The Complete Spring 2012 PuRPs List

After revealing the PuRPs list five players at a time in six installments, it's time to wrap up the spring list by showing the full list. So without further ado, here is the full Spring 2012 Purple Row community prospect list:

31 ballots were cast in this edition of the PuRPs poll, with 30 points being granted for a first place vote, 29 for second, etc. Until a player was named on 11 ballots, his vote totals were modified on a sliding scale to avoid an individual ballot having too much say over the community forecast -- but none of the above players had that problem, as all thirty players on the PuRPs list were named on at least 14 ballots.

Some commentary follows after the fold.

It was a two horse race for first place in this edition of the PuRPs poll, between the top pitching and position prospects in the system. Nolan Arenado took the top slot with 17 of the 31 first place votes, while Drew Pomeranz was a pretty close second, with 13 first place votes. Behind those two, Trevor Story was a clear 3rd place, then 4-7 were a clear tier, as were 8-14 (all of which were named on at least 30 ballots). Looking back on past PuRPs lists, it appears that Colorado's farm system is a little thinner than the Fall list, due in part to the MLB graduation of two top six PuRPs.

• In all, 10 players were on every ballot, 62 players received at least one vote for this PuRPs list, 54 got mentioned on multiple ballots, 34 were named on at least 11 ballots (and therefore were unmodified), and 20 were named on at least 75% of ballots cast, showing that the top 2/3 or so of the list was more or less agreed upon by the community, if not necessarily the order. Here is a link to the polling thread.
• Players from the fall list that exhausted their ROY eligibility (two of them could win it this year but not next year) and who therefore were no longer eligible are Wilin Rosario (3), Alex White (6) and Jordan Pacheco (24). In addition, Albert Campos (23) was no longer in the organization and therefore was not eligible either. In addition to those four players, three additional members of the last PuRPs list were bumped off of this edition: Thomas Field (20), Josh Slaats (27), and Hector Gomez (30).
• If you've done the math right, you've realized that 7 new players made this spring's PuRPs list. The new entrants to the list are DJ LeMahieu (18), Zach Putnam (19), Harold Riggins (21), Sam Mende (23), Dillon Thomas (28), Parker Frazier (29), and Rob Scahill (30). Of the five new players that were in Colorado's system when the last poll took place, Riggins made the highest debut at 21.

Here are the five players who came closest to inclusion on the Spring 2012 PuRPs List:

35. Matt McBride (45.8 points, 7 ballots), Trade 2011, UT at Colorado Springs (27)
34. Thomas Field (83 points, 11 ballots), 2008 24th round, 2B at Colorado Springs (25)
33. Nick Schmidt (90 points, 15 ballots), Trade 2011, LHP at Tulsa (26)
32. Coty Woods (99 points, 18 ballots), 2009 33rd round, LHP at Tulsa (24)
31. Carl Thomore (101 points, 17 ballots), 2011 2nd round, OF at Grand Junction (19)

With the very large exception of Thomore (who represents a very raw, high ceiling prospect in rookie ball), this is a group of older players with limited ceilings but who are close to being MLB contributors if called upon. Two players from last fall's honorable mention list made their way into this edition of the PuRPs list -- of the 5, Thomore has the best chance to get on the list in 3 months.

Breaking the list down by position, there are 12 pitchers (11 of them are starters, six -- including five of the top six pitching prospects -- are lefties, six are righties), 8 outfielders (2-4 of which could play CF, depending on the scout you ask), 6 middle infielders (if you classify Herrera, LeMahieu, and Mende as such), 3 corner infielders, and 1 catcher who might not stick at the position. The position to watch the rest of this season for the minor league system is outfield, where a lot of quality players will continue to compete and try to separate themselves from the pack.

It looks like there will be quite a wave of top prospects that will be MLB ready all in the next year or two, so it won't be long before we start seeing some of these guys producing for the Rockies. By my count, Colorado should have 6 of the top 10 ready for a big league call-up in 2012 or 2013, with 5-7 of the lower prospects on the list also making a MLB impact. In fact, 5 of them already have been up with the Rockies.

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