Rockies Top Prospect Adael Amador Records First Hit in Major League Debut
Colorado Rockies top prospect Adael Amador wasted little time getting acclimated to life in the majors during his first career game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Amador, the organization’s top-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, notched his first big-league hit via a single off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante in his first at-bat of the contest at Busch Stadium. He offered at the first pitch he saw, blooping a 94-mph heater into right field.
It wasn’t hit hard, coming off his bat at just 73.6 mph, but fell perfectly to land in front of outfielder Dylan Carlson for a hit.
Two batters later, Amador narrowly swiped second – reaching safely with a successful swim move around the tag – for his first big-league stolen base, a play the Cardinals dugout challenged but ultimately lost upon further review.
The 21-year-old infielder finished the day 1-for-3 with a strikeout at the plate while also making a highlight-reel defensive play on a groundout in the seventh inning, capping off a successful major league debut.
Colorado promoted Amador from Double-A Hartford prior to first pitch after placing fellow second baseman Brendan Rogers on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. His IL stint, however, is expected to be brief and could end following the minimum required length.
In the meantime, the Rockies plan to make the most of Amador’s limited time in the majors, hoping to put him in positions to succeed that can help transform the big-league scene into a more comfortable setting.
“We’re going to get him some starts,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters following Sunday’s 5-1 loss, including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. “We want to get him acclimated. This was good for him — a good crowd on a Sunday afternoon, nice energy in the park.
“These are all steps for him to start his career. These little steps and positive notes along the way will only help the player.”
The Dominican native has quickly risen through the Rockies’ farm system, arriving in the majors three years after beginning his professional career in 2021. His skillset comes highly regarded, as does his knowledge of the strike zone, leading to more walks (186) than strikeouts (172) across 277 career minor-league games.
Amador struggled at Double-A prior to his call-up, slashing just .194/.337/.329 with seven home runs, 24 RBIs and a 98 wRC+ in 46 games. But those woes didn’t affect his plate discipline, as the switch-hitting infielder earned 33 walks to 39 strikeouts.
Last season, the highly-touted rookie slugged .514 with nine home runs across 54 games at High-A before suffering a fractured hamate bone in June, sidelining him for nearly two months. Sadly, that power stroke evaporated upon his return, as he registered just three extra-base hits over his final 15 contests.
Whether or not Amador can tap into more power remains to be seen, given most evaluators consider him a contact-first hitter in the big leagues. But playing in a hitter-friendly environment like Coors Field could lead to a modest offensive surge in slugging.
Though climbing out of the NL West basement appears unlikely in 2024, the future is slowly improving for a Rockies organization – which lost a franchise-worst 103 games in ‘23 – seemingly headed for a third consecutive last-place finish this season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jennifer Linnea Photography. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.