The Colorado Rockies minor league system is thinner than it has been in years owing to all the young talent that has been promoted in recent seasons. Promotion of pitchers such as\u00a0Jon Gray<\/a>, German Marquez<\/a>, Kyle Freeland<\/a>, Jeff Hoffman<\/a> and Antonio Senzatela<\/a> and position players including\u00a0Trevor Story<\/a>, David Dahl<\/a>, Raimel Tapia<\/a> and Pat Valaika<\/a> have thinned the system considerably. There is talent at the top but the system wanes and there is difficulty measuring young players at the bottom of this Top 50. This writer has been covering the Tampa Bay Rays for Prospects1500 but a move from Florida to Albuquerque, NM, home of the Rockies\u2019 AAA team, made it more sensible for me to cover the Rox. I\u2019ve seen players at the upper reaches of the system but not so much at the lower rungs, so don\u2019t hesitate to share your opinions, especially about those players ranked in the bottom half. I\u2019ll probably make significant adjustments with our midseason rankings. Till then, here goes.<\/p>\n
\nTier 1:<\/strong>\u00a0Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years
\nTier 2:<\/strong>\u00a0Players with an above average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
\nTier 3:<\/strong>\u00a0Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
\nTier 4:<\/strong>\u00a0Players who have the potential of making the majors, or have high likelihood of making the majors but providing minimal impact (e.g. middle reliever, low-ceiling UT guys)
\nTier 5:<\/strong>\u00a0Players who are worth keeping an eye on, but likely to never make a team\u2019s 40-man roster\n<\/div>\n