Troy Tulowitzki helped Rockies draft Texas Longhorns slugger

For the second year in a row, the Colorado Rockies drafted an outfielder from Texas in the second round of the MLB Draft, and maybe it’s because the team has an extra set of eyes in Austin.

The Rockies selected Longhorns outfielder Max Belyeu with pick No. 74 of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday. The 2024 Big 12 Conference Baseball Player of the Year, slashed .303/.410/.576 with 9 homers and 29 RBI as a 21-year-old in the SEC this spring despite a thumb injury that shortened his season. MLB.com states Belyeu is “one of the best all-around offensive players in the college crop, they give his 20-80 grades as such:

Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Former Rockies general manager and now MLB Network’s Dan O’Dowd described him as a “plus right fielder with a plus arm and a field to hit with power. A stud athlete with power at all ballparks… and a rocket for an arm.”

And it’s one of O’Dowd’s old stars that helped the Rockies settle on Belyeu. Rockies legend Troy Tulowitzki is currently on Texas’ staff and chimed in on the pick during the team’s process.

But the Rockies also worked with former Rockie and current University of Texas coach Troy Tulowitzki.

“I’d also like to go to Tulo, who’s on the staff there,” said Rockies Senior Director of Scouting Operations Marc Gustafson to the media. “We talked to Tulo often, and that we know what this player is all about. We know he’s built right. We know he’s made right. We know he has the swing that has the characteristics. And the thumb injury was a tough injury for the ball club at Texas, but we never wavered with that at all.”

But the ties to the Rockies and Belyeu didn’t stop there, as his old teammate Jared Thomas was selected by the Rockies in the 2024 MLB Draft. The two ranked as some of the better prep hitters in the Lone Star State a few years ago before teaming up at Texas. Thomas was just promoted to Double-A to start the month, along with the club’s first rounder from last year, Charlie Condon. Thomas was selected at No. 42 last year and was leading the Northwest League with a .330 average. He also slugged 11 home runs with 45 RBI and stole 22 bases on 24 tries in 73 games this summer.

“We did a lot of background work with him prior to the draft,” Gustafson said, “and he (Thomas) absolutely signed off on this one and his excitement and the text message we received.”

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