“I blacked out. I thought I was going to cry, but I didn’t cry. I was sweating quite a bit. I didn’t cry until I called my fiancé and let out some emotion.”
This is the roller coaster 28-year-old pitcher Dugan Darnell rode after meeting with Albuquerque Isotopes manager Pedro Lopez, pitching coach Chris Michalak, and Rockies assistant director of player development Jesse Stender.
“You’re going up. Denver needs you,” they told him.
Any professional baseball player would experience such an emotional whirlwind after getting their call-up—the culmination of their journey and the entrance into an exclusive brotherhood. For Dugan Darnell, summitting this peak represents the end of a long and winding road he has taken to get there.
Darnell first came to Division III Adrian College as an undersized but speedy middle infielder. He eventually moved to third base as he grew into the 6’2” he is today and was a solid enough hitter, slashing .317/.448/.433 during his collegiate career.
The only time he had ever pitched was a single start during the 2017 collegiate summer league season with the Perfect Game Collegiate League’s Adirondack Trail Blazers. One of several position players to make an appearance on the mound, Darnell made a five inning start while walking four batters and hitting one—though he did tally two strikeouts.
“I was always the smallest guy on every team,” he told the Spokane Spokesman back in 2021. “I was that little shortstop who was just fast and quick and a contact hitter.”
Darnell had a strong arm as Adrian College’s third baseman, but everything would change because one day he decided to throw off the mound while fooling around with his teammates.
He was hitting over 90 MPH.
Darnell was named the team’s closer for his senior season. It was his first full season as a pitcher.
“I didn’t throw anything but a fastball,” Darnell said. “I’d go from playing third base for eight innings to just go straight to the mound, throw as hard as I could and get my three outs.”
In 20 appearances Darnell posted a 0.39 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 15 walks over 23 innings. He gave up just two runs—only one of which was earned—and had a school record eight saves.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a Division III two-way player with only one real pitch, Darnell went undrafted after the 2019 college season and started his post-baseball life. He got a job in finance. A job he immediately quit when he got a call from the American Association of Professional Baseball’s Gary SouthShore RailCats. After a few appearances he then signed with EastSide Diamond Hoppers in his home state of Michigan’s United Shore Professional Baseball League.
Darnell had a strong 2020 season with the Diamond Hoppers in which he pitched 28 2/3 innings with a 0.31 ERA over 22 appearances, striking out 52 batters and yielding only one earned run.
“At the end of the year a lot of different teams were calling just saying ‘hey you’re on our radar’. But with COVID, nobody really knew what opportunities were going to present themselves so that was just kind of put on hold,” Darnell told the Spokesman.
Instead of waiting for an opportunity, Darnell took a proactive approach. While working on his arsenal, Darnell posted videos of his pitching on social media. He cold-called all 30 MLB teams, and it was the Colorado Rockies who responded by signing him to a minor league contract for the 2021 season.
A fan favorite everywhere he’s gone, Darnell quickly rose through the farm system over the next two seasons—with a brief pit stop to make his baseball journey even more unique. Prior to the 2023 minor league baseball season he joined the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League. In the land down under he had a 2.41 ERA over 15 appearances and struck out 28 batters through 18 2/3 innings.
Darnell was promoted to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes in 2023. In the very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League he’s held a respectable 4.60 ERA through 119 1/3 innings over three seasons. All the while he had been working towards and waiting for his chance to make a big league debut until the Rockies selected his contract last week.
“Just smiling, you know, driving back to my apartment to pack up,” Darnell said after arriving in Denver. “I’m like, ‘is this real life?’”
“It didn’t feel real until I got to the airport.”
Darnell made his MLB debut on Friday, August 1st, the 23,549th person to do so. However, just like his journey to Major League Baseball, his debut was anything but ordinary.
He was called upon to pitch in what ended up being one of the most memorable, exciting, and crazy Rockies games in recent memory—and perhaps franchise history. Darnell pitched two scoreless innings and tallied his first career strikeout to keep the Pittsburgh Pirates off the board and allow the Rockies to complete a historic comeback victory in walk-off fashion. The game started with the Rockies going down by nine runs before they even swung their own bats. Darnell was credited with his first big league win.
The grand finale was when Darnell’s good friend and minor league teammate in Division II Shepherd University’s Brenton Doyle delivered the final blow in a no-doubt walk-off home run.
“We’re very close,” Darnell said of Doyle. “He’s taken me under his wing and helped me. Showed me the ways and made this transition a little easier.”
Manager Warren Schaeffer discussed Darnell’s debut after the game.
“I saw a guy that has taken such a long road to get here. A winding road, a lot of failure,” he said. “I know I saw him poised out there tonight.”
“Who knows what was going through his head.”
The main thing going through Darnell’s head?
“Focus on executing pitches and not getting freaked out,” he said. “I was just trying to breathe.”
After the game, Darnell was able to meet up with his family and fiancé, who had made the trip to Colorado to see his debut. Under the bright lights and with a Grateful Dead tribute concert playing in the background, he received a standing ovation from the remaining crowd at Coors Field.
“It felt like a movie.”
The long, complicated, and unorthodox journey to the biggest state in baseball led Dugan Darnell to a game that was long, complicated, and unorthodox. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Chaos,” he said. “It’s been crazy, but you know I’ve enjoyed every second of it and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Weekly Pebble Report: July 29th – August 4th
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (4-2, 45-61 Overall)
The Albuquerque Isotopes took the series from the Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco Giants) in the first leg of back-to-back series at home. The ‘Topes scored eight or more runs in all four of their wins.
⬆️ Stock Up: Bounce Back Brayan
After getting roughed up in his Triple-A debut, Brayan Castillo has been nothing but lights out since. He hasn’t given up a run in five straight appearances since then with 11 strikeouts to just four walks and only three hits allowed. Castillo struck out six in two outings against the River Cats over 3 2/3 innings.
⬇️ Stock Down: Chasing Improvement
In his first start with the Isotopes since being sent to the Arizona Complex, Chase Dollander (no. 1 PuRP) had a short and difficult outing. He gave up three earned runs on three hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings. He did, however, strike out dour batters.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (4-2, 54-47 Overall)
The Yard Goats won their series against the Reading Fightin’ Phils (Philadelphia Phillies), including a double-header sweep. New arrivals in second baseman Roc Riggio and left-handed pitcher Ben Shields—who came in the Jake Bird trade with the New York Yankees—both made their organizational debuts.
⬆️ Stock Up: Thomas Tanks Taters
Jared Thomas (no. 14 PuRP) continues to find success at the plate with the Yard Goats. In six games against the Fightin’ Phils he went 10-for-21 with two home runs and five RBIs. He also stole three bases. Thomas has hit 14 home runs so far this season.
⬆️ Stock Up: Shields and Swords
New Yard Goat Ben Shields made his first start with his new team. He got off to a bumpy start, giving up two runs in the first inning. However, those would be the only two runs he allowed. Shields ended up pitching for five innings and struck out four batters and walking one.
High-A: Spokane Indians (3-3, 48-54 Overall)
After a tough series in Everett, the Indians managed to right the ship a bit with a series split against the Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks) at home. New arrivals Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz—who came in the Ryan McMahon trade—both made their organizational debuts.
⬆️ Stock Up: Smolderin’ Stu
Left-Handed pitcher Stu Flesland III was named the Rockies Organization Pitcher of the Month for July after posting a 2.25 ERA over six appearances with a WHIP of just 0.689 and .148 opposing batting average. Flesland III also made a strong start against the Hops in which he allowed just one earned run over six innings.
⬇️ Stock Down: A Grosz finish to an otherwise strong start
Right-handed pitcher Josh Grosz had a strong first four innings in his Indians debut, allowing just one earned run. However, things ended on a sour note as he gave up four more runs in the fifth inning, including two via the home run.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (4-2, 51-51 Overall)
A series win against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers) means that the Fresno Grizzlies are finally at .500 on the season so far! The Grizzlies also had a few Low-A debuts as the best players from the Arizona Complex League have started to make their way into the core farm system.
⬆️ Stock Up: Wilder Child
ACL standout infielder Wilder Dalis was named the Rockies Organization Player of the Month for July. Across the Complex League and his start with the Grizzlies, Dalis hit .400/.487/.583 with six doubles, a triple, a home run, and 18 RBIs. In his first series with Fresno he went 8-for-20 at the plate with three doubles, five RBIs, and a stolen base while striking out just three times.
⬆️ Stock Up: Yes, it’s Roldy Brito again.
Like his ACL teammate Wilder Dalis, Roldy Brito hit the ground running once he arrived in Low-A. Brito played both center field and second base for the Grizzlies while going 8-for-20 at the plate with a double and an RBI. He also stole three bases.
Due to the site migration, polling has already ended for our Purple Row Prospect of the Week! Here were our candidates:
Our winner was Hartford’s Jared Thomas after an excellent week at the plate!
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