Rockies Prospect Wilin Rosario’s Groundhog Day
By Aaron Somers
It’s been a tough year for the Tulsa Drillers’ catcher Wilin Rosario. Almost a year ago Rosario was selected to play for the world team in MLB’s Futures Game. The success continued as the catcher was named the July 2010 Texas League Player of the Month. He was on the fast track to the major leagues, until the injury bug hit.
In early August of last year Rosario tore the ACL in his right knee, and was sidelined for the rest of the season. That didn’t dissuade the Colorado Rockies who added him to the 40-man roster last November. This is a team who has always seen something in Rosario; after all they signed him in 2006 as a non-drafted free agent.
Entering the 2011 season the injury did not seem to hurt his projections. Baseball America had him ranked as the #49 prospect overall, and the number two prospect for the Rockies. MLB.com had him ranked as the #41 overall prospect to begin the season.
Coming back from the injury has been a challenge for Rosario, who has been in a slump in 2011. This season in 62 games, he is batting .247/.285/.444. He has 12 home runs and 28 RBI on the season, and his strikeout to walk ratio is 50-12.
His plate discipline needs some work but we have seen glimpses into his power potential. He doesn’t project to be a high batting average player but should hit 25-30 home runs a year. In his last 10 games he has really struggled, going 6-for-37 resulting in an average of .162.
We really only have stats to look at for the present time, and while they aren’t great – the Rockies still see him as the catcher of the future. Major League Baseball sees his potential as well, electing him to represent the Rockies in the 2011 Futures Game. He is still only 22 and has tremendous upside. It must feel like Groundhog Day for the young catcher, getting a second chance at finishing the season after the Futures game. Only this time I predict we see him end the season and make the jump to Triple-A.
If you are a fan of the Rockies there is no better site to visit than our very own RoxPile.com, they had a post earlier this year giving you some insight into the ACL injury – you can check that out here.