DENVER -- As soon as his first hit bounced past first base and into the right-field corner at Coors Field on Tuesday night, Rockies No. 6 prospect Cole Carrigg had third base in his sights – darn any possible consequence. The batting helmet would not stay on through his long strides, and his uniform front would be covered in dirt when he arrived.
The switch-hitting Carrigg completed the fifth-inning play with a stylish flip of the head to shake floppy hair out of his eyes, and a swaggy shrug. The play was a highlight on a night when Hunter Goodman knocked a two-run shot to break his own club record for homers before the All-Star break (18) and Ezequiel Tovar added a two-run homer in a 7-3 victory over the Cubs.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way than to have a triple as my first one,” said Carrigg, still wearing a jersey extra-grimy after the sports drink shower during the postgame interview, plus anything that may have been added by teammates in the clubhouse. “I love pushing it and going for three.
“Man, it was really awesome.”
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer was smiling about as much as Carrigg – who became the second Rockies player to triple for his first MLB hit – a year and three days after Ryan Ritter.
“Just pure joy, and it couldn’t have been a better first hit for a player like that,” Schaeffer said. “Super exciting, just watching him run the bases like a young colt.”
COMPLETE ROCKIES PROSPECT COVERAGE
Struggling Rockies teams of recent seasons have lacked a measure of derring-do; a scarcity of over-the-top athletic ability figured into the equation. An extremely young roster taking its lumps, no doubt, led to tentativeness.
Could Carrigg, 24, help usher in a color-outside-the-lines future?
Carrigg has the tools. Before the Rockies selected him out of San Diego State as the 65th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, he lit up the combine workouts with a 100 mph throw from shortstop, then threw 101 mph and 102 mph from the outfield. The speed is undeniable. On Tuesday’s triple off Cubs starter Colin Rea, he went from home to third in 11.26 seconds – the 12th-fastest such route in the Majors this season and fourth-fastest for the Rockies.
The abandon, while welcome, must be tempered. Carrigg’s work to do just that is the reason the Rockies summoned him from Triple-A Albuquerque when the team decided to put Tyler Freeman on the seven-day concussion injured list.
In his first Triple-A experience, Carrigg slashed .338/.414/.529 in 57 games. While Carrigg had six homers, 14 doubles, five triples and a Pacific Coast League-leading 30 stolen bases, he would not be here without the improvement in on-base percentage. Only in his 36-game intro to pro ball at Rookie and Single-A in ‘23 did his OBP surpass .400.
So while the triple was an electric highlight, Carrigg’s seventh-inning walk to end an eight-pitch plate appearance made the night a marker for the Rockies.
Rewarded for the improved plate discipline, Carrigg has an opportunity to bring electricity in center field, where he’ll play regularly with the Rockies missing Brenton Doyle (oblique strain) and Mickey Moniak (right ankle tendinitis).
“We’ve seen that maturity piece come a long way,” Rockies player development director Chris Forbes said. “He’s a wild stallion. There’s only so much you want to do because you don’t want to numb him.
“But we presented it to him and to a lot of guys throughout the year, and he recognized that this is the type of thing that can not only get you to the big leagues but sustain a big league career. You can’t be a high-chase guy and think it’s going to get fixed when you get to the big leagues.”
High-chase guy, no.
High-energy guy?
What other way is there for Carrigg?