When 22-year-old Cuban slugger Yanquiel Fernández (no. 7 PuRP) was summoned from the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes last week to be the ninth Rockies MLB debut of the season, it was the culmination of a dream and everything his professional career had led up to so far.
Signed for $295,000 at just 16-years-old as part of the Rockies’ 2019 international free agent class, Fernández was already 6’2’’ and almost 200 pounds. Since then he’s grown both figuratively and literally.
Described by FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen as “a strapping, broad-shouldered young man with considerable thunder in his hands” with “prodigious left-handed power,” Fernández has grown into his large frame and cuts an imposing figure on the field.