Carson Palmquist\u2019s big-league career began with a wicked twist.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, the lefty starter was called into the office of Triple-A Albuquerque manager Pedro Lopez, who met him with a stone face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018The good news is you\u2019re getting an extra day of rest,\u2019 \u201cPalmquist recalled Monday before the Rockies hosted the Phillies. \u201cThe bad news is you\u2019re going back to Double-A to pitch.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
For a moment, Palmquist was dumbfounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was, like, really confused,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what I did that could have been so wrong that I was going backward. I just sat there for a second and looked at him. Then he said, \u2018I\u2019m just kidding, you\u2019re going to the big leagues.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Palmquist, 24, debuted last Friday night at Arizona.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the best day of my life so far, getting to live out your childhood dreams,\u201d he said. \u201c(These are) things that you\u2019ve dreamed about since Little League and tee-ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
The box score describes a rocky outing: He pitched four innings in the Rockies\u2019 8-0 loss to the Diamondbacks, giving up five runs on six hits and a walk. Surprisingly, for a pitcher who arrived with the reputation as a strikeout artist, Palmquist did not strike anybody out.<\/p>\n
The Rockies\u2019 rotation, whose 6.14 strikeouts per nine innings is last in the majors, desperately needs someone who can punch out hitters.<\/p>\n
While Palmquist didn\u2019t wow anybody in his debut, manager Warren Schaeffer was impressed with the young lefty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was really good,\u201d Schaeffer said. \u201cI thought he was poised. I thought he commanded the fastball, and thought his offspeed stuff was good. I thought he competed. That\u2019s a lot to ask for your first major league game, but I love the poise, and I thought it was a good first one for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe attacked the strike zone, which you don\u2019t always see in a guy\u2019s debut. After the first inning, he told me his legs stopped shaking, he settled in and he started pumping strikes. The more he does that, the better off he\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Palmquist, selected in the second round of the 2022 draft out of the University of Miami, arrived in pro baseball with a predilection for striking out hitters. Over his 246 1\/3 minor league innings, he struck out 31.1% of opposing batters. However, as former Rockies manager Bud Black used to say, \u2018There\u2019s a walk in there.\u2019 Palmquist walked batters at an 11.2% clip in the minors.<\/p>\n
In 70 2\/3 Triple-A innings, starting in August last year and pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Palmquist had a 4.84 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate.<\/p>\n
Take the lead. On the Rockies\u2019 recent road trip, Schaeffer decided to switch Colorado\u2019s leadoff hitter. He dropped the slumping Brenton Doyle from first in the order to fifth. Left fielder Jordan Beck is now leading off. The reason was twofold. One, Doyle wasn\u2019t comfortable leading off, and two, Beck has been one of Colorado\u2019s most productive hitters for an offense that needs all the productivity it can get.<\/p>\n
Beck entered Monday\u2019s game hitting .264 with a team-high eight home runs. Doyle\u2019s average has dipped to .203 after he batted .124 over his past 24 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked B.D. (Doyle) a couple of days ago if he was committed to the leadoff spot. Did he love it?\u201d Schaeffer said. \u201cIt can be a spot that some people don\u2019t like. He told me that he wasn\u2019t crazy about it. I said, \u2018All right, let\u2019s go, I\u2019m going bump you. I think it\u2019s going to be good for you and it\u2019s going to be good for the team.\u2019 I told him he\u2019s going to hit fifth or sixth for the next, however long.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a very capable leadoff hitter in Jordan Beck. I thought we could potentially lead off (second baseman Adael) Amador, he\u2019s got that skill set, but I like our offense to have some more thump at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n