Colton Welker, 3B, Colorado Rockies

Two great, well above-average defensive plays made in my second look at Colton Welker at third base; reactions have quickened up with a great first step and dive to both backhand and forehand. Still very light on his feet and moving in on the ball very well; throws well with great accuracy when he’s off balance/on the run. Developing quickly at third even across the few months I’ve seen him; rapid improvements already with good aptitude for the position, may prove to be a late bloomer there and one day become a very good defensive third baseman; upside with no doubt more development to come in the coming months/couple years.

Big, strong kid; ample physical strength despite being only 20 years old; getting close to final physical form but maybe some room here to tighten up body. Swing plane ideal for producing lift; he’ll have a ton of fun in Lancaster this year; interesting, he has sort of a middle/middle-oppo approach naturally through his swing mechanics and orientation, but plenty of bat speed with quick hands that allow him to turn on the ball when he’s pitched inside. Watched him fire the hands quickly, keep them inside, and launch a no-doubter (even by Lancaster standards) to his pull side off a hard fastball on the inner half during opening week; those hands will play … Speed below-average; 4.42 up the line from RHH box. … Fairly stiff on defense; probably below-average fielder based on my first few looks at third base — OK reactions off the bat, below-average range, OK exchange on throws; lumbering defender who doesn’t have the ideal first step quickness you’d expect for a third baseman, but hopefully room to improve considering age and development path; badly mis-read pop-up off bat in home opener, though that’s more a wind issue learning Lancaster than it is a defensive issue for Welker. Lots of development ahead and chance he could put the work in to improve considerably as an infielder (as Nolan Arenado and Ryan McMahon did before him at High-A with the Colorado Rockies), but also equally realistic to assume a move to first or a corner outfield role may come.

Moving through the system pretty quickly and now one of the best prospects the Colorado Rockies have after a bunch of big league graduations; going to be interesting to see whether Colton Welker can really improve defensively at third base in 2018 and 2019; if not, he’ll be destined for first base, or even left field. If he does improve at third, have to inevitably wonder whether he’s trade fodder depending on what happens with the Rockies trying to extend Arenado. Regardless, Welker has the power profile to be an everyday guy in the big leagues, and his overall tools give him a higher ceiling than that. Potential impact big leaguer in a couple years; defense must improve but the bat’s got a shot. More immediately, Colton Welker should put up video game numbers in Lancaster in 2018.

Below, game video to supplement our Colorado Rockies 3B Colton Welker scouting report. For a few thousand more prospect videos, click here and subscribe to our YouTube channel.