DENVER — Ezequiel Tovar impressed the major league staff in spring training. And the Rockies’ No. 6 prospect isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. 

“I could see him catching the ball here tonight,” Chris Forbes, the Rockies’ director of player development, said prior to the Rockies game on Monday. “Defensively, he’s ready.”

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Tovar, only 20 years old, needs more time to develop offensively though. That’s why, despite his strong spring, he was sent to Double-A to start the season. But he’s come a long way, and ended the first month of the season with a .295 batting average, .381 on base percentage, 36 hits and six home runs. 

Tovar will likely never be a heavy home run hitter. He has what Forbes calls “mistake power” but does possess the ability to use the whole field. He’s picked up on cues and learned how to improve each at-bat. In a perfect world, the best at-bat against a starter is the last one, as the hitter has now seen that pitcher multiple times.

Last week, he was 0-for-3 to start a game. His fourth time up? A walk-off hit to win the game for the YardGoats. 

“That April was as good as the numbers said,” Forbes said. “He’s extremely mature.”

The Rockies have shortstop José Iglesias on a one-year deal, buying them time until Tovar is major league ready. Tovar is already on the 40-man roster, and, if all goes as planned, will be promoted to Triple-A this year. 

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As for a ticket to Denver? That, at this point, likely isn’t going to be in the cards this season. He’s still got some kinks to work out offensively: he went 0-for-5 on Friday, with four strikeouts. His pitch recognition is well above where they expected it to be at this point, but it’s still not where it needs to be.

“That’s why you aren’t seeing a 20-year-old try to make his debut this year,” Forbes said. “Just understanding that it’s a dance and what is he trying to do to me. Filling that and recognizing that you are going to see these guys as you lap through this league, I have to out-learn the guy on the mound. I think that’s going to be a big part of his journey.” 

Toglia working on swing

Michael Toglia, the switch-hitting first baseman, also started the season in Double-A. He’s working on his left-handed swing, trying to create a cleaner path and direction. They also want him to stay committed to his plan, and not to try to force the power too much, to instead let it come naturally. He has five home runs right now, but they think there’s more in him. 

Similar to Tovar, Toglia’s defense is what makes him stand out. Toglia, the Rockies’ No. 8 prospect, spent part of spring training working exclusively with Todd Helton, the best first baseman in Rockies history. They see Toglia as their gold glove winner at first base. 

“Defensively, he’s the best first baseman in the organization,” Forbes said. 

His path to the majors is a little more complicated than Tovar’s. The Rockies need to have first basemen CJ Cron and Connor Joe, who can also play outfield, in the lineup almost every day. Cron is here for the next two seasons, and prospects Colten Welker and Elehuris Montero are both on the first base depth chart. They can also play third, but Ryan McMahon has that corner covered for the next six years. The addition of the designated hitter helps with the jam, but Welker, Montero and Tovar could all be competing for the same spot next year. 

Injury Updates

The Rockies pitching depth caught the injury bug. Reliever Jordan Sheffield started the season on the major league roster, but is now dealing with a lat injury, a similar, but less severe, case of what kept him out for over half the season last year. He is heading to Arizona soon to begin ramping up. 

Top starting pitching prospects Sam Weatherly, Chris McMahon and Helcris Olvares all have shoulder injuries. Weatherly is throwing again and will pitch off a mound this week. McMahon and Olvarez are still about a month from being able to throw. 

Welker is also dealing with a shoulder injury and is currently just straightening.