Rockies hoping Yanquiel Fernandez’s power potential plays out
Fans sitting in the right field seats at Coors Field might want to put down their nachos Dippin Dots and adult beverages when Yanquiel Fernandez strategies to the plate Yes that includes those in the second deck Fernandez the Rockies left-handed hitting outfield prospect can mash On Sunday the -year-old from La Habana Cuba hit a home run at Triple-A Las Vegas that measured feet and came off his bat at mph On Tuesday Fernandez was officially promoted from Triple-A Albuquerque to the Rockies -man roster He announced it didn t occur to him that his monster blast in Vegas would help propel him to the big leagues No no I never thought that Fernandez announced through a translator before Colorado hosted the Astros on Tuesday night I never focus on that aspect of it I never thought that was going to be my final homer at the Triple-A level Fernandez was not in the starting lineup Tuesday against lefty starter Colton Gordon but he ll get his at-bats soon enough when he starts getting playing time in right field The club is eager to see what Fernandez can do against big-league pitching We are going to give him opportunities after his hot June and I m looking forward to it manager Warren Schaeffer noted Big power big arm good defender He s just years old The sky is the limit for him The Rockies No prospect MLB Pipeline slashed with home runs and doubles in games for the Isotopes this season He sizzled in late June hitting safely in of his last games batting with five homers four doubles and RBIs Rockies hitting coach Jordan Pacheco who worked with Fernandez in the minors commented he is becoming a more mature hitter I think he s evolved on the discipline side more often hitting the pitch he wants to hit as opposed to what the pitcher wants him to swing at Pacheco declared Pacheco announced that Fernandez still tends to chase pitches but his strikeout rate was only at Triple-A this season Fernandez represented the Rockies in the All-Star Futures Competition in Seattle in He generated a lot of buzz at the time Yanquiel is a special talent disclosed Chris Denorfia the Double-A Hartford manager at the time He can impact the meeting in so a multitude of avenues The power prospective is huge He s showing a emerging eye for the strike zone and he has one of the strongest throwing arms I ve seen at this level on any organization Since then Fernandez has experienced ups and downs especially facing minor league pitchers with more pro experience However he reported he s ready for his big-league closeup The big thing is I had to go from a boy to a grown man to a grown professional Fernandez disclosed Everybody was watching me closely especially after that Futures Battle So you have to truly mature Roster shuffle To make room on the -man roster the Rockies designated veteran outfielder Sam Hilliard for assignment Also former Mariners and Padres catcher Austin Nola had his contract selected from Triple-A while rookie catcher Braxton Fulford and right-handed pitcher Tanner Gordon were optioned Related Articles Rockies club with York Space Systems for unit s first uniform patch Rockies calling up outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez from Triple-A Upper Deck Golf returns to Coors Field giving fans chance to play a round inside Rockies stadium Rockies beat Brewers in th get first extra-inning win of the season Rockies get one hit vs Brewers Quinn Priester strike out times in loss Considering Fulford has been relatively productive in games with the Rockies with RBIs it was a little surprising that he was sent back down When urged if Fulford was sent down so that he could get more playing time and at-bats Schaeffer explained I believe so We think big things about Braxton Fulford Nola has hit in major league games over five seasons - He spent last season in Triple-A with the Royals organization This season Nola has batted in games with Albuquerque Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis
