In his MLB Insider, Denver Gazette beat writer Luke Zahlmann takes you around the Rockies and MLB:

Scott Oberg knows the power of choice.

It wasn’t his choice to leave baseball; it was his body that forced his retirement after bouts with blood clots. His latest role with the Rockies is a choice made by himself and a special opportunity to spread wisdom from an effective pitching career cut short.

The reliever’s impact against the Chicago Cubs in a winner-take-all Wild Card game was visible. Oberg struck out four consecutive hitters to set the stage for Tony Wolter’s walk-off hit in extra innings in 2018. Now he’s gone behind the scenes to embrace winning.

“Baseball’s always been a part of my life. I wanted to stay in the game,” Oberg said. “I had my time playing. Now I can help the next wave of guys coming through that have a lot of potential. Even if a guy doesn’t make the big leagues, I still get to positively impact him at some level. It’s a special place, and when they wanted me to be a part of it, I was on board.”

Oberg shares a similar role to other Colorado veterans like Clint Hurdle, Todd Helton and Vinny Castilla.

He travels to the minor leagues each month, spending most of his time between Double-A Hartford — not far from his home in New Jersey, on the same coast as his hometown in Massachusetts — and Triple-A Albuquerque.

General manager Bill Schmidt gives him a plan for each trip and he goes to scout, teach and observe young players on a major-league doorstep — prospects like Jaden Hill, Angel Chivilli and others.

It’s a collaborative process.

Oberg melds minds with minor leaguers to understand their mindset and where he can help them. Oberg’s time has largely been spent teaching them about escaping struggles, even more so than how to continue success. His playing days saw him produce one of the best back-to-back season stretches of any Colorado reliever (2.45 earned run average in 2018, 2.25 in 2019).

The production didn’t come until he faced the troubles of Coors Field and a major-league relief role. His first three seasons were a learning process.

“I’ve learned to communicate all the times I didn’t do well,” Oberg said. “I think that ends up having a bigger impact on guys. Whether they know my whole story or not, it doesn’t really matter. They just know I played with the Rockies and had a longer-than-average career. I can go through all the times I struggled and show them that development isn’t a linear line, it’s full of ups and downs.

”You’re going to have to take three or four steps back sometimes, even if it feels uncomfortable, to make four of five steps forward. Just because you don’t get it right now doesn’t mean you’ll never get it.”

Oberg averages two trips per month. It allows him to spend time with the franchise while embracing the freedom of being with his family in retirement after spending eight years with the organization as a player following his 15th-round selection in the 2012 MLB draft.

Before the trips, he’ll take a list of players before scouting them. Videos, stats and underlying metrics help mold his plan, and a conversation with each player refines his approach.

“The conversations are always going to be a little different with each guy,” Oberg said. “Sometimes the hard part is not being there all the time with them gauging where each of them is at or what they’re striving for or working on. The background work I do allows him to at least have a blueprint, whether it’s baseball-related or routine-related. Sometimes it’s even things like how a guy gets ready in the bullpen after being a starter before. It’s all part of trying to connect with the players, and that’s preached from the top-down from a staff standpoint.”

Colorado’s farm system is a unanimous top-10 collection as Schmidt’s restock of the minor-league cupboard continues. The top-30 MLB rankings feature 14 pitches, including top prospect Chase Dollander, who is with High-A Spokane for his first professional season.

The major league roster has suffered pronounced struggles, especially in the bullpen. It’s a group with a league-worst 5.73 ERA that is nearly a full run worse than the 29th-ranked club (Toronto, 4.80).

Reinforcements are on the way, and former Rockies standouts are the generals of the next brigade.

Oberg was once part of the on-field solution that led the franchise to back-to-back postseason berths in 2017 and 2018. He’s trying to be part of it from the clubhouse now, and his wisdom has been eagerly accepted by minor leaguers looking for the key to potentially pitching at altitude in Denver.

The reliever never wanted to leave the game, so he didn’t. At least not fully.

What I’m hearing:

—Keith Law’s draft rankings tell the story of a weak 2024 class.

According to the longtime writer, now at The Athletic, the class thins out dramatically around pick 55 and features a small group of top-end talent compared to other draft classes in recent history. The top player is former Georgia walk-on Charlie Condon, who hit 37 home runs, the most for any player in a single season since BBCOR bats were introduced in college in 2012.

Florida’s Jac Caglianone has also drawn headlines at Florida for his towering home runs and left-handed velocity on the mound. He reached 99 miles per hour with the Gators but has already undergone Tommy John surgery once in his career and may be shifted off the mound in the majors. His collegiate exploits give small hope that he could become the next two-way player along the lines of Shohei Ohtani if a franchise enabled him to do both.

The two are headline names of a shallow class where the Rockies have the No. 3 pick. Right-handed starter Chase Burns (Wake Forest) and lefty Hagen Smith (Arkansas) figure to be available and could continue the franchise’s string of drafting college starters. It’s worked well so far with Chase Dollander (No. 1 prospect), Sean Sullivan (No. 13) and Jack Mahoney (No. 19), who were all taken in the 2023 MLB draft.

What I’m seeing:

—Sarah Langs’ baseball research is unmatched and she put the latest All-Star class in perspective on Sunday.

This year’s rosters feature four rookies for just the ninth time in league history. Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill, Mason Miller and Shōta Imanaga were picked to represent each league. It’s the second consecutive year with at least four rookies after Corbin Carroll, Yennier Cano, Kodai Senga and Josh Jung made it last season. Before the back-to-back campaigns, it had only happened twice since 2003.

Skenes became the first player in major league history to be named to the All-Star game the year after being a No. 1 overall pick.

Minor League Minute:

—Carson Palmquist isn’t just knocking on the door to the majors. He’s making record-breaking statements to bust it down.

The left-handed starter set the franchise’s single-game record with 13 strikeouts for Double-A Hartford last week and was named the Eastern League player of the week. High-A Spokane standouts Cole Carrigg and hurler Connor Staine swept the Northwest League’s weekly awards for the top 10-ranked farm system in the majors.

Colorado has made a habit of weekly awards and Brenton Doyle took home its first major-league Player of the Week nod this week.

Palmquist is the headliner as the organization’s No. 14 prospect. He pitched well in major-league camp during spring training and figures to debut this season like Yard Goat teammates Adael Amador and Angel Chivilli. He carries a 3.29 ERA in 14 starts this year with 92 strikeouts in 65⅔ innings, tied for the most strikeouts in the Northwest League with Yankees’ No. 21 prospect Zach Messinger.

The List

Keith Law’s top-10 MLB draft prospects:

1. 3B/OF Charlie Condon (Georgia)

2. 2B Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

3. 2B JJ Wetherholt (West Virginia)

4. OF/RHP Braden Montgomery (Texas A&M)

5. RHP Chase Burns (Wake Forest)

6. LHP Hagen Smith (Arkansas)

7. 1B Nick Kurtz (Wake Forest)

8. 1B/LHP Jac Caglianone (Florida)

9. SS Bryce Rainer (Harvard-Westlake High School, Calif.)

10. OF/SS Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep High School, Miss.)