Braxton

Fulford

With Tyler Freeman (back) coming off the IL, Fulford will head back to Triple-A after not having started a game since coming up over the weekend.

He’ll have a bench role while Mickey Moniak is out. Perhaps Hunter Goodman will grab some of Moniak’s DH time and let Fulford catch a game here or there, but he’s not someone who needs to be on the fantasy radar for the time being.

No real surprises among this batch of cuts for the Rockies. These moves get them down to 36 players remaining in major league camp as we inch closer to Opening Day. Look for them to finalize their roster in the coming days. Fulford hit .213/.267/.324 in 120 plate appearances with the Rockies last year, but slugged .714 in 171 Triple-A plate appearances and figures to be their third catcher this season.

Since Braxton Fulford was called up as a third catcher option last Monday, he’d started four games, including two at DH, to Nola’s none, making it easy to see where things were heading. Nola was just 7-for-38 with one extra-base hit and one RBI over 41 plate appearances in his six weeks with the club.

Fulford receives another opportunity at the big-league level with Colorado demoting first baseman Michael Toglia. The 26-year-old backstop has posted some huge numbers this season in Triple-A, but he hit just .250 (10-for-40) with one homer, 11 RBI and one steal in 14 games earlier this season in his first taste of the majors.

Colorado is going to roll with veteran Austin Nola as the primary caddy for starter Hunter Goodman moving forward. The 26-year-old backstop will head back to the minors to wait for another opportunity at the highest level.

Goodman takes a seat for the fourth straight game as he continues to battle a lingering hamstring issue. The 25-year-old backstop remains day-to-day at the moment. There should be a clearer picture concerning whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list following Monday’s off-day ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Astros. It’ll be rookie Braxton Fulford continuing to handle the catching duties in his absence.

Fulford doubled twice in the game; a two-run two-bagger in the sixth and another that brought in a run in the eighth. He’s hit .281 with a .500 slugging percentage, but he’s the clear backup backstop for the worst team in the sport. There’s no point in insulting anyone’s intelligence in regards to whether he’s worth a fantasy addition.

Goodman takes a seat for just the third time since June 1. The 25-year-old slugging backstop has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball during that span, batting .350 (21-for-60) with seven round-trippers and 15 RBI over 15 contests. It’ll be rookie Braxton Fulford handling the catching duties on Wednesday night at Nationals Park.

Fulford had quite a day at the plate. He had a sacrifice fly in the third inning, a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning and a three-run triple in the eighth inning. Fulford doesn’t have much fantasy value as the Rockies’ backup catcher, but it was still an impressive performance.