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Rockies hoping late season call-up will prepare Ryan Vilade for future success

By September 18, 2021 | updated 4 years ago

Rockies Baseball

Colorado’s Ryan Vilade bats in the seventh inning of a March 5 spring game vs. the Brewers in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Rockies won 6-0 Sunday to take seven out of eight.

The Associated Press

There aren’t many things that can make a man get up and leave a restaurant before eating his food.

A trip to the major leagues is definitely one of them.

On Sept. 17, Ryan Vilade had just placed an order for a cheeseburger at a Cheesecake Factory in Sugar Land, Texas when his phone rang. It was the Rockies’ Triple-A manager Warren Schafer, calling to tell him he was being promoted to the major leagues. He had to leave, after all he had a plane to catch and calls to make.

But don’t worry, he did eventually eat his cheeseburger later that night.

“It was crazy,” Vilade, the Rockies No. 5 prospect, said. “You’ve been working for this moment your whole life, and to be able to get that call was very special.”

The Rockies selected Vilade’s contract on Saturday, optioning Ryan Felter to Triple-A and designating Bernardo Flores Jr. for assignment to make room on the roster. 

The Rockies planned to add Vilade to the 40 man roster after the season, but decided to promote him early. They wanted him to start the transition to a major league player, and to be in their clubhouse to learn from their veterans Charlie Blackmon, CJ Cron and Trevor Story.

“We like the overall package of the player,” manager Bud Black said. “I think the bat can be the calling card, with solid defense.

Just like for any baseball player, a call-up is years in the making. But for Vilade, this has been his destiny since he was a 10-year-old hanging out with Joey Gallo and the other Rangers top prospects.

His father James coached the Rangers’ Double-A for six years, and Vilade, as a kid with big baseball aspirations, was always around the team. James went on to serve as a scout for the Marlins, and is now a high school coach at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano Texas.

“They let me hang out with them. I think that really shaped me to who I am today,” Vilade said about the Rangers’ prospects. “We were friends, almost.”

Vilade was drafted as a shortstop in 2017, and the Rockies converted him to an outfielder after the 2019 season during instructional league. He spent the 2020 season at the Rockies alternative training site, and the team kept a close eye on him after his performance this season in spring training. 

They sent him to Triple-A for the season, wanting the 22-year old to gain more experience. All the while, Vilade knew a call-up was close, but he tried not to think about it too often. He hit .286 in 108 games with the Isotopes, seeing time at all three outfield positions. He also played in the Futures Game at Coors Field earlier this season.

Vilade arrived in Washington, D.C. on Saturday and headed straight to the ballpark. He stood out on the field alone three hours before the game, with it empty except for the grounds crew.

He stared at the scoreboard. There was his name, listed seventh, as the Rockies’ starting left fielder.

“It’s just such a journey, such a grind,” he said. “It was just a surreal moment.”

danielle.allentuck@gazette.com

Danielle Allentuck

Reporter

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