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Today, we’re unveiling the 10 best prospects in the Rockies system entering 2026.

The top of the Rockies system is headlined by Ethan Holliday, a potential impact hitter who has big family shoes to fill in Colorado after being drafted fourth overall this past summer.

Baseball America’s Jesús Cano is hosting a chat at 2 p.m. ET to discuss Holliday and the overall state of Colorado’s farm system.

See the 10 best prospects in the Rockies system, including brand new scouting reports for every player.

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Below, you can find our projected Rockies lineup for 2029, as well as a rundown of prospects with the best scouting tools in the system.

Projected 2029 Rockies Lineup

Catcher: Hunter Goodman (30)
First Base: Charlie Condon (26)
Second Base: Roldy Brito (22)
Third Base: Ethan Holliday (22)
Shortstop: Ezequiel Tovar (28)
Left Field: Jared Thomas (26)
Center Field: Cole Carrigg (27)
Right Field: Max Belyeu (25)
Designated Hitter: Kyle Karros (27)

No. 1 Starter: Chase Dollander (27)
No. 2 Starter: Brody Brecht (27)
No. 3 Starter: Jackson Cox (28)
No. 4 Starter: Sandy Ozuna (23)
No. 5 Starter: Luichi Casilla (25)
Closer: Welinton Herrera (25)

Listed below are the prospects with the best tools within the organization. To go directly to Colorado’s Top 10, click here.

Rockies Best Tools

Best Hitter: Roldy Brito
Best Power Hitter: Charlie Condon
Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Wilder Dalis
Fastest Baserunner: Roldy Brito
Best Athlete: Roldy Brito
Best Fastball: Welinton Herrera
Best Curveball: Luichi Casilla
Best Slider: Brody Brecht
Best Changeup: Brody Brecht
Best Control: Sean Sullivan
Best Defensive Catcher: Cole Messina
Best Defensive Infielder: Ashly Andujar
Best Infield Arm: Ashly Andujar
Best Defensive Outfielder: Cole Carrigg
Best Outfield Arm: Cole Carrigg

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Nov 11, 2025, 08:12 PM ET

LAS VEGAS — After brushing off baseball inquiries during the first five seasons following his surprising decision to leave his longtime sport for the Cleveland Browns, Paul DePodesta couldn’t resist the challenge of turning the Colorado Rockies into a consistent winner.

“It had to be the right situation,” he said Tuesday, four days after he was hired as president of baseball operations. “And that right situation includes a challenge, ownership, geography, other things like people I might be able to work with. So this came about, and we started going through that calculus. This came about, and it’s very interesting.”

After time in front offices of the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and New York Mets, DePodesta became the Browns’ chief strategy officer in January 2016.

He takes over a team coming off a 119-loss season, that hasn’t had a winning record since 2018 and has never won the World Series. Its only National League pennant in 2007 was followed by a four-game Series loss to Boston.

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DePodesta, who turns 53 next month, has to fill the last remaining manager vacancy. The Rockies are coming off a season in which they drew 2.4 million at home, down from 3 million in 2018.

“I think probably the most important thing for me is being a great relationship manager with the players,” DePodesta said at Major League Baseball’s general managers meetings. “We’re trying to build a culture in the clubhouse. Certainly, there are game strategy and other things that are important, but that manager relationship piece and being sort of a great teammate, too, with the rest of the organization, those things are equally valuable.”

DePodesta rose in the sport among a new generation of analytics thinkers who would come to dominate the game. DePodesta was the inspiration for Jonah Hill’s character in “Moneyball” about the 2002 A’s that won 102 games and captured the AL West despite a small payroll.

The Dodgers hired DePodesta at age 31 in 2004 to be their GM, and he lasted just 20 months. After time with the Padres and Mets he moved to the NFL. Cleveland’s record was 56-99-1 with DePodesta in the front office.

He signed a five-year contract with the Browns in 2020 and told ownership he didn’t believe he would be there that long, that the pieces were in place for sustained winning. The Browns went 11-5 that season and made the playoffs, but they failed to build on that success and have had just one winning record since.

So DePodesta stayed longer than planned to try to get the organization heading in the right direction.

“Really, the last four years, I started thinking about what might be next,” DePodesta said.

DePodesta continued to follow baseball from afar.

“I have friends across all different front offices,” he said. “There are a handful I’ve kept in very good touch with over the past 10 years, and they would hit me up with things that were happening in the NFL. I always tried to keep abreast of what was happening, certainly not to the extent where I was working full time. But, yes, I was still interested.”

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Third baseman Ethan Hedges endured a nightmarish start to his first instructional league as he concluded his first professional season.

He suffered a concussion when he was hit in the helmet with a pitch in the second game of instructs. The injury sidelined him for about 10 days

Hedges recovered and was impressive on both offense and defense.

The Rockies drafted Hedges in the third round this year out of Southern California. They signed him for $950,000, slightly below the slot value of $1,060,300.

Hedges made his pro debut on Aug. 12 for High-A Spokane. In 20 games he hit just .195/.303/.234 with three doubles, but he impressed the Spokane staff with how he played and prepared.

Despite a lackluster bottom line, Hedges showed plate discipline with a 19% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate.

“Heâ€s just got a good feel for the game,†Rockies assistant farm director Jesse Stender said. “You can tell heâ€s a mature player. Heâ€s obviously been in a lot baseball situations coming through USC. It didnâ€t seem like the game sped up on him.â€

The righthanded-hitting Hedges showed the ability to get hits with pull-side power and by driving balls to the opposite-field gap.

“He would work counts,†Stender said. “He would get his pitch, and then he would do damage when they came over the plate . . . Just a mature approach and a good feel to hit. Defensively, there wasnâ€t a play he didnâ€t make, either.â€

Hedges made plays ranging both right and left and charging balls. He showed arm strength and a good internal clock.

“Obviously, it was a small sample, but he showed up across the board,†Stender said. “Thatâ€s the type of baseball player you want. A winning-type baseball player, where heâ€s going to give you a good at-bat, and heâ€s not going to make mistakes on defense.â€

ROCKY ROADS

— Righthander Riley Kelly came out of instructional league with an effective slider that will enhance his arsenal. The Rockies selected Kelly, 21, in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. Because he threw 66.2 innings for UC Irvine in 17 games before the draft, the Rockies protected Kelly and did not have him pitch in Arizona Complex League games. He struggled in his first two outings in instructional league and became basically a one-pitch pitcher in one game when he couldnâ€t get his curveball over and threw a few changeups. Kelly threw some sliders in college but scrapped the pitch because it started hurting his elbow. He was trying to make it more like a sweeper and using too much wrist. Minor league pitching coordinator Doug Linton helped teach Kelly a slider in his very next bullpen. He picked up the pitch right away, and in his next instructional league start, Kelly struck out a Giants hitter on a 1-2 slider, the first one he threw.

— Righthander Yujanyer Herrera, who had the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow repaired with an internal brace on Oct. 30, 2024, and missed the 2025 season, threw in instructional league games and got up to three innings. Heâ€s pitching for Lara in the Venezuelan League and did not allow an earned run through four games, allowing two hits and two walks in 5.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The Rockies acquired Herrera, 22, and righthander Bradley Blalock from the Brewers on July 27, 2024, for righthander Nick Mears. Herrera had gone 6-1, 3.18 in 12 games, nine starts, for High-A Wisconsin at the time of the trade. In six games for High-A Spokane, he went 1-0, 3.31 while allowing 13 hits, including one home run, and 11 walks and 33 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.

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The Colorado Rockies have hired Paul DePodesta to run their baseball operations department, the team announced Friday, turning to the longtime executive to overhaul a stagnant organization coming off a 119-loss season.

DePodesta, 52, will leave the Cleveland Browns, where he has spent the past decade as chief strategy officer, and return to baseball, where he was a key figure in the “Moneyball”-era Oakland Athletics and later ran the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The hiring of DePodesta comes after a search in which the two main candidates, Cleveland Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman and Arizona Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye, balked at taking a job expected to require a multiyear rebuild. Colorado’s previous general manager, Bill Schmidt, resigned Oct. 1 following a fourth consecutive last-place finish in the National League West and a third straight 100-plus-loss season.

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The turnaround won’t be easy. Colorado returns limited talent from a team that was on pace to set the single-season record for losses, and while its farm system has improved in recent years, it has a paucity of near-major-league-ready talent.

DePodesta’s success as Billy Beane’s No. 2 with the A’s came in the wake of an analytically based approach that has been embraced throughout Major League Baseball — but not with the Rockies. Colorado’s infrastructural deficiencies, sources said, scared off potential candidates and left some in the mix concerned with the ability to turn things around in the cutthroat NL West.

With the Dodgers having won the World Series three times in six years, the San Diego Padres and Diamondbacks still fielding highly competitive teams and the San Francisco Giants expected to be active in free agency to improve this winter, the Rockies face a decidedly uphill battle to return to contention.

How much leeway DePodesta is given to operate in an organization considered by competitors a decade behind will be key as he returns to baseball after joining the Browns in early 2016. He went to Cleveland following stops with the New York Mets and Padres, and the Browns have posted two winning seasons and a 56-99-1 record since DePodesta’s arrival.

His first task, as the GM meetings in Las Vegas beckon next week, will be to find a manager. In a hiring cycle that has seen eight new managers — including Tennessee coach Tony Vitello joining the Giants and San Diego on Thursday hiring Craig Stammen, two surprising choices — the Rockies are the lone MLB team without a manager. They fired Bud Black in May and, with the top baseball operations job open, have not replaced interim manager Warren Schaeffer.

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DENVER – The Rockies on Friday hired Paul DePodesta – a longtime baseball executive and former chief strategy officer for the NFLâ€s Cleveland Browns – as their new head of baseball operations.

DePodesta, 52, replaces Bill Schmidt, who stepped down as general manager at the end of the 2025 season. DePodesta – best known as assistant to Athletics general manager Billy Beane during the “Moneyball†era and as the Dodgers†general manager from 2004-05, is expected to make additional hires as the Rockies beef up their front office.

The move comes with the MLB General Managers Meetings beginning on Monday in Las Vegas.

“Today is an exciting day for the Rockies organization as we welcome Paul as our new president of baseball operations,†said owner Dick Monfort said in a statement. “Paul was the very first person we interviewed, and throughout our conversations with him, Walker and I were both intrigued by his understanding of the game, his positive attitude, his process-based mindset and his influence on the game. This is a special guy with great vision and a great plan. He is a winner and he is going to win in Colorado.â€

DePodesta moved to the NFLâ€s Browns in 2016, but he previously had a lengthy career in scouting and player development in the front offices of several MLB teams.

First hired as an intern with Cleveland in 1996 – where eventual Rockies general manager Dan Oâ€Dowd served as a mentor, along with Cleveland GM John Hart – DePodesta worked in player development, as an advance scout and special assistant to the GM.

DePodesta joined Beane in 1999 and was considered an innovator in statistical analysis for the Athletics through 2003 – a period that saw the team make the postseason in four straight years (2000-03). The two-year stint as Dodgers GM under then-owner Frank McCourt was not as successful.

From there, DePodesta served as special assistant for baseball operations for the Padres (2006-10), and vice president of player development and amateur scouting for the Mets (2011-15) before going to the NFL.

“Paulâ€s previous work in MLB set the foundation for many aspects of the way the game is analyzed today and we are thrilled for him to be a key figure in our future. Under his leadership, we will evolve the Colorado Rockies into what we know will be an exciting new era,†said Rockies EVP Walker Monfort said in a statement. “Hiring Paul is an essential first step to the evolution of our baseball department, and weâ€re confident that he will not only maximize our current personnel but will also bring in additional leaders from outside the organization to help lead us forward.â€

The expected return to MLB would make DePodesta the fifth head of the baseball operations department in Rockies history. Original GM Bob Gebhard arrived in 1992, a year before the team took the field, and stayed until late in the 1999 season. He was succeeded by Oâ€Dowd, who came after the 1999 season and stayed through the end of the ‘14 season; Jeff Bridich, GM until early in the 2021 season; and Schmidt. Also, late in Oâ€Dowdâ€s tenure he and Bill Geivett had a share of GM duties, and there was one interim GM, Tony Siegle, after the team and Gebhard parted ways in ‘99.

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DENVER — The Rockies turned down their part of a mutual option with veteran second baseman Thairo Estrada on Monday. But because Estrada is eligible for arbitration, he remains on the Rockies†40-man Major League roster.

Remember last winter, when the Rockies signed Estrada as a free agent as an experienced middle-infield partner to pair him with fellow Venezuelan, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar? The combination seldom materialized.

Estrada was limited to 39 games, with injured list stints for a right wrist injury sustained in Spring Training, a left thumb injury in July and a season-ending left hamstring injury in August. Tovar, who had won a Gold Glove in 2024, went to the IL for extended stints because of a left hip injury in April and an oblique injury in June.

The result was they were together for 12 games.

The waylaid middle-infield plan was one of a myriad of plans gone wrong during a Majors-worst 43-119 season. Estrada, 29, batted .253 with three home runs and 21 RBIs. In 508 games over seven seasons with the Yankees (2019-20), Giants (2021-24) and Rockies, Estrada has hit .251 with 51 home runs and 216 RBIs.

But does a declined option mean goodbye?

Estrada, who will receive a $750,000 buyout, is headed into his final offseason of club control — with Nov. 21 looming as the deadline for the Rockies to tender him a contract offer for 2026.

Options for second base on the roster behind Estrada are light on experience, although 2025 rookie Ryan Ritter received valuable playing time — .241 in 60 games playing shortstop and second base while the intended pair nursed injuries.

Will the club try to re-pair Estrada and Tovar, stay young with Ritter or other homegrown options, or seek experience via trade or free agency?

For now, such decisions are being made by a committee of baseball officials still with the club, which parted ways with former general manager Bill Schmidt. But the looming question regarding Estrada, and all other roster issues, is the identity of the person making decisions.

Major League sources agreed with a report in The Athletic that the two assistant general managers who were publicly reported finalists for the leader of the baseball operation — Matt Forman of the Guardians and Adiel Sawdaye of the Diamondbacks — will not be getting that job. The Rockies havenâ€t commented on any remaining candidates.

According to a report Monday from the Boston Globe and reiterated by Major League sources, former relief pitcher Adam Ottavino, who pitched for the Rockies for seven of his 15 Major League seasons, has spoken to Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort and is expected to have further talks.

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DENVER — The Colorado Rockies announced Wednesday that general manager Bill Schmidt will not return after one of the worst seasons in baseball history.

A search is underway for his replacement.

Schmidt has been with the organization since 1999, including the past four seasons as general manager. The Rockies turned in their third straight 100-loss season as they missed the postseason for a seventh year in a row.

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The Rockies finished 43-119, narrowly avoiding the distinction of being the worst team since baseball adopted a 162-game schedule in 1961. The mark still belongs to the 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121).

“We are setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation, and a focus on both short and long-term success,” Walker Monfort, the team’s executive vice president and the son of owner Dick Monfort, said in a statement. “This change delivers an opportunity to shape the future of our club and move forward into a new era of Rockies baseball.”

Schmidt originally joined the Rockies on Oct. 1, 1999, as the director of scouting. He steadily worked his way up the ranks until being hired as the fourth GM in team history in 2021.

“After a number of conversations, we decided it is time for me to step aside and make way for a new voice to guide the club’s baseball operations,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Better seasons are ahead for the Rockies and our great fans, and I look forward to seeing it come to life in the years ahead.”

The new GM will make a decision on the managerial role. Warren Schaeffer has been the interim manager since stepping into the position when Bud Black was fired in May. He went 36-86 in a season that went sideways from the start.

The Rockies boast a young nucleus, but there are plenty of areas to shore up. They finished with a differential of minus-424, the worst since 1900, surpassing the minus-349 of the 1932 Boston Red Sox.

The starting rotation turned in a 6.65 ERA, the highest mark since it became an official stat in both leagues in 1913.

Dick Monfort said of the front office change: “A new voice will benefit our organization as we work towards giving our fans the competitive team they deserve.”

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Image credit:
Michal Toglia (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

While MLB’s best prepare themselves for the start of postseason play this week, two of the game’s worst teams find themselves at organizational crossroads.

The Nationals are hiring Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni as their new head of baseball operations, completing a front office makeover that illustrates how the team’s now five-year MLB rebuild has not gone as planned.

The Rockies, meanwhile, just finished one of the worst seasons in MLB history. Whatever they decide to this offseason, they will need to change course to turn around an organization that has slipped far behind the rest of the National League.

To illustrate how each team managed to fall so far behind—and see where they may find some low-hanging fruit for speedy improvement—we can look at one very basic stat.

Consider that both the Rockies’ and Nationals’ full-season MiLB hitters walked in 9.5 percent of all plate appearances this year, a number tied for the worst walk rate across all 30 organizations. And it’s not particularly close, either, as no other team was under 10.0 percent. The Braves are 29th at 10.1 percent, the Pirates are at 10.4 percent and the Royals and Red Sox are at 10.5 percent.

It wasn’t that long ago that few teams ever topped a 10 percent walk rate. In 2018, the Mariners were the only organization that cleared that mark. But pitch recognition and zone training is one of the many ways hitting development programs have steadily improved over the past few years. As a result, walk rates have climbed.

In 2021, the average organization walked 10.2 percent of the time in the full-season minors. That number has stayed above 10 percent ever since and reached 11.0 percent this year. Clearly, organizations have worked diligently to coach the proper blend of plate discipline and aggressiveness. Pitches are tracked in cage work to help hitters understand when they are swinging at strikes and when they are chasing pitches out of the strike zone.

The Dodgers have long been considered at the forefront of player development. Los Angeles hitters ranked first in the full-season minors this season with a 12.8 percent walk rate that is the best of the past decade. The Dodgers were second in 2024, top 10 in 2023 and first in 2022. The Brewers, another organization that has clearly made walk rate an emphasis, finished second in 2025 at 12.2 percent to tie the 2023 Mariners and 2023 Twins for second-best over the past decade.

But while this change in approach has swept over offenses around baseball, it has yet to catch on with Rockies and Nationals hitters. Though the league average walk rate has been above 10 percent every year this decade, the Rockies have only topped that mark once (in 2023). The Nationals did walk 10.8 percent of the time in 2023 and 10.1 percent in 2024, but they regressed this year back to 9.5 percent.

So, why does it matter? It’s only one minor league stat, after all, and both the Rockies and Nationals have plenty of problems. The issue is that the approach has manifested at the major league level, as well.

In 2025, the Rockies finished with the lowest walk rate in the majors (6.7 percent), while the Nationals were third-worst (7.4 percent). Not coincidentally, the Rockies had the worst on-base percentage in the minors this year (.293) and finished second-worst in MLB in runs scored despite playing home games at Coors Field.

Joining the Rockies in the bottom third of walk percentage at the major league level in each of the past four seasons are the Marlins. Even so, in Miami we find an example of how a change in approach can lead to positive changes.

From 2021-2024, the Marlins ranked bottom five in MLB walk rate every season, including a last-place 6.7 percent rate last year. The same was true in the minors. From 2018-2024, the Marlins’ full-season MiLB walk rate never climbed above 10 percent. In 2024, the Marlins were second-worst at 9.6 percent, ahead of only—you guessed it—the Rockies.

But under new GM Peter Bendix, the Marlins have made significant strides. Miami’s major league walk rate improved from an MLB-worst 6.7 percent to 7.9 percent this year, finishing 24th overall. With a better approach at the plate, the Marlins went from scoring 3.93 runs per game in 2024 (27th best) to 4.43 in 2025 (16th best).

In the minor leagues, the Marlins went from 29th in walk rate in 2024 (9.6 percent) to 10th at 11.3 percent. Their runs per game jumped from 4.23 in 2024 to 4.40 in 2025.

The Cardinals are also reworking their player development under Chaim Bloom. While St. Louis’ walk rate at the MiLB level has generally been better than the Rockies or Nationals, it was still fourth-worst in the minors in 2024 at 9.9 percent. This year, the Cardinals improved to 13th at 11.2 percent.

This isn’t to suggest that if an organization’s hitters simply start walking more all their problems will be solved. But in the Nationals and Rockies—whose 15.1 and 13.8 percent K-BB rates for hitters this season ranked worst and fifth-worst, respectively—we see two struggling organizations whose hitters could benefit the most from learning which pitches to take.

Below, you’ll find sortable full-season minor league data all 30 organizations in a wide variety of hitting and pitching statistics.

2025 MiLB Team Batting Statistics

OrgAVGOBPSLGISOSB/GSB%BABIPR/GBB%K%K%-BB%Whiff
RATEAngels.237.331.374.1371.3076.6%.3084.1410.7%25.5%14.8%30.0%Astros.226.327.362.1351.6178.2%.2964.4411.5%26.3%14.9%29.5%Athletics.252.347.380.1291.0080.9%.3114.5911.2%21.6%10.4%25.6%Blue Jays.235.334.372.1371.0477.8%.2974.4811.5%23.9%12.4%27.4%Braves.223.312.322.0981.3776.4%.2854.8110.1%23.4%13.3%27.2%Brewers.234.337.360.1261.6379.2%.2964.1412.2%23.2%11.1%27.7%Cardinals.249.344.376.1271.4374.7%.3044.6711.2%21.1%9.9%25.9%Cubs.240.339.363.1231.3878.5%.3053.7211.5%23.5%12.0%27.8%D-backs.260.350.401.1411.0874.1%.3224.7610.9%22.0%11.1%26.1%Dodgers.253.356.397.1441.5779.0%.3164.6112.8%23.0%10.2%26.9%Giants.250.343.388.1381.5080.3%.3114.6111.0%22.5%11.5%26.6%Guardians.236.332.371.1351.5777.7%.2994.9011.3%23.6%12.3%27.0%Mariners.252.344.395.1430.8880.7%.3154.5410.8%23.0%12.2%27.8%Marlins.232.328.357.1241.3779.1%.2914.5911.3%22.8%11.6%26.9%Mets.243.337.376.1341.4879.5%.3005.2911.1%22.3%11.2%26.7%Nationals.235.316.353.1191.4481.3%.3024.529.5%24.5%15.1%30.0%Orioles.227.324.350.1231.4676.6%.2954.6911.3%25.1%13.8%28.5%Padres.247.341.372.1251.2976.9%.3094.7211.2%22.3%11.1%27.0%Phillies.239.335.368.1292.0379.2%.2964.4011.2%22.4%11.2%26.5%Pirates.240.331.378.1381.1676.7%.3025.1310.4%24.0%13.7%28.9%Rangers.241.333.367.1261.5576.9%.2994.8310.8%22.4%11.6%26.0%Rays.234.330.357.1231.4079.0%.2954.7611.4%23.5%12.1%28.3%Red Sox.236.324.366.1301.1274.8%.3004.8410.5%24.4%13.9%29.3%Reds.243.336.374.1310.9976.3%.3095.2210.7%23.7%13.0%28.6%Rockies.251.333.390.1381.6978.1%.3154.609.5%23.3%13.8%27.9%Royals.241.330.371.1301.3177.6%.3054.7910.5%23.5%12.9%28.7%Tigers.252.350.401.1491.0879.1%.3135.2811.7%22.6%10.9%27.6%Twins.242.342.389.1471.0681.9%.2965.0911.5%22.5%11.0%26.7%White Sox.242.334.367.1241.6778.0%.3075.5110.6%23.5%12.9%27.6%Yankees.243.337.386.1431.3779.6%.3075.0011.2%23.8%12.6%28.4%

2025 MiLB Team Pitching Statistics

OrgRAAERAAVGOBPSLGBB%K%K-BB%HR9WHIFF
RATEBABIPWHIPStrike%Angels5.635.02.262.358.40411.7%22.9%11.2%0.9127.2%.3291.5461.3%Astros5.104.51.240.345.37312.3%23.0%10.7%0.8827.5%.3001.4460.6%Athletics5.184.53.254.338.39610.1%22.6%12.5%0.8826.6%.3161.4262.2%Blue Jays4.854.22.242.330.37810.5%24.1%13.6%0.8728.2%.3061.3762.8%Braves4.423.87.229.319.35310.3%23.9%13.6%0.7528.4%.2891.2962.4%Brewers4.533.95.240.329.35810.5%23.0%12.5%0.6827.5%.3031.3562.2%Cardinals4.914.40.240.339.37211.9%23.8%11.9%0.8028.7%.3041.4261.3%Cubs4.634.05.236.337.35311.6%23.1%11.5%0.6427.5%.3011.3861.3%D-backs5.835.18.259.359.41512.1%21.5%9.4%1.0026.8%.3161.5460.6%Dodgers5.264.68.238.352.36213.4%24.2%10.9%0.7529.5%.3091.4960.1%Giants4.794.26.244.336.38110.9%23.3%12.4%0.8527.2%.3071.3961.9%Guardians4.534.02.236.331.36411.2%23.4%12.2%0.7627.9%.2981.3661.7%Mariners5.214.63.259.340.3999.6%20.6%11.1%0.8924.4%.3111.4262.9%Marlins4.553.88.228.332.33611.7%24.4%12.7%0.6529.0%.2961.3561.6%Mets4.293.65.219.314.33910.8%26.6%15.8%0.7630.3%.2901.2762.7%Nationals5.064.44.243.339.38211.5%21.6%10.1%0.8826.0%.2961.4161.3%Orioles4.964.23.233.332.34711.7%24.7%13.0%0.6929.3%.3031.3861.5%Padres5.484.86.254.351.39111.5%22.7%11.1%0.7726.6%.3211.4861.4%Phillies5.204.62.247.340.39411.1%22.8%11.7%0.9527.6%.3061.4362.0%Pirates4.433.98.232.323.36210.4%22.8%12.4%0.7726.5%.2891.3162.6%Rangers4.734.17.237.332.36410.9%24.9%14.0%0.8029.0%.3071.3662.1%Rays4.293.80.234.311.3629.0%23.8%14.7%0.8928.1%.2911.2564.0%Red Sox4.814.19.236.333.35711.1%24.9%13.7%0.7829.3%.3051.3762.1%Reds5.184.59.245.341.39011.4%21.8%10.4%0.9326.2%.2991.4361.4%Rockies5.454.83.261.350.41510.9%22.4%11.5%0.9926.7%.3221.4861.5%Royals5.044.42.247.337.38210.6%22.8%12.3%0.8227.1%.3091.4061.8%Tigers4.163.65.229.309.3559.4%23.2%13.7%0.7626.9%.2851.2563.4%Twins5.204.56.251.335.38410.0%22.8%12.8%0.8627.1%.3121.4062.6%White Sox4.814.29.239.337.36811.5%23.2%11.7%0.8028.5%.3011.3961.5%Yankees4.353.79.222.319.34011.2%24.5%13.4%0.6928.5%.2851.3062.0%

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SEATTLE — Before even taking the field on Thursday night, the Mariners did so knowing that theyâ€d secured a first-round postseason bye.

Thanks to Clevelandâ€s loss to Detroit, Seattle clinched — at the very least — the American Leagueâ€s No. 2 seed, then the club continued its red-hot roll with a 6-2 win over Colorado to cap a three-game sweep.

“It’s the mark that we’ve done something and that we’ve accomplished something and that we’ve had a good season,†Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Obviously, we haven’t been in this position before, so understanding how to progress through the bye, and we’re going to be talking about that here, and sort of planning for it and getting ready for it.â€

Eugenio Suárez was the nightâ€s headliner, crushing a two-run homer in the second inning that marked his 49th of the season.

Though most of his homers this season came with Arizona — 36, compared to 13 since rejoining Seattle at the Trade Deadline — Thursdayâ€s blast put him on the doorstep of history with Cal Raleigh, as they could become the second teammates with at least 50 each in the same season. The others were the Yankees†Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961.

Raleigh grounded out in his second plate appearance then was intentionally walked in his third, but only after Randy Arozarena took off for second base for his 28th steal that eliminated a possible forceout. Raleigh was in a 2-1 count at that point.

The slugger then struck out and popped out the rest of the way, keeping him three homers shy of breaking the AL record of 62 set by Aaron Judge in 2022 — the final record thatâ€s still in reach in this historic season.

Raleigh was moved from catcher to designated hitter as part of a late lineup switch once the Mariners secured the No. 2 seed, signaling that the Mariners will likely keep him in the lineup as he continues to chase Judgeâ€s record — and especially given that the two are in a head-to-head heat for AL MVP.

“We’ll put our heads together as a staff and try to figure that out the best way that we can, and go from there,†Wilson said.

Thanks also to four scoreless innings from Emerson Hancock, which featured seven strikeouts, the Mariners (90-69) have now won 17 of their past 18 games and 11 in a row at T-Mobile Park, where they will finish the regular season with a three-gamer beginning on Friday vs. the Dodgers, who won the National League West earlier on Thursday.

Los Angeles doesnâ€t have anything left to play for, as it has secured the NLâ€s No. 3 seed and canâ€t climb higher. But Seattle is still mathematically in play for the ALâ€s No. 1 seed, which would come with home-field advantage in a potential AL Championship Series.

Those odds, however, are less likely. The Mariners are one game behind the Yankees and Blue Jays for the top spot but those clubs both hold the tiebreaker, essentially amounting it to a two-game deficit with three games to play.

But by claiming the No. 2 seed, the Mariners will bypass the Wild Card Series — a best-of-three slated for Tuesday through Thursday next week — and instead begin the playoffs in the AL Division Series, with home-field advantage.

“The trick is to be ready and to stay ready during that [bye] week,†Wilson said. “And we’re going to talk about that and get some planning down and be ready to go.â€

If things stand pat, the Mariners would host the winner of the Wild Card Series pitting the AL Central champion and the No. 6 seed, a matchup that as it currently stands would feature Cleveland (86-73) hosting Detroit (86-73), though Houston (85-74) is lurking as the first team on the outside looking in.

The ALDS schedule is as follows (start times have not yet been announced by MLB):

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DENVER — A difficult season for Mike Trout and his Los Angeles Angels team came with a historical benchmark Saturday.The…