This season, the Colorado Rockies have had four rookie position players make their Major League Baseball debuts. That list includes Yanquiel Fernandez, who started in right field on Wednesday night against the Houston Astros.
For Fernandez, called up on Tuesday as the organization’s fifth-ranked prospect and the first-ever Cuban-born player to debut for the franchise, this is a moment where the Rockies are looking to see if the 22-year-old is indeed ready to handle MLB pitching.
The numbers are certainly there for Fernandez, who put together a .284/.347/.502 slash line with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 63 games at Triple-A Albuquerque before getting his first big-league promotion. However, as Rockies rookies have learned this season, the jump between Triple-A and Denver is a big one.
Fernandez is hoping to find consistent success with the Rockies, something that has eluded catcher Braxton Fulford, shortstop Ryan Ritter and outfielder Zac Veen so far in their young MLB careers.
Here’s how Fulford, Ritter and Veen have fared so far in their rookie seasons, with all numbers prior to Wednesday’s action (OPS+ of 100 is considered league average).
Fulford — 42 plate appearances, .250/.262/.425 slash line, OPS+ 82
Ritter — 74 plate appearances, .239/.288/.343 slash line, OPS+ 70
Veen — 37 plate appearances, .118/.189/.235 slash line, OPS+ 14
So how are the Rockies prepping Fernandez for success and trying to ensure he produces at a high level? Interim manager Warren Schaeffer said it’s about letting Fernandez be himself and not trying to force the tough lessons endured by his fellow rookies upon him.
“Yanquiel is his own person, so he’s going to have to learn his own way when he gets here,” Schaeffer said. “We have veterans who can help him along. That’s a big thing we’re promoting is everybody helping everybody along, but you can’t come up and the first thing you say to him is, ‘Hey, Zac Veen did this and this guy did this.’ You do that and you’re setting him up for failure, in my opinion. You just let him play.”
Fernandez said he is ready for the challenge, with confidence bubbling in what he could potentially bring to a team that is desperate for a spark, especially at home. Colorado entered Wednesday night with an 8-33 record at Coors Field, MLB’s worst home record and tied with the 2003 Detroit Tigers for the worst start at home by a team in MLB’s modern era.
“[Rockies hitting coach] Jordan Pacheco told me that June is my time, my season, the month that I excel the best,” Fernandez said through an interpreter. “That comes with preparation. I never change my routine. It’s an accumulation of those things.”
Fernandez hit .364 in June at Triple-A, adding five homers and 16 RBI during the month. His OPS of 1.046 was easily his highest this season with the Isotopes.
He also lowered his strikeouts, whiffing just 10 times in 66 June at-bats.
That’s part of a trend that has been a big positive for Fernandez. In 2023, his strikeout percentage was 27.6. He lowered it in 2024 to 21.2 percent and it was at 15.6 percent when he was called up.
Making contact will be a key for Fernandez to succeed where his colleagues have struggled. Veen’s strikeout percentage was at 37.8 percent when he was sent back to Triple-A on April 23. Ritter also has struckout in 37.8 percent of his at-bats heading into Wednesday while Fulford’s percentage was even higher at 42.9 percent before Monday’s assignment back to Albuquerque.
“Every level you go up, you have to adjust,” Fernandez said about facing MLB pitching. “Basically, it’s still baseball. You still have to go out there and play and make your adjustments.
“I think every time you go out for an at-bat, especially in the big leagues, it’s a moment to learn. It’s a moment to grow. You have to have that approach, that mentality, that mindset that you’re going to grow every time you go out there.”
Fernandez believes a maturity he has developed since being a part of the MLB Futures Game as part of All-Star Game festivities in 2023 in Seattle has helped him develop into the hitter he is today.
“I had to go from a boy to a grown man to a grown professional. I understood a lot of people were going to look at me and watch me closely, especially after that game,” Fernandez said. “You have to understand the maturity level and what it takes to be a professional. You have to grow up because you can’t come here and be boy. You have to be a grown man.”
If Fernandez indeed lives up to his own expectations and continue his hot hitting in Denver, it could be a bright spot in what has been a very disappointing season at 20th and Blake.
