McCade

Brown

Brown hit the shelf with shoulder inflammation at the end of spring training. The 25-year-old posted an underwhelming 7.36 ERA across seven starts for the Rockies last year. He’ll be out until at least late May.

Brown didn’t pitch in spring training while working his way back from a shoulder issue but did progress to throwing bullpen sessions before camp wrapped up. He’ll face hitters in live batting practice at some point soon before heading out on a minor league rehab assignment.

Brown finishes up his seven-start audition 0-5 with a 7.36 ERA, which puts him pretty much right in the middle of the pack among Colorado starters this season. Rockies starters finished the year 22-93 with a 6.65 ERA that barely edges out the 1996 Tigers at 6.64 for the worst mark in MLB history. The Rockies as a whole scored 597 runs and gave up 1,021, a -424 run differential that rates as the worst in modern history.

Brown was incredible on Tuesday, holding Seattle scoreless through four innings before Dominic Canzone put the Mariners on the board with a solo homer in the fifth. Brown’s day would be done after five frames as he struck out ten batters. He came into this one with 11 strikeouts over five starts. The 25-year-old right-hander will look to end the season in similar fashion against the Giants in San Francisco on Sunday.

Brown’s ERA lowered to 9.17 with this effort. Enough said. The 25-year-old has a chance to be a decent backend starter someday, but considering his park and the absolute horrificness that is the team he plays behind, that’s not even kind of fantasy relevant. He’ll get a chance to finish the year on a positive note against the Mariners on Tuesday.

Well, you just can’t give up two runs as a Rockies pitcher and expect to avoid a loss. Brown, who really belongs in Triple-A, has pitched four times for Colorado and taken the loss every time with a 9.88 ERA to date. He’ll probably start against the Marlins next week.

Brown also issued one walk and struck out one batter in the abbreviated outing. All of the damage came in the second inning, which was capped off by a mammoth three-run homer off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. The 25-year-old hurler got five whiffs on 44 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He now holds a cringe-inducing 12.54 ERA, 2.36 WHIP and a 6/7 K/BB ratio over 9 1/3 innings through his first three starts. It’s possible he gets optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after this disaster.

Brown’s second start went a little bit better than his first when he allowed four runs over 4 2/3 against the Pirates on Sunday, but it still wasn’t anything you’d call high-level pitching. The 25-year-old should continue to make starts because someone has to, but he remains off the fantasy radar and then some.

Brown allowed five hits, walked three and struck out two in his first MLB start after just 11 in Double-A and none in Triple-A. If he stays in the rotation, he’ll face the Cubs next weekend. It doesn’t seem to be assured, though.

Brown bypasses Triple-A entirely to make his major-league debut on Sunday against the Pirates at PNC Park. The 25-year-old righty was a third-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and gets the call after compiling a strong 2.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 105/30 K/BB ratio over 76 2/3 innings (20 starts) this season between Double-A Hartford and High-A Spokane. He’s not a recommended streaming option for fantasy managers out of the gate, but he figures to get an extended opportunity in Colorado’s rotation over the final five weeks.