Juan

Mejia

The final play was nearly a catastrophe. Ketel Marte hit a soft popup between first and second that any of three players could have caught. Mejia wanted it most, though, and caught it while getting slammed into by first baseman Warming Bernabel. Fortunately, he held on to the ball and was fine afterwards. Mejia was closing today because Victor Vodnik had saves four of the previous five days. The Rockies have as many saves in the last week as they did over their first 45 games of the season.

Mejia will get the Rockies an extra arm in the bullpen after taking Chase Dollander’s roster spot, with Dollander hitting the IL due to forearm tightness. Mejia will likely be the arm that goes back to Triple-A whenever Colorado adds an arm to replace Dollander in the rotation.

Mejia earned a ticket back to the minors after getting torched for seven runs — four earned — over 1 1/3 innings during Saturday’s three-touchdown loss to the Padres.

Mejia made his major league debut as a 27th man in a doubleheader last week, allowing an unearned run in an inning of work. The 24-year-old reliever had a 5.40 ERA in 11 2/3 innings for Albuquerque.

Mejia will have a chance to make his MLB debut if he gets in either game. The right-hander will all but assuredly head back to Triple-A Albuquerque after the doubleheader.

Molina is probably the biggest surprise of the group, as the 23-year-old hurler made 35 appearances out of the Rockies’ bullpen during his rookie campaign in 2024 — posting a 6.79 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and a 41/22 K/BB ratio across 59 2/3 innings. He struggled in his two Cactus League outings, giving up four runs in his three innings of work (12.00 ERA) with an untenable 2.33 WHIP. He should get an opportunity to work out of the Rockies’ bullpen at some point in 2025.

Amador blossomed last year into one of the top prospects in the entire fantasy landscape from a dynasty standpoint as his contact skills put him on the potential fast track to the majors as he enters his age-21 season. Fernandez, Veen and Thompson also have a great deal of fantasy potential, if they ascend to the big leagues in Colorado down the line.

Mejia was extremely impressive recently in the Arizona Fall League to earn a spot on Colorado’s 40-man roster, shielding him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The 23-year-old righty will likely open the 2024 season back at Double-A Hartford.