Third baseman Ethan Hedges endured a nightmarish start to his first instructional league as he concluded his first professional season.

He suffered a concussion when he was hit in the helmet with a pitch in the second game of instructs. The injury sidelined him for about 10 days

Hedges recovered and was impressive on both offense and defense.

The Rockies drafted Hedges in the third round this year out of Southern California. They signed him for $950,000, slightly below the slot value of $1,060,300.

Hedges made his pro debut on Aug. 12 for High-A Spokane. In 20 games he hit just .195/.303/.234 with three doubles, but he impressed the Spokane staff with how he played and prepared.

Despite a lackluster bottom line, Hedges showed plate discipline with a 19% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate.

“He’s just got a good feel for the game,” Rockies assistant farm director Jesse Stender said. “You can tell he’s a mature player. He’s obviously been in a lot baseball situations coming through USC. It didn’t seem like the game sped up on him.”

The righthanded-hitting Hedges showed the ability to get hits with pull-side power and by driving balls to the opposite-field gap.

“He would work counts,” Stender said. “He would get his pitch, and then he would do damage when they came over the plate . . . Just a mature approach and a good feel to hit. Defensively, there wasn’t a play he didn’t make, either.”

Hedges made plays ranging both right and left and charging balls. He showed arm strength and a good internal clock.

“Obviously, it was a small sample, but he showed up across the board,” Stender said. “That’s the type of baseball player you want. A winning-type baseball player, where he’s going to give you a good at-bat, and he’s not going to make mistakes on defense.”

ROCKY ROADS

— Righthander Riley Kelly came out of instructional league with an effective slider that will enhance his arsenal. The Rockies selected Kelly, 21, in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. Because he threw 66.2 innings for UC Irvine in 17 games before the draft, the Rockies protected Kelly and did not have him pitch in Arizona Complex League games. He struggled in his first two outings in instructional league and became basically a one-pitch pitcher in one game when he couldn’t get his curveball over and threw a few changeups. Kelly threw some sliders in college but scrapped the pitch because it started hurting his elbow. He was trying to make it more like a sweeper and using too much wrist. Minor league pitching coordinator Doug Linton helped teach Kelly a slider in his very next bullpen. He picked up the pitch right away, and in his next instructional league start, Kelly struck out a Giants hitter on a 1-2 slider, the first one he threw.

— Righthander Yujanyer Herrera, who had the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow repaired with an internal brace on Oct. 30, 2024, and missed the 2025 season, threw in instructional league games and got up to three innings. He’s pitching for Lara in the Venezuelan League and did not allow an earned run through four games, allowing two hits and two walks in 5.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The Rockies acquired Herrera, 22, and righthander Bradley Blalock from the Brewers on July 27, 2024, for righthander Nick Mears. Herrera had gone 6-1, 3.18 in 12 games, nine starts, for High-A Wisconsin at the time of the trade. In six games for High-A Spokane, he went 1-0, 3.31 while allowing 13 hits, including one home run, and 11 walks and 33 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.