Sunday, November 30

DENVER -- Rockies rookie second baseman Adael Amador (club No. 7 prospect) swung back on Saturday afternoon.

The first month of the season saw Colorado have to go to multiple prospects, ready or not. The switch-hitting Amador, 22 and making progress but still in the learning stages of transitioning from shortstop to second base, was pulled up from Triple-A Albuquerque on April 13. He entered Saturday batting .125.

Amador delivered his first Major League home run on Saturday, off the Reds’ Hunter Greene. He finished 3-for-4, the last being a ninth-inning RBI double aided by poor defense that brought the tying run to the plate at the end of the eventual 6-4 loss. The performance left Amador at .214 going into Sunday, a game he did not appear in.

The plan was to keep Amador in Triple-A to check off development boxes, and second baseman Thairo Estrada was signed as a free agent for that reason.

But Estrada sustained a right wrist injury during Spring Training and has not played. Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and infielders Tyler Freeman and Aaron Schunk also are on the injured list. Amador was slashing .275/.408/.450 in his first 10 Triple-A games when the Rockies had to change their plan and recall him. 

Amador’s immediate Major League struggles are a good measure of the difference between the Minors and the Majors. But a pull-shot homer off a talented pitcher such as Greene and a nice statistical day can serve as a reminder that Amador is a top prospect for a reason.

“It’s a kid’s dream to play in the big leagues and hit the first homer in the big leagues,” Amador said in Spanish, with assistant hitting coach Andy González interpreting. “I’m just getting better, working hard day after day, feeling better with the help of the coaches and the teammates.”

Amador jumped from Double-A Hartford to the Majors last June, but his introduction was truncated to 10 games because of an oblique injury that first occurred in the Minors and never healed. The less-than-ideal debut also came when he was transitioning from shortstop to second base -- and having trouble gaining the footwork and anticipation at his new position.

But Amador's movement on defense was much better during Spring Training and has continued to improve. The offense is coming slowly. His ability to work counts helped him build his prospect reputation, but through 11 games since his callup, he has struck out 10 times against two walks.

Amador has shown signs recently. He drew a bases-loaded walk in Friday night’s 8-7 loss to the Reds, and he had his best day on Saturday.

“Obviously, there are better pitchers,” Amador said. “They throw a lot of pitches down -- strike-to-ball. I’m paying attention to that. I’m learning and having a blast doing it.”

The Rockies (4-23) see a talented player who needs to build confidence. With Estrada on the 60-day IL until late May and likely needing an injury rehab assignment, there is time.

“He’s got 21 Major League games, 158 Major League innings,” manager Bud Black said. “He’s learning every day. The thing I want him to realize is there’s a difference between the speed of players in the Majors and in the Minors, but it’s still the same game.”

Only the stakes are higher.

Friday’s one-run loss was tied at 4 with two outs in the fifth and the Reds had runners at first and third. Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland forced Santiago Espinal into a soft grounder toward Amador, who made the mistake of circling around baserunner Noelvi Marte, whose path was close to the ball.

Had Amador gone straight to the ball, he could have made the play or Marte would have run into him. Either way, the out would have been made since Marte would have been called for interference. Avoiding contact on a batted ball is the runner’s responsibility.

A frustrated Freeland could be seen stomping and yelling into his glove after the play. Freeland declined discussing the play or the reaction, out of teammate etiquette.

It turned out that Amador didn’t know the rule. The play is rare, but less rare at second base.

“That was the first time for me seeing the play,” Amador said, with a smile and in English. “Now I know what to do.”

Not in the lineup on Sunday, Amador did fielding drills with third-base coach Warren Schaeffer, then sat near the dugout talking to Jerry Amador (no relation), a former Minor Leaguer with mental skills, coaching and language communication duties with the organization.

“I’m thankful for the way he works,” said Schaeffer, who meets with Amador daily for drill work or teaching and discussion. “When you work that hard, you’re naturally going to get better. What he needs is to combine that work ethic with a sense of internal confidence. That will come with time and patience at our end and pumping confidence into him.”

Charlie Condon (the Rockies' No. 2 prospect, MLB Pipeline's No. 27 overall), a corner infielder/outfielder selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft, sustained a non-displaced fracture of his left wrist during Spring Training and has not played since. Player development director Chris Forbes said Condon would visit with noted Scottsdale, Ariz., hand specialist Dr. Donald Sheridan on Monday, with hopes that Condon will be cleared to begin strengthening exercises. The club projects a mid to late May return to action if all the benchmarks are met.

Right-hander Germán Márquez believes the delivery issues that have led to his poor start have come from trying too hard to achieve the fastball velocity he had before undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2023. The velocity is fine, but four-seam fastballs and sinkers he’s trying to get to one side of the plate are leaking to the other. His breaking pitches are best described as sometime-y.

Márquez has decided not to chase his old velocity, but to look for his old motion.

“I’ve been watching my old videos, when I was good,” Márquez said. “My delivery was just simple. It was easy, easy [he said pantomiming a smooth delivery], then I would release the ball out in front.

“We all go through this. It’s like you’re missing one little thing, then you’re lost. I’ve got to keep working to get better.”

To subscribe to Rockies Beat, visit this page and mark "Rockies Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Rockies or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (thomas.harding@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.