Saturday, October 17

DENVER -- The best part of the Major League debut for right-handed starting pitcher Mason Adams, the Rockies' No. 19 prospect, came after his worst performance.

Adams, 26, acquired at the Trade Deadline as part of the deal that sent center fielder Brenton Doyle to the White Sox, made a solid first impression with a 3.38 ERA and 22 strikeouts to nine walks in his first four games before yielding six runs on eight hits with three walks to one strikeout in 4 1/3 innings against the Padres at Coors Field on Sept. 16.

The Rockies in ‘26 continued debuting players at high rates. They introduced 12 players this season -- tied with 2024, 2016 and 2011 for second most in club history. In ‘25, they set the record with 13 players making debuts. That means young players must prove they can learn from lumps.

Adams came back from the game against the Padres by striking out a career-high eight in six innings (four runs, none of them earned) against the Diamondbacks at Coors on Sept. 23 in his final start.

Youth will continue to be relied upon. With the Rockies trying to reverse the reeling performance from starters in 2026, Adams will be counted upon in 2027. While there is strength lower in the farm system, here is a short list of players who can be of immediate help to the Rockies. 

THREE TO WATCH

1. RHP Mason Adams (Rockies No. 19)

Discussion of young pitchers usually starts with velocity or an imposing physical build, but Adams’ measurables reveal little. But Adams’ four-seam fastball velocity ranks in the 23rd percentile. If you paid attention in math class, it means some 77 percent rank higher. You’d have to dig deep for an impressive trait -- he is 6-1, but his 6-foot-7-inch extension ranks him in the not-bad 74th percentile.

But functioning in the Majors’ toughest pitching environment requires evaluation and adaptability.

The bounce-back start against the Diamondbacks didn’t start out that way. Poor first-inning defense led to a Corbin Carroll triple down the first-base line and a four-run inning. But from there, Adams was a force.

Not only did Adams learn from the earlier poor outing, but he kept the unfortunate beginning from pushing him into negative thought and action.

“I watched film of the bad game, but I tried not to put too much into it,” Adams said. “You keep moving forward, keep building. Do the best you can to maintain confidence. It’s super important. Stay true to what you’re doing.

“I didn’t change a whole lot. I just went through my normal stuff and was super intentional in the bullpen, working on my command. In the last outing, I put myself in bad situations.”

The Rockies will seek experienced pitching this offseason. But after bringing in veterans all offseason, they still needed youth. There will be one less worry if Adams continues his clear-headed ability to adapt.

“It’s a very critical trait for someone who’s going to turn over the lineup several times, especially in the run environment that we play in,” Rockies director of pitching Matt Daniels said. “We had really been on him before we actually acquired him.

“He has interesting physical traits -- his ability to beat you up top with heaters, and his ability to get to multiple secondaries. The thing that we didn’t know ahead of time was how even-keeled he is. That really helps his ability to process coaching, process a game plan and apply that game plan when things might not be going well.”

2. 1B/OF Charlie Condon (Rockies No. 3/MLB Pipeline No. 56)

The third overall pick in 2024, Condon was slowed by a left hand injury in his Draft year and a fractured right wrist at the start of ‘25. The 130 games he posted at Triple-A Albuquerque this year were just as important as his other numbers -- 27 home runs, 59 extra-base hits, a .514 slugging percentage and a .904 OPS.

Condon also took the year as an opportunity to develop an approach against more experienced pitchers that dot Triple-A rosters. Interestingly, according to Baseball-Reference, Condon received a steady diet of plate appearances against older pitchers, some with Major League time (.274/.391/.518 in 578 plate appearance against older pitchers).

“Early in the year, some veterans took advantage of the approach -- I’ll say the maturity in the box,” Rockies Minor League hitting coordinator Nic Wilson said.

“Guys were setting him up in some ways. As the year went on, he began to recognize those traps. They would try to get him to take the bait, but he’d wait and get to a pitch he could handle.

“He did some special things. He can really impact the baseball, which is what everybody says about him. But this guy is getting better at controlling at-bats. It’s more than just damage or nothing.”

3. RHP Jackson Cox (Rockies No. 8)

Beyond Adams, 2023 top pick Chase Dollander (who began last season in the Majors but sustained a season-ending elbow injury in May) and 2022 top pick Gabriel Hughes (who debuted in July) there are not many young Major League starting pitchers.

Cox, 23, a second-round pick in 2022, seems on a solid track after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2023. Cox fanned an eye-popping 78 in 55 1/3 innings at High-A Spokane last season, and followed that up with 50 K’s in 42 innings at Hartford.

Further development is needed in the finer points of pitching, but Cox is in position to make a debut in 2027. The underlying statistics led MLB Pipeline to name Cox the organization’s pitcher of the year after the season.

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