SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Colton Welker wrapped up batting practice and a spring training session last week right on routine. Then he was ripped back into the reality of home.

The 20-year-old minor league third baseman, one of the top prospects in baseball at his position, was a Rockies draft pick out of Stoneman Douglas High School just two years ago. He is barely removed from the Florida school where 14 students, a teacher, a coach and the school’s athletic director were killed last Wednesday in the most recent American mass school shooting.

Like the Columbine High shooting did for Denver, the killings at Stoneman Douglas suddenly made the reality of a massacre more real for Welker.

“You read about it on the news and think, ‘Oh that’s miserable, that’s terrible.’ And it breaks your heart,” Welker said Thursday at Salt River Fields. “But when it happens in your hometown, I was really thrown back. I was in shock. Total disbelief.”

One of Welker’s best friends, Hunter Pollack, is the older brother of Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior who was shot to death. He often was let into the school building by Aaron Feis, the 37-year-old football coach who threw himself in front of students to protect them and was killed. He was helped by Chris Hixon, the 49-year-old athletic director.

And Welker knew the alleged shooter, a 19-year-old former student who has not denied being the killer.

“I went to middle school with him, I rode the bus with him for three years,” Welker said. “It was a complete shock.”

Welker finished his training last Wednesday before a friend from Parkland, Fla., texted him news of the mass shooting. He did not believe it at first, but he could not reckon that someone would joke about such a thing. So he rushed home to watch the news.

Stoneman Douglas has a history of graduating future major league baseball players. Cubs all-star first baseman Anthony Rizzo was a sixth-round pick out of SDHS in 2007. Welker helped lead the school to a Florida state title in 2016.

He started his professional career in the rookie leagues in Grand Junction, where he hit .329 with five home runs. In an injury-clipped season at Single-A Asheville last year, Welker hit .350 with six homers in 67 games. He was recently tabbed as baseball’s No. 8 third basemen prospect. Related Articles Rockies’ starter Antonio Senzatela emerges as bright spot in 2020

Rockies’ Nolan Arenado might have, quietly, played his final home game at Coors Field

Why Raimel Tapia’s confidence is soaring in breakout season with Rockies

Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw stumps Rockies in 6-1 Colorado loss at Coors Field

Rockies designate veteran reliever Wade Davis for assignment

“Usually, we’re on the map for being a top sports school. Now headlining the news for this is just terrible,” Welker said. “People really don’t know how beautiful an area it is, how great a city it is.”

The news unfolded on TV with Welker reeling. He recognized the footage and realized how the layout of the building would make it difficult for sheriffs and first responders to reach the victims and shooter. It is a large school, with an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students. Welker lived near the school when he was a student there. It was all very real.

“The town is quiet, my mom told me. People are still affected by it,” he said. “It will get back to normal soon, hopefully.”

All 30 major league teams on Friday will wear Stoneman Douglas hats before their spring training games, including the Rockies, in honor of the students and teachers who were killed. Welker does not need an SD hat. He still has his from high school back home in Florida.

Stoneman Douglas was often referred to as a prestigious sports school. It’s now known for a more violent story. But the students who survived the shooting are fighting back, protesting gun violence and demanding change. Welker is cheering them on.

“It’s amazing. I saw the kids went over to President Trump and spoke out, trying to get the laws changed,” he said. “I expected nothing less from that community and those kids. I know people will stand up for that. Things will be done.”