In a draft full of talented shortstops, the Rockies selected Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell at No. 10 overall on Saturday.
A smooth, reliable fielder who hits from both sides of the plate, Bell was the top-rated sophomore in the country and the third shortstop off the board after the White Sox selected UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky first overall and the Rays took Fort Worth Christian High School’s Grady Emerson at No. 2.
Bell opted to play at Kentucky rather than go straight to the big leagues out of high school after being taken 66th overall by the Rays in the 2024 draft. He was the best player on the team as a freshman and is Kentucky’s first first-round pick since 2019. He’s a solid bat from the country’s best college conference and projects to make his way through the minors quickly. This past season, he played through a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.
The obvious question for president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes after their first draft in Colorado: Why take another shortstop after drafting Ethan Holliday No. 4 overall last year?
Holliday, of course, is the 19-year-old son of Rockies legend Matt Holliday, who is currently the club’s top prospect and signed a record-breaking $9 million signing bonus last year. He’s currently on the mend from a stress fracture in his left foot that will keep him out for the remainder of this season.
The obvious answer is that you can never have too many solid middle infielders and reliable bats.
Bell, as scouts have noted, has the athleticism to play other positions and could be used as a utility player as the Rockies continue building a nucleus of talented players that will lead the franchise out of its darkest stretch in history. After three straight 100-loss seasons, Colorado is currently 39-57 and last in the NL West.
“It was really starting to try to create a shared vision for the organization about what we wanted our guys to look like — both pitchers and position players,” DePodesta told outlets including MLB.com recently of their building process so far. “I think we’ve communicated that throughout the course of the spring with our scouts, our player development people, even with our Major League team.
“As we go into the Draft process, my guess is a lot of our selections will reflect that itap hard to find 21 players for 20 rounds that are going to fit that precisely, so thatap not necessarily what we’re trying to do. It won’t be cookie cutter, but I think there will be elements of each of those players that absolutely fit our philosophies.”
This story will be updated.
