Colton Lawrence Welker (born October 9, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

who is a free agent. Welker was drafted by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft and made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) debut in 2021 for the team.

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

Welker was drafted by the

in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft out of

Stoneman Douglas High School Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Parkland, Florida, United States. Established in 1990 as part of the Broward County Public Schools district and named after the writer Marjory Stonem ...

(where he played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and batted over .500 as a senior) in

Parkland, Florida Parkland is a city in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of the city. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which ...

. He signed with Colorado for $855,000, foregoing his commitment to the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. Welker spent the 2016 season playing

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

with the rookie league

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

, where he was named both a Pioneer League mid-season All-Star and a Rockies organizational All-Star at the end of the season after batting .329/.366/.491 with five home runs and 36 runs batted in during 51 games. He spent 2017 with the Single–A

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

where batted .350 (second in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

)/.401(3rd)/.500(9th) with six home runs, 33 runs batted ins, and leading the league with three intentional walks in only 67 games due to injury. In 2018, he played with the High–A

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

where he slashed .333 (third in the league)/.383/.489 with 74 runs (7th in the league), 32 doubles (8th), 13 home runs, 82 runs batted in (4th), and two intentional walks (2nd), while grounding into 14 double plays (5th) and leading the league with 11 sacrifice flies in 114 games. He was named a

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

mid-season All-Star along with earning a post-season All-Star selection. Welker spent 2019 with the Double–A

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

, hitting .252/.313/.408 with 10 home runs, 53 runs batted in, and 6 sacrifice flies (2nd in the Eastern League over 98 games. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On November 20, 2020, the Rockies added Welker to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. On May 6, 2021, Welker was suspended 80 games after testing positive for

chlorodehydromethyltestosterone Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (dehy ...

. Playing for three minor league teams in 2021 he batted .258/.345/.483 in 120 at bats. On September 8, 2021, Welker made his major league debut against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, flying out in his only at bat. He batted .189 for Rockies for the season in 37 at bats. In 2022, he began the season playing for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

, batting .324/.422/.514 in 37 at bats. On June 3, 2022, it was announced that Welker would undergo season-ending surgery to treat a shoulder injury. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on July 6, 2022. In his career he had played primarily third base (299 games), with 54 games at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

San Francisco Giants

Welker was claimed off waivers by the

on July 8, 2022. On November 15, Welker was

by the Giants after they protected multiple prospects from the

. On November 18, Welker was non–tendered by the Giants and became a free agent. He re–signed with the Giants on a minor league contract the following day. Welker spent the 2023 season with the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, playing in 43 games and hitting .237/.388/.274 with no home runs and 13 RBI. On July 14, 2023, Welker was released by the Giants organization.

York Revolution

On April 8, 2024, Welker signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. However, prior to the start of the season on April 24, he was released by York. On May 11, Welker re–signed with the club. In 57 games for the Revolution, he slashed .347/.430/.621 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI. With York, Welker won the Atlantic League championship. He became a free agent following the season. On October 9, 2024, Welker signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released by the Saraperos prior to the start of the season on April 15, 2025.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welker, Colton 1997 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen American sportspeople in doping cases Arizona Complex League Rockies players Asheville Tourists players Colorado Rockies players Grand Junction Rockies players Hartford Yard Goats players Indios de Mayagüez players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball third basemen Sacramento River Cats players Salt River Rafters players Spokane Indians players Baseball players from Coral Springs, Florida York Revolution players