Warming Bernabel didn’t get the message that the Rockies’ season is a lost cause.
The rookie corner infielder debuted last weekend in Baltimore and tore it up in his first five major league games. Entering the start of Colorado’s homestand on Friday, the 23-year-old is hitting .389 with a 1.254 OPS, including two homers and two doubles.
Even as Colorado flirts with submitting the worst record in MLB history, Bernabel’s spark has been hard to ignore.
“I see immediate confidence coming up from the minor leagues,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I see smooth. It looks like he knows what he wants, like he’s hunting (specific pitches) up there. It looks like he knows what he’s doing.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to see that coming up from the minor leagues, ready to hit like that.”
Bernabel, the 10th Colorado player to debut this season, got the call-up from Triple-A Albuquerque the day after the Rockies traded third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Yankees for a pair of pitching prospects. While that cleared a 40-man roster spot, Bernabel’s found most of his playing time so far at first base, where Schaeffer said he fits best for the time being.
The debut marked the culmination of a long road to the majors for Bernabel, whom the Rockies originally signed for $900,000 as an international free agent in 2018 out of the Dominican Republic.
It looked like Bernabel was on the precipice of the majors heading into the 2023 season. The Rockies added him to the 40-man roster that offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. But he sputtered in ’23, struggling to a .225 average in 83 games in Double-A Hartford while dealing with a lower back injury that kept him off the field for over a month.
“The toughest year for me was 2023 after I was added to the roster, because it was my worst year,” Bernabel said. “Having done so badly, it taught me to focus more, work harder, and by doing that, I saw I was getting better results. So my worst year brought out the best in me.”
Bernabel’s 2023 ended with him getting shot in the back in an attempted mugging on Dec. 3 in his hometown of Bani.
He and his wife, Wilvely, were heading into a restaurant when Bernabel was assaulted by three men. The owner of the restaurant came out and started firing at the assailants, who fired back.
A bullet hit Bernabel in the right side of his back and exited out his left side before hitting his wife in the biceps. The bullet missed his spine and organs because Bernabel made a slight move while being shot. Both he and his wife made a full recovery, and the ordeal changed Bernabel’s perspective.
“It made me see life in a different way — it made me appreciate my family more, spend more time with them,” Bernabel said. “God gave me a second chance at life, and I want to take that opportunity. … After that, I would get to the stadium earlier, I was always in the cage hitting.”
Those in the Rockies organization also saw a shift in Bernabel. He initially started to rise up prospect boards when he hit .432 in the Arizona Complex League in 2021 and then carried that momentum into Low-A and High-A in ’22, when he was an MiLB.com organizational all-star.
“When we protected him from the Rule 5 draft (in November 2022), he had gained some weight at that time, and then he had the tough season, the shooting,” said Rolando Fernandez, who heads the Rockies’ international scouting department. “He had a couple of setback years, and he worked very hard to overcome them.
“(Starting in 2024), you could see the intent more on how his approach was, his workouts, his work in the offseason. At that time, you saw the switch turning back to what he was doing to achieve success back in High-A.”
The Rockies designated Bernabel for assignment at the start of the 2024 season to clear a roster spot, but Bernabel took the move in stride. He played much better in a repeat stint in Hartford. Then this season, Bernabel played well in Triple-A, hitting .301 in 75 games to earn his promotion.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has a knack for finding barrels early in the count, and his numbers before his major league call-up indicate he doesn’t strike out much, either. His minor-league strikeout rate was 14.7%.
“We know the league is going to make adjustments, and we will have to see how he adjusts to those adjustments, but I like what I’ve seen so far,” Fernandez said. “He’s playing with no fear.”
Warming up
Over the last road trip in Baltimore and Cleveland, Warming Bernabel put himself in rare company while showcasing his signature aggressiveness in the box to open his career with a five-game hit streak. A look at those numbers as the Rockies hope Bernabel could be a long-term part of the club’s rebuild going forward.
• Bernabel is one of five Rockies all-time to homer at least twice in their first three games of their career, joining catcher Brian Serven (2022), outfielder Sam Hilliard (2019), shortstop Trevor Story (2016) and first baseman Todd Helton (1997). Bernabel’s the youngest of that quintet to do so.
• With two homers and a double, Bernabel’s the third Colorado player with three or more extra-base hits in his first three games, joining Story (four in 2016) and outfielder Corey Dickerson (three in 2013).
• Bernabel is one of two Rockies to tally at least 14 total bases through his first four games, joining Story, who set a high bar with 25 total bases in ’16.
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