The Rockies have made a habit of hunting for power anywhere they can find it, and this year that search ended behind the plate at Cincinnati. Jack Natili, the Bearcats' catcher, put together a season loud enough to get himself drafted in the 3rd round, and Colorado wasted little time locking him up.
3rd-rder Jack Natili signs w/@Rockies for $1.1 million (slot 76 value = $1,103,500). @GoBearcatsBASE C, big power translated into three 3-HR games and 19 HR overall this spring, strong arm & leadership skills behind the plate. @MLBDraft
Natili signed for $1,103,500, which lines up almost exactly with the assigned slot value for pick 76, per Callis. That's not an overpay or an underpay, it's a straightforward, no-drama deal that gets a well-regarded college bat into the organization fast and lets him start his pro clock this summer instead of dragging into fall instructs.
What actually sold teams on Natili wasn't just the overall production, it was how he got there. He hit 3 home runs in a single game 3 separate times this spring, an absurd rate of production that made him the only player this decade to do it 3 times in one season, and he finished with 19 homers on the year to go with a stat line that had him hitting well over .300. That kind of power surge from a catcher, a position where offense is usually an afterthought, is exactly the profile that gets scouts to overlook some of the rawer parts of a game.
Beyond the bat, evaluators have pointed to his strong arm and leadership behind the plate as real assets, the kind of intangibles that matter even more for a catcher than a corner outfielder. Colorado's farm system hasn't exactly been overflowing with impact bats the last few years, so adding someone who can rake and also handle a pitching staff is the sort of dual-threat prospect the org needed.
The bigger picture here is about the Rockies trying to rebuild a talent pipeline from the ground up. A rough big-league product means the farm system carries extra weight, and a power-hitting catcher who was productive enough to be an All-Big 12 honoree gives fans something concrete to point to when the major league scoreboard isn't cooperating. Natili now heads into pro ball with a signing bonus in his pocket and a clear runway to prove the Cincinnati numbers weren't a fluke.