Rox prospects learn to give back like big leaguers

DENVER — Because shortstop Brendan Rodgers and second baseman Forrest Wall are recent Rockies first-round Draft picks, the expectation is that they will be forces at the Major League level. So they spent the weekend giving back like big leaguers.

Rodgers, 20, the third overall pick in 2015, and Wall, 21, selected 35th overall in ’14, along with Royals lefty pitching prospect Foster Griffin, 21, a first-round pick in ’15, recently sat down with their agent, Jason Romano, a former Major League utility man. Romano, who played for five teams from 2002-05, was surrounded by players who enjoyed community work, and figured it’s not too early for these prospects to start.

The result was “Wiffle With the Pros,” a charity event in Orlando, Fla. — an area in which all three of the prospects grew up. The event grew 16 teams from many sources — pro players, companies, youth and high school coaches — and raised a net of $4,700 for Brethren Reaching Out, a Christian non-profit that provides outreach to about 400 socially and economically disadvantaged children from Head Start (kids under 5) to high school.

Supporting a great cause for some of our Central Florida Baseball players! @jason_romano7 #ProfessionalPeople #WiffleWithThePros #PowerUp pic.twitter.com/CViR3ObfjW

— Power Baseball (@PowerBSB) December 17, 2016

Supporting a great cause for some of our Central Florida Baseball players! @jason_romano7 #ProfessionalPeople #WiffleWithThePros #PowerUp pic.twitter.com/CViR3ObfjW

“It’s good to be involved with the community at an early age,” said Rodgers, who hit .281 with 19 homers and 73 RBIs at Class A …

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