The Colorado Rockies farm system is not strong enough.

What strength there is lies primarily in the lower levels and is, therefore, several years from MLB.

The big league club has been stupendous at home but so terrible on the road that it all amounts to a club well under .500 that is now claiming intentions to try to compete next season.

This, of course, brings the usual jeers for an out-of-touch organization that, boiled down to its basics, is bad now, about to lose their best player, and has “no help” on the way.

We could haggle a bit over exactly how bad they are right now or if Trevor Story truly is their best player anymore (or even if they are certain to lose him) but it’s the third claim here that seems a bit odd to those more well-versed in the Rockies system.

It is true that Zac Veen, Drew Romo, Benny Montgomery, and Jaden Hill represent the ceiling of excitement for star power, and are indeed all at least three years away.

But the Forgotten Five at the upper levels are sure going to have something to say about whether or not the Colorado club receives zero internal reinforcements in 2022.

Let’s start with the pitchers.

Peter Lambert – Starting Pitcher (RHP)

OK, OK. This is technically cheating.

Having already pitched 89.1 innings in MLB, Lambert has exceeded the 50 IP under which he would still be a rookie.

This makes him a “Lost Boy” and not a prospect but he still fits the bill for young, up-and-coming player who hasn’t been a factor this season but should be moving forward.

The 24-years-old righty made his first appearance since 2019 (following Tommy John surgery) for Spokane on August 18 and threw a pair of scoreless frames.

Aug 28, 2019; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Peter Lambert (23) Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

After a fairly smooth ride through the minor leagues highlighted by some incredibly low walk rates, Lambert struggled in his first year against the big bats, posting a 7.25 ERA, though FIP and xFIP numbers of 5.97 and 5.29 respectively suggest he was also pretty unlucky.

His walk rate also rose to 3.63 which isn’t terrible for some guys but needs to be improved for Lambert who doesn’t have dominant wipeout stuff. He does, however, have an excellent command and understanding of the strike zone, a great attitude and a cerebral approach.

He has long been seen as a potentially solid 3/4 starter in MLB and Fangraphs had tabbed him with above average (55) ratings on his fastball, curveball, change-up and command.

It will be fascinating to see if and how Lambert can reinsert himself back into the conversation.

If the Rockies are successful in their publicly-discussed attempts to re-sign Jon Gray, then when healthy they already have their five-man rotation.

This could mean that Lambert, and the next entry on our list, end up fighting for spots (and attention) in a Rox bullpen that desperately needs an infusion of new and/or young energy and talent.

Ryan Rolison – Starting Pitcher (LHP)

Our second pitcher who has slipped the minds of many, as absence has made the brain grow fuzzy, is Ryan Rolison.

The 24-year-old lefty has missed most of 2021 first from getting his appendix taken out and then from a broken middle finger on his left hand.

In addition to that obviously being bad news in and of itself, it’s especially frustrating for Rolison who had been knocking on the door arguably going back to Spring Training 2.0 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

He has now impressed in three consecutive Big League Spring Trainings and has been quickly moved through the minors, answering every challenge along the way.

Rolison would almost certainly have made his MLB debut by now if not for the injuries this season or intense chaos of last season.

In his minor league career, Rolison has never posted less than a 9.00 K/9 or more than a 2.94 BB/9.

Jul 8, 2020; Denver, Colorado, United States; Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Rolison Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

MLB.com ranked him as Colorado’s third best prospect behind only Veen and Montgomery and even briefly had him ranked in their Top 100 before the draft brought a huge influx of talent to the land and pushed him out.

Can he join Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber in the rotation to create a trio of feared southpaws? Or can he slide into a relief role where, especially for now, the Rockies may need him much more?

Either way, with both Rolison and Lambert, you don’t just have a couple of nice young arms who might, if all things go right, be trying to play in September of next season. These are guys who should be competing for jobs on day one of Spring Training 2022.

And they are probably favorites to win them.

Two pitchers with high upside and excellent polish who are primed to take the next step and become impactful next season? Good place to start.

Let’s check out the bats.

Colton Welker – 3B (RH)

Like Rolison, Welker has been a regular standout at Spring Training over the last few years and should probably have already debuted by now.

In a truly bizarre case, several players including Welker tested positive for a PED violation and were handed lengthy suspensions despite claims of contamination.

Welker issued the following statement:

“I want to make it very clear that I have never willingly nor intentionally ingested any substance to enhance my athletic performance. Given the information provided to me by the players’ association and laboratory, the amount detected was so minimal that it would have no effect on enhancing my performance.”

“I understand that a number of other players, like me, have tested positive for this metabolite at microscopic levels, and I intend to join them in seeking answers as to how this is happening in order to clear my name.”

If not for this ordeal, we would likely have already seen him in purple pinstripes and the smart money would be that we still do before the season is over.

Mar 26, 2021; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Colton Welker (79) Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Welker has shown an incredible ability to make good, hard contact with the baseball, even against top level pitching, drawing comparisons to the likes of Garrett Atkins.

He is a surehanded but not especially dynamic defender at third who can also play a decent first, begging the question about where exactly he fits on the roster.

But that will be answered once things shake out a bit going into next year.

For now, it is simply important to not forget that this is yet another player who has long been expected to be a factor at the MLB level, who is right on the doorstep, and whose bat could provide some punch next year that those expecting “no help” will surely be surprised by.

In a very small sample size of 10 games at Triple-A this year, the 23-year-old right-handed slugger has slashed .341/.413/.585 with two homers and 13 RBI good for a wRC+ of 144.

Ryan Vilade – OF (RH)

Now we come to our first player who is actually a bit ahead of schedule rather than frustratingly behind.

Ryan Vilade has had an absolutely fascinating minor league career thus far.

It begins with the fact that he was a second-round pick but actually the Rockies first selection in the 2017 draft thanks to a selection that was lost in the signing of Ian Desmond.

One last bitter pill to swallow from that fiasco is made slightly sweeter by the fact that their defacto first pick has played like someone who should have been taken in the first round anyway.

Taken out of Oklahoma State as a shortstop, Vilade quickly moved over to third at Rookie ball where he got going with the bat right away, posting a 132 wRC+ in 33 games.

He moved up to A ball at the age of 19 in 2018 and once again more than held his own with a 110 wRC+.

Colorado kept moving him quickly through the system and kept looking for the best place for his glove, giving him another chance to play shortstop in 2019 where he performed admirably if not inspirationally.

The bat, however, brought plenty of inspiration.

Mar 1, 2021; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies Ryan Vilade Credit: MLB photos via USA TODAY Sports

Vilade posted a 128 wRC+ in 128 games in High-A as a 2-year-old, giving him a third straight year of well above average hitting and the chatter around him began to increase.

Then, as we all know, the pandemic hit and we all lost a season of minor league baseball.

What should have been Vilade’s Double-A campaign was washed away, in its place a series of camps and exhibitions that the club and player could only hope would keep him sharp.

Well, like everyone else we’ve discussed, he showed up to Spring Training 2021 looking like someone who belonged.

And so, without having ever played at Double-A, the Rockies remained full of faith and aggressive and jumped him straight to Triple-A.

Also, with plenty of talent accruing at the corner infield spots including the last and next players discussed in this article, Vilade once again moved positions into the outfield.

He has played 46 games in left field, 27 in right, 11 in centerfield, and three at first base, also a new position for him. He played 83 games at shortstop in 2019.

After being one of the youngest players in High-A he has competed in Triple-A against competition on average 4.8 years older than him.

So his .281/.339/.418 (85 wRC+) production in the offensive-heavy PCL is a bit more impressive when put into full context. This earned him an invitation to the prestigious 2021 Future’s Game.

Speaking of context, Vilade has had remarkably consistent and solid walk rates his last three seasons (9.2%, 9.5%, 8.1%) and low strikeout rates (18%, 16.2%, 17.5%) all pointing to a player who looks ready to hold his own against MLB pitching very soon.

Elehuris Montero – 3B (RH)

Our fifth and final member of the Forgotten Five has been overlooked in two primary ways.

First, like the rest of this group, he is one of the few highly-intriguing prospects in the Rockies system who has experience at Double-A or higher. There may not be a ton of them, but each one still counts.

Second, and probably far more importantly, is that he has been tacitly dismissed as a part of the parade of anger over the Nolan Arenado trade that was summarily and universally eviscerated.

But that hasn’t stopped Montero from getting right back to being the potential star he was looking like in the Cardinals system before an untimely injury.

Keith Law of the Athletic had even ranked Montero in the Top 100 at one point, stating:

Mar 1, 2021; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies Elehuris Montero Credit: MLB photos via USA TODAY Sports

“[Montero] was a top-100 prospect going into 2019, but the Cardinals jumped him over High A… and he broke a hamate bone that April, leading to a disastrous season between injuries and non-performance. He can hit, and has at least 55 power… although he’s going to require work to be able to stay at third base…He could be a 40 doubles/20 homers guy at first, with a high average but just fringy OBP, if the loss of hand strength was the driving factor behind his bad 2019, but we won’t really know until he gets to play again.”

Well he has played again and we do, in fact, know quite a bit more.

After a slow start in Double-A, Montero rode a scorching-hot July where he hit .416/.467/.831 with 12 homers to right the ship.

Overall on the season, that puts him at .274/.362/.535 with 22 home runs which is good for a 138 wRC+.

When you combine that with the fact that he was the Midwest League MVP in his last full healthy season in 2018, it looks like Colorado may have another gem on their hands.

Montero is a bit further away than the other four but he has a strong chance for a promotion to Triple-A very soon and should contend for a roster spot at some point next year, even if not right out of the gate. Though, a strong spring could go a long way for him.

In Conclusion

According to MLB.com’s list updated in August, Rolison, Montero, and Vilade are the third, fourth, and fifth best prospects on the Rockies farm. And they all have ETAs of 2021.

Lambert technically doesn’t count but can’t be forgotten.

For some unknown reason, they dropped Welker all the way down to 20th despite despite having ranked him much higher in the past and most other lists still placing him in Colorado’s Top 10.

In other words, when thinking about how to build for 2022, we should all be aware that four of their Top 10 prospects (plus Lambert) are set to make an immediate impact.

Just like any other players, no matter how highly praised in the minors, you can’t count on anyone who has never played at the top level to take you from the bottom of the division to the top.

The Rockies must play free agency incredibly well if they are going to reach their goal of competing next season. They need veteran bats. They need an almost entirely new bullpen.

But the stories of how terrible the Rockies system is, and the narrative that these bad times will only get worse because there is “no help on the way” are going to feel a bit silly when Lambert, Rolison, Welker, Vilade, and Montero show up and remind everyone that they do, in fact, exist.