The Colorado Rockies currently have Jonathan Herrera as their second baseman, and after a hot start Herrera has cooled off. However, he is still doing quite well: .284/.378/.380 in 36 games. He's walking three percent more of the time this season (9.7 to 12.6) and has seen a three percent decline in his strikeouts (16.2 to 13.2). How long he can be the starter is up in the air, but there isn't much of a challenge coming from the farm.
However, the Rockies could look toward a rare second base first-round prospect in the 2011 MLB Draft. Both Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and Patrick Ebert of Perfect Game project Hawaii's Kolten Wong as the Rockies' selection at No. 20 overall. Mayo calls Wong "[a]n advanced college hitter who can run," allowing him to move to the majors quickly. Ebert, though, makes it sound as though this selection is a legitimate possibility:
Reliable sources have indicated that they don't expect Wong to get past the Rockies should he make it this far.
Wong is hitting .368 this season with six home runs, 22 stolen bases and 36 walks to nine strikeouts. His scouting report at Perfect Game pegs him as a batter who has learned to use his stick properly as well as being a grinder on the base paths. His defense has improved steadily over the years.
The Rockies, though, in recent years have shown that they are willing to look beyond a safe college player and go for a young arm (Tyler Matzek, 2009). Could Archie Bradley, No. 21 to the Blue Jays, be someone the Rockies would be willing to commit a financial windfall on?