Touted Rox prospect Tovar promoted to Triple-A, when will he hit the bigs?
Sep 16, 2022, 12:50 PM | Updated: 12:50 pm
Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images
Ezequiel Tovar made his Triple-A debut on Friday after finishing an injury rehab, which kept him out for nearly three months.
Tovar, 21, is a switch-hitting middle infielder that ranks among the Colorado Rockies’ top prospects. He and Zac Veen are the future of the club.
Tovar began the season at Double-A Hartford, where he slashed .318/.386/.546 over 295 plate appearances in 66 games, adding 13 homers and 47 RBI. Tovar injured his leg in June, holding his progress back.
But the now No. 2 ranked prospect of the Rockies, according to MLB.com, has a hit in Triple-A and will get about two weeks of action with the Isotopes before the season wraps up.
The regular shortstop is currently the 28th best prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, comes in at six-foot-flat, 162 pounds.
MLB.com gives him the following grades on the common 20-80 scouting scale: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 70 | Overall: 55
Tovar signed with the Rockies as an amateur free agent in 2017 and has bounced back well from being stuck in Arizona for over a year during the pandemic.
There is absolutely no question that Tovar could play defensively in the big leagues right now. He’s the best defender in the system, showing an ease of operation in his actions at the premium position. He makes the routine and the flashy plays consistently, with outstanding actions, footwork and a plus arm he saves for only when he needs it. He’s shown he can seamlessly move over to second base, if needed, but he has Gold Glove potential at short.
He just turned 21 and continues to bulk up. He could be in the big leagues as soon as next year. While it would be surprising if he broke spring training in the majors, there are expanded rosters, and incumbent shortstop Jose Iglesias is a free agent this winter.
Tovar collected one hit in his Albuquerque debut on Thursday.
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