Keep Calmquist and Carry On
With Ryan Feltner still sidelined with back spasms, the Rockies needed a new starting pitcher to kick off their series in Arizona last week. They turned to tricky left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist (no. 9 PuRP) to make his big league debut. Palmquist—a 2022 third-round pick out of Miami—had been pitching very well in the hitter friendly PCL this season with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. In seven starts and 35 1⁄3 innings he posted a 3.82 ERA with 45 strikeouts.
Palmquist’s debut did not go as planned. In four innings, he gave up five earned runs on six hits while also walking a batter and failing to notch his first big league strikeout. However, the new rookie didn’t let that take away from his joy and how special his big day was to him.
“I mean, I’ve said it since it happened,” Palmquist said after the game. “It was the best day of my life so far, just getting to live out your childhood dream that you’ve dreamt about since you first started playing baseball, Little League, Tee-ball, and it was just the dream come true, to stand out there and take it all in and get to work at pitching.”
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Despite the tough outing, Palmquist feels he belongs at the big league level and his pitches—especially the off-speed arsenal—can work for him here.
“It was just getting the off-speed over and seeing them take some sort of bad swings at the off-speed pitches, and knowing that this is going to work up here and still going to get outs the same way it did at the other levels,” Palmquist told our own Renee Dechert. “Just fill in the good spots and get outs.”
Palmquist doesn’t seem nervous about being a major league pitcher. Now that he’s made his debut, he has a map for his second start.
“[It] helps you settle in, knowing I can get them out, knowing it’s still a game of baseball, just with a bigger stadium and a little more fans.”
Palmquist will make his second start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
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Weekly Pebble Report: May 13th-May 19th
The kids might soon be taking over. The Colorado Rockies have had a seventh rookie debut in two months of play while young interim manager Warren Schaeffer has taken over at the helm. If more rookies keep popping up, could this be the next iteration of “Generation R?”
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (3-3, 19-25 Overall)
No inclement weather meant the Albuquerque Isotopes finally got their City Roots “Duke City” day done after multiple postponements as they played all six games against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners). The Topes managed a series split, winning three in a row at one point.
So hot, he’s cooking Ryan Fritters: Ryan Ritter (no. 17 PuRP) was undoubtedly the Isotopes’ most valuable player against the Rainiers. He went 10-for-22 in five games at the plate with four doubles, two triples, a home run, and nine RBIs. He also walked thrice compared to just four strikeouts. He was also responsible for the game-tying or game-winning hit in three of those games, and on Sunday he went 3-for-4 while being just a home run short of the cycle. For his efforts, Ritter was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week!
After this weekend, is anyone surprised? @RyRit47 has been named PCL Player of the Week.
Ritter delivered either a game-tying or winning hit in the ninth inning of THREE straight contests against Tacoma.
Overall, he was 10-for-22 with four doubles, two triples, a homer and… pic.twitter.com/4sDcxW7eVG
— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) May 19, 2025
I’m still a Fan Scoyoc: Right-handed pitcher Connor Van Scoyoc has quietly been turning in quality results with the Isotopes since returning to action this spring. Van Scoyoc is pitching for the first time at the Triple-A level and has a 3.14 ERA in seven appearances and 14 1⁄3 innings of work. Van Scoyoc pitched 2 1⁄3 innings against Tacoma, giving up just one earned run on one hit. That single earned run was an inherited runner that was driven in via a home run after Van Scoyoc was removed from the game.
They say that a Hiura can save us: Isotopes first baseman Keston Hiura recorded at least a base hit in all six games against Tacoma. He went 8-for-21 with three doubles and four RBIs. He also struck out just thrice during the series while drawing three walks. Hiura struggled in April but has seemingly found his groove in the month of May. Through 13 games this May he is hitting 354/.446/.583 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and five walks to 11 strikeouts.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-4, 21-17 Overall)
The Hartford Yard Goats dropped a seven game series—including a makeup doubleheader—to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets) when their offense largely failed to launch. The Yard Goats scored three or fewer runs in five of seven games, including a shutout and two contests where they scored just one run.
Sean on, you crazy diamond: Wake Forest lefty Sean Sullivan (no. 8 PuRP) made his triumphant return to Double-A to start his season proper after rehabbing from offseason hip surgery. The 2023 second rounder pitched five shutout innings against the Rumble Ponies while allowing just two hits. He hit his spots, threw strikes (46 strikes in 67 pitches) and struck out three batters.
Cole in one: I can’t lie, Cole Carrigg (no. 10 PuRP) largely struggled against the Rumble Ponies. He struck out 12 times and drew just one walk in 25 plate appearances. Carrigg also had just one hit… but boy did he make it count. Carrigg’s lone hit was a grand slam on the 16th, his eighth home run of the season and his third slam of 2025. Carrigg is tied for the second most home runs in the Eastern League.
They need Skip protection: Yard Goats reliever Carson Skipper pitched 2 1⁄3 scoreless innings against the Rumble Ponies across two outings. He gave up three hits and two walks but kept Binghamton off the score sheet with three strikeouts. With an ERA of 3.24 so far this season, Skipper has been one of the Yard Goats’ best options to turn to out of the bullpen.
High-A: Spokane Indians (3-3, 20-19 Overall)
The Spokane Indians split the series with the Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants) by dropping three straight games to end the series. In each of those three games they scored only one run against the Emeralds pitching staff. This losing streak ended a five-game winning streak dating back to their last series.
Beef Welinton is now mutton: After a truly excellent start to his season, lefty closer Welinton Herrera has been promoted to Double-A Hartford. He hasn’t given up an earned run since April 17th, he hasn’t given up a hit since April 30th, and he hasn’t walked a batter since May 4th. Herrera pitched another three scoreless outings against the Emeralds, notching another two saves under his belt. He struck out five batters across three innings of work.
McCade for this moment: Right-handed pitcher and 2021 third round pick McCade Brown had two strong starts against the Emeralds. He opened the series with a four inning start in which he gave up just one unearned run on four hits and a walk while tying his season high for strikeouts at six. Brown then ended the series by setting a new season high with seven strikeouts, giving up just one earned run on four hits and two walks over five innings.
A real pro’s Prosecky: Indians lefty Michael Prosecky (no. 25 PuRP) set a season high for strikeouts, fanning ten Emeralds batters in a six inning Quality Start. He walked no batters while giving up three earned runs on five hits. Prosecky now has an ERA of 3.23 and leads the Indians pitching staff in strikeouts so far this season.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (4-2, 17-22 Overall)
The Fresno Grizzlies earned their first full series win of the 2025 campaign by taking four of six over the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres). With these four wins the Grizzlies are now just five games below .500 as they push to find their footing in the California League.
A Hopfe, skipfe, and a jumpfe: Tommy Hopfe was hitless in the first two of five against the Storm, but reached base successfully with a walk in each game. He then finished out the series strong, going 7-for-14 over the final three games with three doubles and two RBIs.
Puttin’ on the Fitz: Grizzlies first baseman and outfielder Kevin Fitzer had another strong week at the plate, going 7-for-21 with three doubles, three RBIs, and scoring four times against the Storm. He played every game of the series in left field and has been spending more time in the outfield recently.
Friday Night Fitzer strikes again.
Kevin Fitzer doubles in another run to push the lead back to four at the start of the third. pic.twitter.com/7aQtLBVDuH
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) May 17, 2025
Take a shot: Right-handed reliever Fisher James Jameson—a 10th round pick in 2024—hasn’t given up a run in the entire month of May (12 innings) so far. Jameson made two more shutout appearances out of the bullpen against the Storm, giving up one hit and no walks in each. He struck out three in a two inning outing, and struck out two in a three inning outing.
Arizona Complex League (2-2, 7-5 Overall)
The ACL Rockies scored 15 combined runs in their two wins last week, with ten of them coming against the ACL Angels (Los Angeles Angels). The five runs given up to the ACL White Sox (Chicago White Sox) were the most they allowed all week. In their three other games they gave up three or fewer.
Don’t slow your Roldy: 18-year-old Dominican infielder Roldy Brito had an excellent week at the plate. Brito went 8-for-14 with a double and drew four walks to four strikeouts. Brito’s best day came against the ACL Angels, where he went 4-for-4 with a double.
Drop the Hammer: 2023 12th round pick Bryson Hammer reached as high as High-A Spokane last season, but is starting his 2025 with the Arizona Complex League. Hammer has pitched 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings across three appearances with five strikeouts. On the 16th against the ACL Mariners (Seattle Mariners) he struck out two batters in 1 1⁄3 innings while giving up two hits. Hammer was assigned to Low-A Fresno this morning.
Andujar accelerating: Shortstop Ashly Andujar (no. 22 PuRP) appears to be heating up at the Complex. In his four games last week he went 6-for-13 with a walk and three RBIs. He also had his first multi-hit games of the season, going 2-for-4 against the ACL Angels and 3-for-4 against the ACL White Sox.
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