it kind of hurt a little bit. It showed. My first month I was batting something like .067. At some point, I either adjust or I’m done playing. I found it within myself. I talked with some coaches. I talked with my family and they said, ‘Hey if this is what you want to do, you got to make an adjustment and work.’ And that’s what I did. I got an opportunity. Someone got hurt. I had an unbelievable week. I got moved up (to Modesto). It just went from there. It’s just a testament of what I’ve been through and what I continue to go through. It’s definitely made me a better ballplayer and a better person.”

Fuentes would continue to play well in 2016 during his time in the California League with the Modesto Nuts, putting together a slash line of career highs: .278/.342/.450. For the season, he’d collect 46 extra base hits and drive in 64 runs during 384 at-bats.

He was proving doubters wrong at the plate and starting to gain some notoriety for his stellar defense.

Defending His Position

Those analyzing Fuentes’ statistics during his early seasons as a professional may not be overwhelmed by his offensive output. For Fuentes, even when he wasn’t producing gaudy numbers at the plate, he was focused on contributing to his club’s wins on the defensive side.

“That’s what I try to do: help my pitcher’s out. And give the fans something to cheer about. Hitting, I want to work on hitting, but you can’t really control it. You line out and you’re out. Hit a dribbler and you get on base. For me, defense is something I can control on a pitch-by-pitch basis. That’s what I try to do.”

Defensive metrics in the minor leagues are hard to come by but watch any Isotopes game on MiLB.tv and you’re certain to see him make a dazzling defensive play on any day of the week.

Teammates of Fuentes have noticed his prowess in the field, too. In one particular game in early May, shortstop Shawn O’Malley got to witness just how skilled Fuentes can be defensively.

“My jaw dropped like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this guy serious right now?’ I was speechless,” O’Malley said. “You know, it was exciting. He makes those plays look easy.”

This is where the most comparisons are made between Josh and his cousins.

“I take pride in my defense. A little bit has to do with how I was raised. The family thing, everyone knows about that.”

To many Colorado Rockies fans, Fuentes is the younger cousin of superstar Nolan Arenado.

Though they emanate from the same family, their journeys have been nothing alike.

“Some of my antics may be the same, but I got to be Josh Fuentes, not Nolan’s cousin.”

In The Shadow

The biggest misconception about Fuentes is that his path has been the same as Arenado, yet with lesser success. Nolan is 27-years-old, entering his 6th season in the majors, while Josh is just 25 and has yet to make his major league debut.

“I never played travel ball. It was always just Little League. Not doing Perfect Game.”

Nolan was highly recruited out of high school and was selected 59th overall in the 2009 draft. Josh went to a local community college and went undrafted in 2014.

“I was thinking that coming in as a free agent, not getting at-bats and games. But when I did, I took advantage and worked hard. I was there taking ground balls, every day, even when I was playing, hitting after, doing all that stuff. I knew I could play. I just needed an opportunity and I got a few and made the most of them.”

Even his cousin Jonah Arenado, San Francisco Giants prospect, has witnessed the differences between Josh and Nolan.

“He’s definitely had a tough road,” says Arenado. “It’s the business part of baseball. When you’re not a top rounder or signed, it’s kind of a shorter leash, but you definitely have to prove yourself right away. And he definitely did that.”

As difficult as the comparisons with Nolan can be for Josh, he’s got one thing going for him: his own name. Nolan’s brother, Jonah of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, cannot escape the wake of his All-Star sibling.

“For (Jonah), he gets a lot of comparisons. Sometimes, he falls in that trap of ‘Hey, you’re Nolan’s brother. You’ve got to do everything Nolan does.’ I was doing that my first year, trying to be like him and hit like him. I think it took me to High-A, late in the season, when I said, ‘I’ve got to be myself and I gotta do what I’ve gotta do.’ Jonah, he’s in Double-A, he’s had a couple good years. He’ll be alright, but it’s definitely tough to be in that shadow, especially because we’re so close and we’re always together. He’ll figure it out. You’ve just got to be yourself and whatever happens, happens.”

After that late-season promotion to Modesto in 2016, Fuentes’ fate finally began to change. And he was making a name for himself, one that did not include the words “Nolan’s cousin.”

Pushing Forward

Fuentes began the 2017 season with a promotion to Double-A Hartford. As the Yard Goats starting third baseman, Fuentes hit .307 and improved his home run totals again (15) as well as his runs batted in (72). He was a key member of a club that opened the brand new $71 million Dunkin Donuts Park in downtown Hartford.

At the end of the season, he was named the top third baseman for the Eastern League All-Star Team, ahead of such highly-touted prospects as Miguel Andujar, Rafael Devers and Michael Chavis.

“I was never even close to being an All-Star in any of the other years,” he says. “To beat a guy like (Devers) was awesome and that solidified to me that I can play in the big leagues and I can play with these guys.”

If the praise of such an award might go to his head, Fuentes had a good perspective to deal with level of success.

“You gotta keep it rolling and that’s what I’ve been doing. Some guys, they either make the All-Star Team or have a good year and they slow it down and think, ‘I’ve got this.’ In baseball, you have a good year; and the next year, you can have a bad year. I know from Nolan telling me, ‘Hey, every year you gotta get better and find something to get better at.’ And that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

The dedication to his craft went past the end of the regular season. Even after a career year, Fuentes continued to focus on his development by traveling south of the border to play in the Mexican Pacific Winter League. When his 2017 calendar completed Fuentes had played in 168 regular season games, a statistic that doesn’t even include many more games in Spring Training.

“It’s different (in Mexico). The only way I can think of it: it’s a party. The most serious party you’ve ever been to. But, it’s all about winning. And it kind of gives you a big league feel. In the minor leagues, you obviously want to win here and it’s important, but the most important thing is developing your players. In Mexico, you’ve got to win now. I know a lot of guys on my team, American players, if they didn’t do good the first month, they sent them home. There was pressure. I kind of felt it was getting me ready for higher levels.”

Persisting To Play

In good times and in bad, Fuentes has battled and pushed through to get to the next level. Complacency is not a word in his vocabulary. But there is one word that’s frequently used around Fuentes household.

“Perseverance. My mom would always say that every time I had a bad game or bad week. I’d get upset. You have a bad at-bat, but you have to get out there and keep going. I think that’s huge for me. If I have a bad at-bat – my first, second, or third – then the fourth one, this is it. This is the only at-bat that matters.”

Confidant and cousin Jonah Arenado has seen the same thing.

“He’s got a really good mindset and I think that’s why he’s so good. He’s got the mindset where he doesn’t look too far into things, which, obviously, in baseball, you can start digging in and starting getting too mental about things and he does a good job of going out there and being happy he’s out there and that’s what’s helped him. That’s why he’s having such success. I admire that.”

With this sense of perseverance, Fuentes has come a long way from that kid in Rancho Santa Margarita Little League who was used to seeing his older cousin garner all the accolades.

“I never got too many opportunities, but when I did I took advantage of them. And to be able to kind of learn. A lot of guys, especially guys in my draft class; it may not have panned out for them, maybe they thought they were going to coast it. For me that edge of always trying to prove someone wrong and always trying to work and get better and think it’s helped me.”

The growth is not lost on coaches and managers within the Rockies system.

Warren Schaeffer, who currently manages the Double-A affiliate Hartford Yard Goats, has seen Fuentes at different levels along the way and can’t stop singing his praises.

“I saw him (at Tri-City). He got a shot. He played well. I managed him at Asheville. The next year, he had to work his way in. He finally got a shot. Hit in the middle of the lineup. Played well. The next year, came back to me at Asheville. Got a shot. Didn’t make the next level. Came back. And guys take that a little bit hard. He raked. Worked his way to the next level. He was the player of the month here in August in Double-A. He raked. Now he’s in Triple-A doing really good. Hitting 3-hole, 4-hole every night. I mean, the kid is a great story. He’s a great story. He plays so hard and works so hard and wants nothing but the ultimate goal.”

Isotopes manager Glenallen Hill is another in the organization that values Fuentes’ abilities.

“He’s not underrated to us. He brings a style that’s unique to himself. He’s a very loose guy. He plays with a lot of rhythm in his head and his preparation. And so far, he’s taken advantage of the opportunities at a higher level. The key is for him to be consistent. He’s showing good signs of that early. He’s very good with runners in scoring position.”

One Step Away

The 2018 season for Josh Fuentes has been incredibly successful. He’s among the Pacific Coast League leaders in hits, triples, and runs batted in. Not bad for your first go-round at Triple-A.

At the time of posting, Fuentes is tied for the most triples (10) and hits (109) in all of the minors. He is also the only player in the minor leagues with nine or more doubles, triples and home runs.

He’s on pace for career highs in every conceivable category and was even named as a reserve to the Pacific Coast League All-Star Team alongside several top 100 prospects.

“To be in Triple-A? If you asked me in college, ‘Hey you’re going to be in Triple-A in four or five years’, I would have thought you were crazy. At one point, I was like, ‘Man, I gotta start looking for a job.’ To be here is truly humbling. But it makes me work even more because I’m so close.”

Even now, on the doorstep of the majors, Fuentes doesn’t have a clear path ahead. With the Colorado Rockies 40-man roster packed with 37 players with MLB service time and his own relative blocking him at third base, Fuentes will need to persevere even more to break through and earn a roster spot in the majors.

But Fuentes remains undeterred and is willing to play anywhere in the infield if it means a chance at making it to the big show.

“I played shortstop in high school and college. Shortstop and second base. I know I can play there. I just need an opportunity. First is great, I like first. I like third because you can make more plays. I like to make plays. At first, you just stand there and catch it. I’m comfortable at first, third, or second or short.”

With unmatched perseverance and on the verge of the big leagues, he’s knocking on the door of opportunity. And the Rockies may need to let him in.