28-year-old rookie reliever Dugan Darnell’s unconventional road to Major League Baseball debut came to a climax with a thrilling debut in an insane Colorado Rockies comeback victory. After starting your career like that, there’s not much else you should need to do to prove you belong.
However, Darnell continued to put his best foot forward with every appearance. In nine outings with the Rockies he posted a 3.86 ERA over 11 2/3 innings, struck out five batters, had a 129 ERA+, and was worth positive
wins above replacement per Baseball Reference.
Of course there were still improvements to be made. His control was a bit wild and he walked seven batters for a 5.4 BB/9 and was striking out fewer than one batter for every free pass he issued. Even then, there was a solid foundation being built for one of the most “feel good” stories of a miserable 2025 Rockies season.
“He showed me the ability to get outs at the big league level,” said Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer. “He showed me the ability to compete, that he wasn’t scared at all to take the ball and get big outs if he needed to, or just get through innings if you needed him to do that.”
“What a story for him coming up here and being able to do that. He opened our eyes, and probably other teams across the league’s eyes that he could pitch in the big leagues.”
Unfortunately for Darnell, fairy tale endings are rare in this sport we love so much.
On August 21st after pitching 1 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Darnell was removed from the mound by the training staff. As Keith Dugger came out to retrieve him, Darnell was trying to figure out a way he could stay in the game.
“I knew something was wrong, but I wanted to stay in so bad,” Darnell said. “I was trying to tell myself I was okay. I tried to do everything I could to stay out there, but things happen.”
“You know, after that line drive I did feel a pop, but I didn’t know how bad it was,” Darnell explained. “I kind of felt like—you know—when your back cracks. Adrenaline is a crazy thing.”
He was placed on the 15-day injured list the next day with left hip inflammation. Just two days after that, his season was over as he was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Darnell told Rockies media that he had torn the labrum in his left hip, and that there were additional complications involving structural damage with the cartilage in the socket.
“It’s a little more complicated than we thought, and it’s going to be a little bit of time,” Darnell said.
“But I’ll be okay.”
No one wants any season—let alone their rookie campaign—to be cut short by injury. Darnell was emotional when he began the media session, but the more he talked, the more he returned to his affable self. His approach to his injury has been no different.
“It was definitely pretty hard for the first couple of days,” he said. “But, you know, I’ve accepted it. I’m going to attack recovery head on and come back stronger. In the meantime, I can support my teammates as much as they supported me when I first got here. I’m excited to help these guys. I’ll come back stronger next year and be a weapon for this team.”
Darnell tentatively has a surgery scheduled for September 23rd in the waning days of the 2025 season, and he has a long road ahead of him. Recovery is estimated to take between eight to ten months and he will most likely miss the start of the 2026 season.
However, Dugan Darnell is no stranger to long roads.
“There’s nothing you can do to change it. You can’t control it. Things happen. I’m trying to find the positives and make the most out of it.”
Another thing Darnell’s injury will affect his his upcoming wedding in October.
“It’s looking like we’re not going to do the dance,” he admitted.
But like every other part of Dugan Darnell’s journey, there was another bend in the path.
“But I’ll have a customized cane.”
Weekly Pebble Report: August 26th-September 1st
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 54-77 Overall)
The Isotopes salvaged the final two games of their series loss against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston Astros). There’s little left for the ‘Topes to play for but pride in September, and trying to end the season with a better record from last year.
⬆️ Stock Up: Put it in Hughes Control
Gabriel Hughes (no. 11 PuRP) made two strong starts against the Space Cowboys, pitching 11 2/3 total innings and striking out 11 batters. He gave up just two earned runs despite allowing seven hits and four walks. Hughes continues to show strongly in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and is a candidate for next year’s Opening Day rotation.
⬆️ Stock Up: Castillo brings the Space Cowboys back to Earth.
Right-handed reliever Brayan Castillo had a good week against a potent Space Cowboys lineup. He made two appearances out of the bullpen and yielded just one hit and one walk over two combined shutout innings. He struck out five batters. Castillo has looked comfortable in the unfriendly environs of the PCL, giving up multiple runs in just two of his 14 Triple-A outings.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (2-4, 64-61 Overall)
The Yard Goats had a tough week against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox), dropping four of six at home. Thankfully, the Yard Goats are still above .500, but they’re neck and neck and neck with Portland and Somerset for their division’s final playoff spot.
⬆️ Stock Up: He’s Eaton em’ up!
Konnor Eaton (no. 30 PuRP) was excellent in his second start since being promoted to Hartford. In five innings he sat down a career high 12 batters via the strikeout and gave up just two earned runs on two hits and a walk. He fanned five in his Yard Goats debut last week.
⬇️ Stock Down: Under a Roc?
Second baseman Roc Riggo (no. 16 PuRP) played just three games against the Sea Dogs after missing five games in the Yard Goats’ last series against the Somerset Patriots. In three games against Portland he had just one hit, though he did walk twice, score twice, and had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
High-A: Spokane Indians (3-3, 58-68)
The Indians have been eliminated from playoff contention with the spot going to the Eugene Emeralds. Spokane needed a lot to go right for them to make the dance and sadly it just didn’t happen. They split their final home series against the Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels), but lost the last three games.
⬆️ Stock Up: Perhaps we Groszly underestimated you!
Josh Grosz (no. 28 PuRP) had his second consecutive strong start for the Indians after a difficult transition following being traded. Grosz shined during his start against the Dust Devils, allowing just one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out a whopping 12 batters over six innings of work.
⬆️ Stock Up: Smokin’ Hot Stu
Indians lefty Stu Flesland III continues to shine after moving into the rotation earlier this season. He’s got his ERA down to 3.76 on the season and spun another quality start against the Dust Devils. Flesland III gave up just two earned runs—both via solo home runs—in 7 1/3 innings and struck out seven batters.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 65-61 Overall)
The Fresno Grizzlies are playoff-bound and have a date with the San Jose Giants in a few weeks. That makes dropping the series to the Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Angels) sting a whole lot less.
⬆️ Stock Up: Brilliant Brody Brecht
Brody Brecht (no. 5 PuRP) is setting up to end his first full professional season on a high note. He turned in another solid—albeit short—start in the Grizzlies’ final home series of the regular season. Brecht struck out eight batters over 4 2/3 shutout innings and gave up just one hit.
⬇️ Stock Down: A bit of a Wilder card
Infielder Wilder Dalis (no. 41 PuRP) had a tough week against the 66ers. Playing in four games he went just 1-for-15 in the series. His lone hit was a single. Dalis struck out four times while drawing one walk and was caught stealing on his lone attempt.
Prospect of the Week!
Who do you think should be named the Purple Row Prospect of the Week? You can vote here in the comments section or on any of our social media posts!
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
