The Rockies optioned Fernandez to Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday.
Fernandez is still waiting to make his MLB debut, but he's heading into his second season as a member of the 40-man roster and could be in line to join the Rockies at some point in 2025. The 22-year-old outfielder will first need to show improvement after struggling in his initial taste of the Pacific Coast League upon being promoted from Double-A Hartford last August. Over his 138 plate appearances with Albuquerque, Fernandez slashed .211/.268/.313 with two home runs and 18 RBI.
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Rockies' Yanquiel Fernandez: Making more contact
Rotowire
Fernandez is hitting .277 with a .320 on-base percentage and five home runs in 201 plate appearances for Double-A Hartford.
Fernandez has established at past stops that he has at least plus raw power, but while he has improved as a contact hitter in a return to the Eastern League (64.2 Contact% in 2023, 77.7 Contact% in 2024), he's sacrificing impact at the dish. The Cuban right fielder has a poor 19.9 percent soft-hit rate and a career-worst 28 percent infield-flyball rate. He's still just 21 -- the eighth-youngest qualified hitter in the Eastern League -- and the park at Hartford is the most pitcher-friendly home park Fernandez will play in for as long as he remains in the Rockies organization.
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Rockies' Yanquiel Fernandez: Optioned to Double-A
Rotowire
Fernandez was optioned to Double-A Hartford on Friday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
Fernandez went 3-for-13 with a homer in seven Cactus League contests, but the 21-year-old was always destined to head back to the minors. He's mega-talented and has loads of fantasy upside if he can rein in the strikeouts.
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Rockies' Yanquiel Fernandez: Added to 40-man
Rotowire
The Rockies selected Fernandez to their 40-man roster Tuesday.
Fernandez, 20, put up a .799 OPS with 25 home runs and 92 RBI over 117 games this past season between Low-A Fresno, High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford. The young outfielder is now protected from selection in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
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Rockies' Yanquiel Fernandez: Makes return at Double-A
Rotowire
Fernandez has gone 5-for-12 with three doubles, two walks, three RBI and two runs in three games for Double-A Hartford since returning from the 7-day injured list Saturday after missing time with an unspecified injury.
The 20-year-old outfield prospect was sidelined for about 10 days with what was apparently a minor injury. Since getting a promotion from High-A Spokane on June 20, Fernandez is hitting .237/.309/.443 with five home runs across 110 plate appearances with Hartford.
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Rockies' Yanquiel Fernandez: Homers in first Double-A game
Rotowire
Fernandez went 1-for-4 with a home run and two strikeouts in his debut for Double-A Hartford on Tuesday.
The Cuban slugger took full advantage of the advantageous hitting conditions at High-A Spokane, slashing .319/.354/.605 with 17 home runs in 58 games before getting promoted to Double-A. Hartford is a more neutral park, so this will be a big test for the 20-year-old as he will routinely be facing pitchers several years his senior. Fernandez's raw power is a clear strength, but he rarely sees a pitch he doesn't like, so it wouldn't be surprising if he goes through some growing pains as one of the youngest players at Double-A.
