How Rockies Prospects Fared in the Arizona Fall League

Jared Thomas

The versatile 23-year-old out of Austin, Texas, had a tremendous performance at the Arizona Fall League. Thomas is not talked about as much, but after what he did in Arizona, he deserves some consideration. The No. 10 prospect in the organization slashed .305/.406/.573 and a .979 OPS in 24 games.

Thomas absolutely enjoyed his time at Salt River Fields. He was one of the hottest hitters in the Arizona Fall League. The left-handed hitter got drafted by the Rockies in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, after attending the University of Texas. He comes from a great sports program, and it's an institution that prepares athletes at the college level.

In his time at Salt River, Thomas did a little bit of everything: hitting triples, home runs, doubles, and hits. Interestingly, he had more triples than doubles. He had 6 triples and 4 doubles. Thomas displayed his speed, too. He is leaving with a lot of momentum. What more can he give the franchise next season? Thomas has it all going for him so far, and next season all eyes will be on him.

Fidel Ulloa

Another quiet name that made a strong impact at Arizona Fall League is Fidel Ulloa. The right-handed reliever posted a 2-0 record in 8 games without allowing an earned run. Ulloa is one of 12 pitchers this fall to have an ERA of zero and one of eight to have a WHIP under 0.85 (0.82).

Ulloa allowed only 4 hits and recorded 11 strikeouts. He has been electric. His consistency earned him a spot on the National League's Fall Stars Game roster. LSU Tigers are considered the Yankees of College Baseball. He came from that program, even though he played for one season there. 

The Rockies took notice of him. The organization didn't waste time and drafted him in the 7th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. Sometimes some of the best players who thrive in the minors and Arizona Fall League are low-level draft picks. 

One of the reasons this could be is because 1) they play with a chip on their shoulder about being overlooked, and 2) some players don't feel extreme pressure to live up to the hype compared to first-round draft picks. Some of these prospects with low-level picks play with house money and play loose. 

However, these Rockies prospects are demonstrating that they are not joking and making scouts regret how they were evaluated.