NewsHealth key to Gomez's development
Big, athletic shortstop polishing plate discipline in AFL
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
10/29/09 1:04 PM ET
DENVER -- Rockies standout shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is considered a rare gem at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. But not far behind him is prospect Hector Gomez, who is an imposing 6-foot-4 and is still filling out his athletic frame.Gomez, 21, hit .275 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs in 83 games at Class A Modesto and is continuing his development in the Arizona Fall League, where he is hitting .235 with nine RBIs through nine games.
Development could come quickly for Gomez, if he can stay healthy. He suffered a stress fracture in his right leg and played just one game in 2008 and then suffered an elbow injury during rehab and underwent Tommy John ligament transfer surgery. The Rockies added him to the 40-man Major League roster for 2009 to keep another team from drafting him. But he spent most of the first month of the season in extended spring training completing his rehab, and later suffered a right groin injury that cost him a month.
As the Rockies' designated priority player in the AFL (each organization is allowed one), he'll be guaranteed four starts a week.
"Hector Gomez is a big shortstop who has plenty of arm strength -- the ability to make the play, especially going to his backhand side," Rockies player development director Marc Gustafson said. "He has the ability to cover a lot of ground. He just needs to play."
The regular playing time also should allow Gomez to begin to round out his offensive development. Gomez posted a .310 on-base percentage, with 15 walks against 68 strikeouts this past season.
"He can hit, but sometimes he gets away from a middle-of-the-field approach," Gustafson said. "What you see out of him is plenty of ability, but he needs to stay focused on the things that will get him a high average and on-base percentage."
Tulowitzki is signed through 2013 with a club option for 2014, so it's not as if there's a rush for Gomez. The Rockies haven't even begun discussing alternate positions for him should he make the Majors with Tulowitzki entrenched in Colorado. If all goes well, Gomez could begin the 2010 season at Double-A Tulsa.
Wherever Gomez ends up when he's a finished product, he should be impressive.
"When we signed him he was around 6-foot, and now he's 6-4, so I think he's done growing as far as height is concerned," Gustafson said. "Next for him will be physical maturity. We're not looking at size as much as the right kind of muscle, fast-twitch muscle. We want him to keep his athletic body type."
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
