Underdog Wimmer looking to turn heads in AFL

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rockies prospect Braylen Wimmer has the Minor League numbers associated with a player to watch. Playing for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League could give him a chance to truly be seen.

Wimmer, 24, an eighth-round pick in the 2023 Draft out of the University of South Carolina, has batted .295 with an .827 OPS and 73 stolen bases in 263 games in the Rockies' system. He is not on the MLB Pipeline Rockies Top 30, but was thought of highly enough to represent the club in the AFL – where he has hit .241 with three RBIs and four stolen bases in as many attempts.

This past season in 86 games at High-A Spokane and 45 at Double-A Hartford, Wimmer slashed a combined .296/.366/.466. His Spokane performance earned him selection as a postseason All-Star in the Northwest League.

Defensively, Wimmer saw action at every position but first base, catcher and pitcher. Wimmer, so far playing in the infield with the Rafters, welcomed the call that he “wasn’t expecting” from player development director Chris Forbes with the opportunity to play against top prospects in an effort to shed his under-the-radar status.

“It's been a thing since I was in high school – I was kind of a late bloomer and didn’t get recruited early,” said Wimmer, from Yukon High School in suburban Oklahoma City. “So it kind of started there, and then obviously the Draft, and still to this day, to this day I don't get the respect that I deserve.

"But it helps me play with the chip on my shoulder. So I like that part of it.”

In 2022 as a junior at South Carolina, Wimmer batted .312 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 55 games, but he lasted in the Draft until the Phillies chose him in the 18th round.

“I felt a little bit disrespected, so I just felt I wanted to go back to college and play another year,” Wimmer said. “There were a lot of guys that decided to go back and play our senior years. I just wanted to have fun.

“I kind of stressed out my junior year. I wanted to go back and have a better year. I also got a chance to play shortstop at South Carolina. I wanted to show teams that I could do that.”

Wimmer said Rockies area scouting supervisor Jordan Czarniecki, a former Rockies Minor Leaguer, kept an eye on him, and recommended selecting him in the same Draft that they took South Carolina right-handed pitcher Jack Mahoney (also a teammate this fall with the Rafters) in the third round.

The selection gave the Rockies a chance to see how Wimmer blossoms.Wimmer has plenty of athletic ability in a frame that’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds and has room to grow. The Rockies have expanded Wimmer’s positional profile -- a development he finds exciting.

“People ask me what my favorite position is all the time, but I like being able to play everywhere,” he said. “Baseball is such a routine-based game, so when I get to show up and not know what position I’m going to play that day -- outfield and infield -- it mixes it up more. I hadn’t played any third base until I got to pro ball. My first year I didn’t do any outfield, but this past year it got to be about a 50-50 with a lot of corner outfield, then third and second.”

While honored for the opportunity, Wimmer understands he is at the early stage of proving himself. Last year, he appeared in five Spring Training games (and went 1-for-2), so earning an invitation to Major League camp in 2026 is his next logical step. The Rockies don’t have to place him on the Major League 40-man roster until after next season, but having reached Double-A could put him on the Major League radar -- provided he keeps developing.

“I’ve got to earn everything,” he said. “I’ve got that chip on my shoulder. I tell myself I want to relax a little bit, but I’m going to approach it the same way I have before -- I’ve got to keep proving people wrong.”