Warren Schaeffer says Monday’s loss was Carson Palmquist’s best outing yet

Carson Palmquist is one of four pitchers on the Colorado Rockies staff who has yet to record a win despite starting multiple games on the bump for the worst team in baseball since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. He had his third crack at getting his first major league win on Monday, but gave up two earned runs in five innings to the Chicago Cubs, a number that was insurmountable for Colorado’s offense as the Rockies dropped to 9-45 on the season.

Even though the Rockies third-round pick from the 2022 MLB Draft was credited with his third straight loss to open his career in the big leagues, interim manager Warren Schaeffer liked what he saw out of the 24-year-old.

“I thought this was the best outing yet for Carson,” Schaeffer said after the loss. “The fastball playing up, got some punchouts on that. Got a punchout on the slider, I believe. For me, he just looked more comfortable and being who he is, and pitching the way he pitches.”

Palmquist threw 92 pitches in five innings, 56 of which were strikes. While he’s not Tarik Skubal, who threw one of the best complete game shutouts in recent memory for Detroit over the weekend, he was able to deal four strikeouts, which pleased his skipper. He also conceded three hits and gifted three walks, which led to the two runs that were marked under his name in the loss.

While Palmquist conceded a run in both the first and fifth innings, he retired nine of the 11 batters he faced in the three innings in between, showing good signs of growth for a Rockies team that is looking for anything to grasp on to.

In his three starts, Palmquist has an 8.78 ERA with 19 hits, six walks and four strikeouts. Monday’s outing was a good bounce back for him after the Phillies shelled him last week with 10 hits in less than five innings. At this point, the only way for him to improve is going to be trial by fire against the best competition in baseball.

Schaeffer also mentioned the fact that this is the highest level of baseball, and more often than not, Palmquist is going to face tough lineups like he saw at Wrigley Field on Monday with names like Kyle Tucker and Dansby Swanson.

“That’s the big leagues. He’s going to get tough lineups all the time. That’s what happens when you come up here. So far, he’s done a good job doing that,” Schaeffer said.

Hopefully Palmquist is ready, because his next start is scheduled for June 1 against Juan Soto and the New York Mets in Queens. The Mets have the highest payroll in the MLB with names like Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso next to Soto, a challenge that will likely be the most difficult of Palmquist’s career.

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