{"id":833077,"date":"2026-10-19T16:27:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T16:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/833077\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T16:27:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T16:27:32","slug":"colorado-rockies-news-sean-sullivan-discusses-his-2026-mlb-season-and-arizona-fall-league-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/833077\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Rockies news: Sean Sullivan discusses his 2026 MLB season and Arizona Fall League goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sean Sullivan (No. 21 PuRP<\/a>) had an up-and-down season.<\/p>\n

He made his MLB debut on June 12th<\/a> in the Las Vegas heat (while battling illness<\/a>) and shined. But that was about the high point for Sullivan, as he bounced between Triple-A and the majors, and also battled an elbow injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was originally my elbow. It was just, like, some posterior impingement \u2013 just some inflammation and stuff like that. Nothing really too serious,\u201d he said. \u201cI got it obviously MRI\u2019d and everything, and it came back fairly clean. So I just got a cortisone shot and just rehabbed it and took some rest and was able to come back for those last two weeks of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sullivan made 14 total starts in Albuquerque, posting a 5-3 record and 5.31 ERA. He was on the injured list from August 3-September 16. In three starts at the end of the year \u2014 including one rehab start \u2014 Sullivan pitched 6.1 innings across three starts and posted a 2.84 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.<\/p>\n

In five big league starts between June 12-July 4, Sullivan<\/a> went 0-3 with an 8.87 ERA. But he learned a lot during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there were a lot of ups and downs throughout the year,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year for me was definitely a year of growth and learning. Obviously, the debut day was a pretty special day in my life. But \u2026 I think just every day I was up there [was a highlight] \u2014 just being able to live that experience. And even when I got sent back down, just knowing what I need to get back to and what I\u2019m missing out on.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cIt was a great learning experience, but I take it all for granted, and I\u2019m very blessed to be in the position I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

His favorite moment? Facing his hometown Boston Red Sox at Coors Field on June 23rd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was pretty cool for me, just being from the Boston area,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI grew up loving that team and seeing a lot of those names and facing that lineup was pretty cool for me. So I would say that was probably a special day for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But of all the lessons Sullivan learned, he said many of them stemmed from his injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like my body just wasn\u2019t in a position where it needed to be physically,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt like I was running on fumes almost when I was up there, and I think you could kind of see that with some of my velocity and just my stuff overall wasn\u2019t performing as well as it usually does.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that ended up showing when I got injured and stuff like that. So I think just getting my body in a better position to where I can go out there for 30 starts and be able to pitch for a full season.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that also gave him the opportunity to spend some time in Arizona, and now he\u2019s back with a plan in place.<\/p>\n

He has made two starts so far with the Salt River Rafters, allowing five runs on 10 hits across 5.2 innings with one home run, one hit batter and eight strikeouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the idea was to get me innings, but obviously while I\u2019m pitching, I\u2019m always working on something,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cRight now, me and Owen Cuffe<\/a> have been working on my slider, just kind of changing the shapes a little bit from more of, like, a sweeper to more of a traditional slider, and working and kind of tinkering with different grips and stuff like that with my changeup, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve definitely seen some great progress so far,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think taking some of these adjustments into the game has been kind of nice in a less-intense environment rather than in the big leagues where it\u2019s hard to make those adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was something that senior director of player development, Chris Forbes, said<\/a> before the AFL season started.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe missed quite a few starts, so I think we\u2019re hoping to get his innings up, and I\u2019m hoping this ends up being a blessing in the sense that once we got him down here, as were kind of letting that calm down, he was able to kind of get to, \u2018OK, we\u2019re going to focus on strength. Let\u2019s get the strength back up,\u2019\u201d Forbes said in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of those guys that, during the year, just has trouble maintaining weight. He can come in at 205 (pounds), and now he\u2019s pitching at 187 or something at some point. So you\u2019re hoping with him that he\u2019s able to get some innings back in and get some feel back, and then ultimately make a better decision on how does he play in next year\u2019s club. Does he come out of the bullpen as a length guy? Is he doing a spot start? I don\u2019t know. But that\u2019s the plan with Sean. I\u2019m just looking at five healthy starts and going into the offseason feeling really good about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Cuffe shed some light on Sullivan\u2019s new pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to use this time during the Fall League to work on adding a pitch to his arsenal,\u201d Cuffe said via text message. \u201cThe goal is give him another pitch to make hitter decision making tougher and have another tool to help him platoon hitters. We wanted to keep the cutter and sweeper in his arsenal and to add a more traditional gyro slider that\u2019s more in that 80+ mph range to give him another breaking ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, he\u2019s had some success with throwing it in our pitching lab, so we will see how it performs to hitters. He\u2019s also been working on his movement quality on the mound, which has allowed him to get about 92 mph for the first time in a game this year. Overall, Sean has been working hard and seeing some of the payoffs, so I\u2019m excited for him!\u201d<\/p>\n

In the midst of executing his new pitch and overall plan, Sullivan is also enjoying the opportunities afforded to him in the AFL, such as playing with players and coaches from other teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really special,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s one of the coolest parts of this is just being able to kind of pick everyone\u2019s brain. And other teams have coordinators in town, and obviously just talking in the dugout and on the bench and stuff, just trying to hear how other teammates do it in their processes and organizations, and I think it\u2019s a great way to learn and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning ahead, Sullivan is looking forward to continuing to get better and compete.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed some decent chunks of time this year, and it\u2019s never fun,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think continuing to get to play \u2013 potentially before a lockout, too \u2013 is exciting. Whenever I get to take the mound is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

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