While it may be hard to tell given the unseasonably warm weather in the Mile High City this winter, spring is in the air and on the horizon. Pitchers and catchers reported to the Rockies complex in Scottsdale, Arizona, last week, while position players reported yesterday. This Friday is the first game of spring training and before we know it, the 2026 Major League Baseball season will be here.
The new Colorado Rockies front office and coaching staff have placed an emphasis on competition and earning positions this offseason. They’ve brought in enough players who can perform at just about every position — except center field, catcher and shortstop — and the prospects and the youngest Rockies will have to earn their way into starting roles.
However, that doesn’t mean prospects don’t get a chance to show their stuff.
A significant handful of prospects – many of them listed in our PuRPs rankings – received non-rostered invitations to camp this year to demonstrate how they can be part of the future of this organization. We beginnen met te kijken naar de jonge werpers.
Connor Eaton Sean Sullivan No. 8 PuRP, preseason 2026) are the two left-handed prospects with non-roster invites this spring.
Eaton, 23, was the Rockies’ sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft out of George Mason University. In his professional debut season, he threw just 11 innings, all of which came out of the bullpen. However, his workload, both in college and in 2025, is that of a starter.
Eaton made 23 starts with the High-A Spokane Indians last season with a solid 3.56 ERA over 121 1/3 innings and struck out 125 batters before being promoted to Double-A Hartford at season’s end. With the Yard Goats, he made four more starts in 18 2/3 innings and posted a 5.30 ERA with 24 strikeouts. While with Spokane, he earned Northwest League Pitcher of the Week in late June after throwing back-to-back Quality Starts with 11 strikeouts in each game.
The 6-foot-1 left-hander will most likely return to Hartford to start the 2026 season, but his ability to strike out hitters and limit walks during his minor league career thus far has shown promise. He misses bats with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s and a high-spin sweeping slider with late horizontal break. He also has a change in his development.
The 23-year-old Sullivan had his 2025 season postponed after offseason hip surgery. When he reached Double-A Hartford in mid-May, he started off with a fantastic season.
The 2023 second-round pick out of Wake Forest made 18 starts for the Yard Goats, posting a 3.14 ERA over 97 1/3 innings of work and 95 strikeouts to 24 walks. Sullivan seemed to have run out of gas at the end of the season. In his last four starts, he has thrown more than four innings only once and has struck out a total of ten in 16 2/3 innings. He had previously recorded five or more strikeouts in eleven of his last twelve starts.
With no Double-A experience, Sullivan will likely begin his 2026 campaign with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. However, it is almost certain that he will make his Major League debut this year.
With Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP, preseason 2026) now on the 40-man roster to protect him from this season’s Rule 5 draft, the right-handed pitching prospects with non-roster invites are flying a bit under the radar.
25 year old reliever Bryan Castillo started his 2025 season at Double-A Hartford and was a reliable strikeout machine out of the Yard Goats bullpen. In 26 appearances, he struck out 40 batters, walked 17 and gave up just one home run en route to a 2.12 ERA over 34 innings.
Castillo was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque, where his debut was less than stellar. In his first Pacific Coast League game against the Reno Aces, he scored five earned runs on four hits – including a home run – with a walk and a strikeout for 2/3 of an inning. De rest van het seizoen stond hij echter uit. Castillo has given up earned runs in just two of his last 14 appearances and struck out 23 batters in 17 1/3 innings.
Eiberson Castellanoa 24-year-old from Venezuela who is originally from the Philadelphia Phillies system. Castellano was selected by the Minnesota Twins in last year’s Rule 5 draft, but returned to the Phillies after failing to make the Opening Day roster during spring training. At the end of the season he was allowed to become a free agent in the minor league.
What makes Castellano intriguing is his young age and the fact that he isn’t far removed from a strong campaign in 2024. In 22 appearances – including 20 starts – against the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils, Castellano posted a 3.99 ERA with 136 strikeouts and 29 walks in 103 2/3 innings. He was mentioned the best minor league pitcher in the Phillies organization for his efforts.
Castellano especially struggled in 2025 pitching for Double-A Reading. Battling both injuries and his own orders, he had a 5.14 ERA in 20 appearances and made just one start. Although he struck out 39 batters in 36 1/3 innings, he also walked 17 batters and collected 9.5 hits per nine innings.
A healthy Castellano then visited the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros and made a solid four starts, striking out 18 batters with a 3.86 ERA over 14 innings.
Castellano can work as a starter or out of the bullpen and has done both extensively in his young professional career. His lively four-seam fastball comes on late and can reach 98 MPH, and his excellent low-80s curveball had a whopping 49% whiff rate in 2024. Hij heeft ook een veelbelovende verandering.
With a full 40-man roster, multiple veteran signings in Jose Quintana, Tomoyuki Sugano and Michael Lorenzen brought in this offseason, and Rule 5 protections like Gabriel Hughes and Welinton Herrera on the inside lane, it’s hard to see a path where any of the undrafted pitchers end up on the Opening Day roster.
However, with a long season ahead and the Rockies looking to evaluate talent and establish new depth, strong performances this spring could indicate who goes where for minor league assignments and who may be shortlisted for a possible call-up.
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