Cole Carrigg triples in big league debut with Colorado – “He plays with his hair on fire”

DENVER – Since getting drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2023, Cole Carrigg has often been described as playing with his hair on fire. On Tuesday it was on full display during his Major League debut.

Starting in center field and batting seventh for the Rockies, Carrigg laced a ground ball into the right field corner against Colin Rea of the Chicago Cubs for a triple as his first big league base hit.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way than to have a triple as my first one,” Carrigg said.

The switch-hitter spent the winter making adjustments on his left-handed swing after performing better from the right side the past two seasons in the minors. This season, against right-handed pitchers, Carrigg posted a 1.017 OPS in Triple-A, 217 points higher than when facing southpaws.

“I took the offseason really seriously this year, and tried to make some changes to keep it more simple and more repeatable,” Carrigg said pre-game of his swing from the left-side. “A little bit simpler swing, not too many big movements, and it’s definitely been feeling a lot better, and it’s been working better for me.”

The Rockies no. 6 prospect on MLB Pipeline popped out on the first pitch he saw as a big leaguer and struck out on three pitches in his next at-bat. The three-base hit in the fifth inning eased his nerves enough that an eight-pitch plate appearance in the seventh inning produced a walk. 

Manager Warren Schaeffer, who has now seen five players debut for him this season, including four since May 15, was happy for his newest rookie.

“Just pure joy and it couldn’t have been a better first hit for a player like that,” said Schaeffer. “Super exciting, just watching him run around the bases like a young colt. Impressive fun.”

A Speed Demon

Carrigg opened the season at Albuquerque and shined during his first taste of Triple-A. The 24-year- old posted a slash line of .338/.414/.529 with six home runs, 30 stolen bases and 42 RBI in 57 games. 

Since his first full season as a professional in 2024, his 129 steals ranks sixth-most in the minor leagues. Relentless speed, as some within the organization call it. 

“I’m gonna play how I’ve always played, and running is definitely a part of my game and I’m gonna continue to do so,” Carrigg said. “Obviously (making) smart base running decisions, and I’m sure I’ll talk to Schaeffer and everybody about what they’re expecting out of me.”

Tenacious is one word that describes Carrigg’s style of play. His promotion to the big leagues on Tuesday won’t change that. A decisive 7-3 win over the Cubs fortified the situation. 

The front office and the Rockies coaching staff are well aware of Carrigg’s aggression, another word that defines his style. At times, this aggression will be a benefit to his team; other times, it will mean doing a bit of maintenance.

“There’s going to be mistakes made,” said Schaeffer. “It’s when mistakes do happen, you address them lovingly, and the idea is to not for him to do it again. It might happen again, but then you do it again, and you’d be relentless with (addressing) that.”

The 65th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of San Diego State also made two catches while in the field and appeared adequate on the bases even though he didn’t score on a 6-3 putout following the triple. 

“Honestly, it was kind of my fault,” he said. “I was supposed to go in contact. Obviously, it was a little bit funky, one right over the pitcher. I should have gotten [Kyle Karros] an RBI, but it was super cool to be playing on the field with him again.”

Karros, who is also part of a 2023 draft class that has produced Chase Dollander and Seth Halvorsen for Colorado, has spent many days calling Carrigg his teammate over the years at stops through Low-A Fresno, High-Spokane and Double-A Hartford.

Reunited in the Rockies clubhouse is one thing. Representing the left side of the infield is another for Karros and Carrigg.

“We get enough of each other, so it’s good that he’s in center and can’t be talking my ear off during the entire game,” joked Karros.

The rare catcher/shortstop/centerfielder with the Aztecs, Carrigg continued to play all three positions during his first season as a professional. He put away the tools of ignorance after 2023 and his infielder’s mitt was next after 2024. 

A conversation with new general manager Josh Byrnes over the offseason had him back at shortstop for spring training and with Team Israel for four game during the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Carrigg continued to play short in Albuquerque for 18 games. 

“Always love playing short, and to be able to get back to it in Triple-A and spring training is super cool,” said Carrigg. “Just happy to help the team out however I can. It’s great for a lineup… I think getting back on the dirt will help that in a sense.”

Ezequiel Tovar — who’s just 280 days older than Carrigg and firmly supplanted at shortstop every day for the foreseeable future with four more years remaining on his seven-year extension — as well as Willi Castro and Chad Stevens are currently ahead of Carrigg on the depth chart.

As for the experience in the WBC, it wasn’t quite the soft launch to a successful career in the major leagues as it may have seemed in March.

“I put it as a hard launch,” Carrigg said. “We opened with Venezuela and there were 30,000 there, and it was as loud as I could have ever imagined. You got the best in the world – Acuña, and playing against the D.R., guys like Tatis and Guerrero hitting balls at you. It definitely got me prepared, for sure.”

The Wild Horse

Right beside the words aggressive and tenacious are two others that are often volleyed by those describing the product of Turlock (CA) High School.

Wild Horse.

Carrigg, however, is putting patience as a virtue worth improving upon over all others. 

When he was the Pacific Coast League’s Player of the Week for April 27-May 3 after going 14-for-24 (.583) with four steals, eight RBI and a 1.490 OPS, he had to wait for the call.

“It’s definitely difficult. I think when you feel like you have a chance to be up here and a chance to help the team, and you’re kind of playing well, it’s hard not to look up here, and it’s hard to stay where your feet are,” Carrigg said. “But I think that the best thing you can do is just keep using those opportunities in Triple-A to make sure that you’re ready for when you get here.”

Then there’s the patience at the plate. Despite all the success in Double-A last season, Carrigg saw his walk rate drop and his strikeout percentage rise from 18.9% to 27.0%. 

“We had a lot of talks about that over spring with Byrnes and [Director of Player Development Chris] Forbes and everybody just talking about controlling the zone better and taking better at bats and really dialing in what I want in the plate,” said Carrigg. “Shoutout to Matt Snyder, our hitting coach in Triple-A [who was] always on me about it, whether I wanted to hear it or not, and it definitely got better and definitely helped.”

Carrigg has seen his walks increase to 10.5% of plate appearances and strikeouts down to 15.2% in 2026, the lowest of any season as a pro.

According to Schaeffer, seeing Carrigg battle back from being down 1-2 against Cubs’ reliever Ethan Roberts to draw an eight-pitch walk showed how the Wild Horse can still be tamed. 

“I thought the walk was just as impressive as the triple, so that’s good to see,” Schaeffer said. “I know for a fact that that’s stuff that he’s been working on in Triple-A, so it’s good to see it show up in game one.”

Will Carrigg stick in the big leagues? Is he getting this opportunity before he’s ready like several of the players who have debuted for Colorado in the past few years? 

Only time will tell, but Forbes believes Carrigg is different from other Rockies whose time under the bright lights of Coors Field seemed to end before it ever really began.

“Whether he stays up for us a year or whether he ends up going back down, he’s going to take lessons he’s going to learn here which are invaluable,” Forbes said. “He could get ejected tonight. I have no idea. But I need him to be him.”

It may have been just one game, but Colorado likes what they see with Cole Carrigg.

Diamond Details

Colorado made three other moves to correspond with the Carrigg promotion.

Utilityman Tyler Freeman was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list after getting beaned in the head by a 98.2 mph cutter from Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night. 

Schaeffer said the team was being cautious, but that Freeman’s situation isn’t necessarily the best, adding, “Sometimes, what your body says and what you feel is not the same thing. That’s where we’re at.”

Right-hander Keegan Thompson was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Carrigg. Thompson made five appearances with the Rockies and pitched to an 8.25 ERA over 12 innings.

Fellow right-hander Jeff Criswell was recalled from Albuquerque. The 27-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery last March and missed all of 2025.

“People don’t know how difficult it is to go through a rehab process like he’s gone through, but you’re always around guys that are playing baseball, and you’re just standing there with a brace on your arm, and it gets to be disheartening over a long period,” Schaeffer said. “Very proud that he stuck with it. He’s put his work in, his body’s strong, he was strong through the whole thing.”