Gabriel

Hughes

Hughes’s fastball and sinker were down 1.5-2 mph today, with his hardest pitch of the game checking in at 93.1 mph. He still managed to hold his own against the Padres, but he wound up with just two strikeouts and a poor 18 percent CSW. Let’s hope that isn’t a sign of things to come, because he’d been quite impressive since arriving at the beginning of the month. He’s due to face the Rays at Coors next week.

Hughes has pitched well in all three of his starts for the Rockies, surrendering six runs in 16 1/3 innings, and he might be getting some mixed-league attention now if he pitched elsewhere. He’ll likely make his next start Tuesday or Wednesday in San Diego.

The rookie right-hander struck out six batters in the contest while issuing a pair of walks. He allowed an RBI double to Sal Stewart in the opening inning, then kept the Reds off the board until the sixth where he left a man on base when he turned the ball over to the bullpen — and he ultimately scored. Hughes generated eight swings and misses on 82 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 29 percent. The 24-year-old hurler will carry a solid 3.14 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 14/5 K/BB ratio (14 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Nationals.

Hughes gave up three runs in the first, but that was it. Helping the cause was that Alex Call foolishly used up both of the Dodgers’ challenges on back-to-back pitches in the second. Hughes ended up striking out seven and walking two. He’ll have a case for staying in Colorado’s rotation after the break.

Feltner probably won’t mind, since he’ll now be facing the Giants, rather than the Dodgers. It’ll be Hughes’ first major league start after he debuted with three scoreless innings for a save in 15-3 game last Friday.

Hughes figures to operate in a versatile swingman-type capacity for Colorado after compiling a respectable 4.63 ERA, 1.22 WHIP an 58/14 K/BB ratio across 46 2/3 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. The 24-year-old will be making his major-league debut when he gets into a game.

Palmquist, 25, appeared in nine games for the Rockies in 2025 where he compiled an uninspiring 8.91 ERA and 2.04 WHIP across 34 1/3 innings. Given the Rockies’ overall lack of pitching depth, he’ll probably get another shot at the big league level at some point during the 2026 season.

Colorado decided not to leave Thompson exposed after he batted .296/.392/.519 with 18 homers and 12 steals across 120 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this past season. The 24-year-old corner outfielder was the club’s first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and should enter spring training with a chance to win a roster spot.

Hughes has mostly struggled since being selected with the 10th pick of the 2022 MLB Draft, but he got the job done in exhibition season against the D-Backs. The 23-year-old is almost assuredly going to open the season in Triple-A with Albuquerque, but could make starts with Colorado before 2025 comes to a close.

Hughes, the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft, is making his way back from Tommy John surgery, with his three AFL starts representing his first action since July 2023. He has a 6.75 ERA to date, but so does everyone else in Arizona. He’s struck out nine and walked three in eight innings.