The Colorado Rockies signed catcher/infielder Jack O’Dowd to a minor league deal Monday, bringing the son of former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd into the organization his father once ran.
MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reported the signing of the 24-year-old left-handed hitter.
O’Dowd’s path to professional baseball wasn’t conventional. After splitting his college career between Texas and Vanderbilt without getting drafted, he took his talents to independent ball this past season.
That’s where things clicked.
Playing for the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League, O’Dowd put up monster numbers – .333/.91 RBIs/22 home runs while setting single-season franchise records for homers and RBIs. His 1.091 OPS caught the Rockies’ attention.
The production came after a college career that included stints in high-profile summer leagues like Cape Cod and the Northwoods. Even a .306 showing in the MLB Draft League in 2024 wasn’t enough to get him selected.
But independent ball gave him the platform he needed.
Now O’Dowd gets his shot in an organization with deep family ties. It’s a homecoming of sorts – he’ll start in the minors and work toward proving he belongs at Coors Field, where his father spent years building the franchise from the front office.
The signing shows the Rockies are willing to take chances on players who’ve had to take the long way around. O’Dowd’s power numbers in Billings suggest there might be something there worth developing.
