The journey to the major leagues is a long and arduous path — one that may take unexpected twists and turns.

With opening day nearly upon us, Denver Post beat writer Kyle Newman puts the spotlight on five different Rockies, taking a look at each of their journeys to the majors. From an unheralded pitcher turned elite hitter to a “can’t-miss” prospect who battled unexpected twists, here’s a look at their stories:

Charlie Blackmon, outfielder

Before he was an all-time Rockie, Charlie Blackmon was an unheralded southpaw prospect at Atlanta’s North Gwinnett High School.

He wasn’t supposed to sniff a major-league diamond as a pitcher, much less as a hitter who would go on to four All-Star nods and a National League batting title.

But “Chuck Nazty” used sweat equity and a pure lefty swing that no scout saw playing in the pros to transform his game and make him a staple at Coors Field, where Blackmon enters his 13th year of service. Read the full story.

Yonathan Daza, outfielder

From playing baseball with a stick in the streets of Venezuela to hitting at spacious Coors Field, Yonathan Daza took a long road to the majors, a route familiar to many Latin American prospects.

Daza’s challenges were both common (new language/culture) and tragically uncommon (a rocky childhood that included the loss of his older brother to gun violence).

But the Rockies’ outfielder insists they were all a part of what made him into the player he is today. Read the full story.

Justin Lawrence, pitcher

Justin Lawrence dropped his arm slot, and raised his odds.

Before Lawrence was a flame-throwing sidearmer in the Rockies’ bullpen, he was just another right-handed reliever at Jacksonville University. That’s where he had a career-changing realization.

“I realized that if I was going to get to the big leagues, it was going to be a different route for me,” Lawrence said. “I was (already) going from being a position player to being a pitcher, and then I dropped down my arm slot. That was a big change.” Read the full story.

Elehuris Montero, third baseman

At one point, Elehuris Montero was just another prospect, albeit one of the more highly touted ones in the Cardinals’ system.

But that all changed Feb. 2, 2021, the day the Cardinals officially traded for Nolan Arenado. Montero came to Colorado as the top-rated positional prospect in the deal, who also happened to play Arenado’s position, third base.

From there, lofty expectations were set for Montero (and perhaps unfairly so) from a Colorado fanbase angry about what they viewed as a fleecing in the Arenado trade, where the Rockies sent off a likely Hall of Fame player and also payed the Cardinals $51 million of his salary to do so. Read the full story.

Ryan Rolison, pitcher

For a Rockies rotation short on southpaws — and for a farm system short on southpaw prospects — Ryan Rolison was supposed to be a sure thing.

The first college left-hander drafted in 2018, Rolison checked all the boxes coming out of Ole Miss. Durability. Pitchability. Advanced stuff with maturity and an expectation he could fast-track to the big leagues after Colorado took him No. 22 overall.

But as is often the case with a prospect’s path to the majors, there’s been numerous speed bumps along the way — the most obtrusive coming over the previous two years just as he was primed to reach the big leagues. Read the full story.

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