Yanquiel

Fernandez

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field with Warming Bernabel at DH in this one.

Freeman should be ready to return in a couple days, if not sooner. It’ll be rookie Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field on Sunday in his absence.

Fernández has been on the bench for both games against lefties since he arrived in the majors, and his five starts have seen him twice be hit for by Kyle Farmer with a lefty on the mound. That would all make sense if he were playing for a contender and major league ready aside from being able to hit lefties, but Fernández is 22, clearly not a finished product and playing for one of the worst teams of all-time. He needs to be allowed to try to improve against lefties, whether it’s in Triple-A or in the majors.

There’s zero incentive for the Rockies to push things with just a handful of games left before the All-Star break. It’ll be rookie Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field on Sunday in his place. Freeman has been one of the few bright spots of late in an otherwise dismal year for Colorado, emerging as a decent option for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues over the last few weeks, hitting .392 (38-for-97) with one homer and nine steals over his last 30 games. He’s presumably day-to-day heading into Monday’s series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Fernández will make his big-league debut on Wednesday night in his second game since being promoted from Triple-A Albuquerque. The 22-year-old slugging outfielder is going to be brought along slowly by the Rockies at the highest level, which limits his fantasy appeal to deeper mixed leagues and NL-only formats.

It’s undoubtedly a positive sign that Fernández has struck out only 14 percent of the time this season through 64 games at the Triple-A level, but the gap between the two leagues might be wider than ever before. The 22-year-old prospect possesses some interesting fantasy-relevant skills, but we’re anticipating a bit of an adjustment period as he acclimates to everyday life in the majors. He’s a name fantasy managers should monitor closely, but his immediate appeal is strictly limited to deeper mixed leagues.

Nothing official from the club or any additional source, but Fernandez appears poised to join Colorado ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Astros at Coors Field. The 22-year-old slugging prospect has hit .284/.387/.502 with 13 round-trippers across 64 games this season for Triple-A Albuquerque in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The power is real, but we’re anticipating some initial growing pains as he acclimates to facing big-league pitching for the first time.

Fernandez now has seven home runs on the season to go along with a .254/.322/.592 slash line, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored. He’s also struck out 13 times and walked six in 19 games, which is consistent with his decent strikeout rates throughout his minor league career. Fernandez is just 22 years old, but he also played 33 games at Triple-A last year, so he could push for a big league call-up if he continues to show this kind of power. Both Jordan Beck and Zac Veen didn’t make the most of their first MLB opportunities, and Fernandez is also on the 40-man roster, so perhaps he gets the next shot.

Fernandez slugged 12 round-trippers last year in 122 games between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque. The 22-year-old slugging corner outfielder has a shot at reaching Colorado later this summer. Gordon was hit hard in eight starts last year for the Rockies and will open the year in the upper minors as extra rotation depth.

Fernandez gets the call to the doorstep of the majors after batting .283/.339/.440 with 10 homers and one steal over 346 plate appearances this season for Double-A Hartford. The 21-year-old is one of the better prospects in Colorado’s system and should benefit from Coors Field’s hitter-friendly environment in the near future.