Dyan Jorge may have been the cream of the Rockies' crop at the start of the 2022 international signing period, getting $2.8 million to sign. But Hidalgo, another middle infielder who received a $500,000 bonus, has jumped to the forefront a bit more. It didn’t happen overnight as Hidalgo repeated the Dominican Summer League, but things really clicked for him in Round 2 in 2023, finishing with a .980 OPS en route to being named the DSL MVP. He performed well during his U.S. debut in 2024, earning a late bump up to Single-A Fresno, albeit with less impact at the plate.
A right-handed-hitting infielder, Hidalgo showed a knack for finding the barrel in the DSL. But while he still made some loud contact in 2024, more chase showed up in his game. There’s a good amount of raw power for him to tap into, but he’ll need to tone down his approach more so he can get pitches to drive, instead of wave at soft stuff out of the zone too much.
Hidalgo is a solid runner with good instincts on the basepaths, which helps him be a threat to steal. There is some question over whether he’ll be a shortstop long term -- his arm works from the left side of the infield and no one is pushing him off short for the time being, but he likely will get introduced to second base this year after he’s also received time at third at the outset of his career.
