Have the Rockies Found Some Solutions With Late-Season Rookies?

Manager Bud Black had been teasing the arrival of some new faces in the Colorado Rockies clubhouse ahead of the trade deadline on July 30. 

Though none of the team’s top prospects — Zac Veen, Yanquiel Fernandez, Carson Palmquist and Chase Dollander — got the call for a promotion, a quartet of rookie relievers have more than just contributed to Black’s bullpen over the last several weeks. 

RHP Jeff Criswell, LHP Luis Peralta, RHP Seth Halvorsen and RHP Jaden Hill have all debuted since August 21. And since Peralta’s debut on Aug. 24, Colorado is 10-11 with a road record of 5-6.

The bullpen has been a key factor in the club’s recent success thanks to a 3.15 ERA over the last 15 games, 10th-best for a relief corps since Aug. 30

Before the arrival of this foursome, Colorado sat dead last in MLB in terms of bullpen success with a 5.56 ERA. The Rockies were also 30th in strikeouts-per-nine (7.47) and left-on-base percentage (66.1%).

Since the first call-up from this group on Aug. 21, the bullpen has posted a more respectable 4.41 ERA (18th in MLB) with a 9.36 K/9 (15TH) and a 72.9% LOB% (11th).

Those numbers might not strike fear in the hearts of opposing offenses around the league, but they are indicative of a club capable of avoiding another 100-loss season in 2025.

The path to the majors has been different for each of these players. Those paths have also shown a different way of operating for the Rockies, who are still hoping to avoid the century mark with 12 games remaining.

RHP Jeff Criswell

Acquired in Dec. 2022 from the Oakland Athletics in a trade for RHP Chad Smith, Criswell’s road to Denver meant stepping away from starting pitching with Triple-A Albuquerque this season.

His first year as a reliever was not going great even given the reduced expectations for pitchers in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Criswell finished July with a 6.75 ERA, down over a run from the first two months of the campaign. But starting on Aug. 7, the 25-year-old from Michigan twirled 5.2 innings of one-run ball over four appearances, walking none and striking out eight in the process. 

Colorado parlayed the hot hand into 2.1 scoreless frames in the majors from the 6-foot-4 right-hander during his first two big league appearances at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium. His third outing was the most memorable of his early career but for all the wrong reasons.

On Aug. 25, Criswell gave up three consecutive home runs to the Yankees’ three-headed homer-hitting monster of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Criswell followed up that gut punch with two scoreless innings of work on Aug. 28 in which he struck out five, the most for a Rockies reliever this season – until he struck out six last night in 2.2 innings of work.

Altogether, his seven shutout appearances over nine outings have been good for a 2.84 ERA during his first month as a big leaguer.

LHP Luis Peralta

Another product of GM Bill Schmidt’s wheeling and dealing, Peralta came over from the Pittsburgh Pirates in July just ahead of this year’s trade deadline for LHP Jalen Beeks.

The 23-year-old had a microscopic 0.91 ERA in the Pirates organization, much of which came at High-A. After five games with Double-A Hartford and one with the Isotopes in Triple-A, Peralta was sent up to the varsity club. 

The younger brother of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Freddy Peralta kicked off his big league career at Yankee Stadium and posted 1.2 innings of hitless baseball. 

Peralta’s fortune hasn’t changed much in his three weeks in The Show.

Not only has the southpaw yet to give up a run in his first nine outings, but he hasn’t given up a hit in six of those games. He’s the second reliever with a scoreless streak that long and two games from tying Ramón Ramírez (2006) for the franchise record.

RHP Seth Halvorsen

Selected in the seventh round only a year ago in the 2023 MLB Draft, Halvorsen is one of several players in recent seasons who have advanced through the minors quickly under Schmidt’s regime. 

The University of Tennessee product topped out at Double-A with the Yard Goats with a 2.70 ERA over three levels in his first year as a professional. Halvorsen had less success in his second time around with Hartford but caught fire like Criswell across eight innings in Triple-A before being promoted last month.

The 24-year-old made his debut on Aug. 30 at home against the Baltimore Orioles and became the first in franchise history to record an out with one pitch in game no. 1.

Since then, it’s taken him closer to three pitches to get batters out thanks to a swing-and-miss arsenal punctuated by a 100 MPH four-seam fastball. In the 90 pitches Halvorsen has thrown during his 6.2 innings, a total of 23 — or 25.6% — have been at 100.0 MPH or higher.

A 101.9 MPH fastball on Sept. 6 to the Brewers’ Joey Ortiz was the third fastest during the Statcast era for a Rockies pitcher. His eight pitches of 100.4 MPH or faster in that game were also the most by a Colorado rookie since 2015.

RHP Jaden Hill

Considered one of the best college starting pitchers in the 2021 MLB Draft, Hill underwent Tommy John surgery partway through his third season at LSU. It’s for that reason Hill fell to the Rockies in the second round at the 44th overall pick. 

Colorado’s no. 20 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline suffered a series of setbacks that forced him into a role as a reliever. On the bright side, it gave him an opportunity to join the club in February as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

Together with Peralta and Halvorsen, the trio had an identical 0.00 ERA entering Saturday, combining to allow 10 baserunners and striking out 15 through a combined 16.0 innings of work.

Hill gave up his first run of the season that day, but his ERA still stands at an impressive 2.25 over his first four MLB outings.

There Are Others

Hill’s promotion on Sept. 5 and subsequent debut two days later made him the 12th Rockies player to debut this year, matching a franchise record from 2014 and 2016. Since that call-up, Colorado has had a dozen rookies on the active roster.

RHP Angel Chivilli, who debuted on June 3 as a 21-year-old, has shaken off the jitters of his first go-round in the majors. Since his last recall on July 30, Chivilli is scoreless in 15 of his last 19, good for a 2.25 ERA. In the process, he earned his first career win (Aug. 18) and save (Aug. 20) in back-to-back Rockies games. 

Rule 5 pick RHP Anthony Molina has been used sparingly despite plans for him to go back to starting pitching in 2025 when he can be optioned back to the minors. His 6.96 ERA is a composite of an 11.10 ERA on the road and a sterling 3.45 ERA at Coors Field.

Last but not least, fittingly, is RHP Victor Vodnik. Before recently missing 18 games with right biceps inflammation, the 24-year-old served as Colorado’s closer. His nine saves this year are the most by a rookie in the National League and second-most in team history behind only Carlos Estévez who had 11 saves in 2016.

Much like Halvorsen, Vodnik is a velocity merchant. With an average fastball of 97.9 MPH, he ranks sixth in MLB this season among pitchers who have faced at least 250 batters. 

While a solid bullpen alone does not make for a postseason contender, it does aid with shortening ballgames and securing more victories, something Colorado has desperately needed for the last few years.