Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Palmquist wasn’t a Draft prospect when he attended Riverdale High School in Fort Myers, Fla., and headed to the University of Miami without much fanfare after graduating in 2019. He established himself as a solid reliever in his shortened freshman year and then became one of the nation’s top closers in 2021, finishing third among Division I relievers with 14 saves while posting an otherworldly 9.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio. A highly anticipated move into the Hurricanes rotation this spring has largely been successful, but it’s unclear what his long-term role will be.

With a loose arm and a funky, lower-slot delivery, Palmquist has a sneaky fastball that tops out at 96 mph, but sits in the low 90s, in shorter relief stints. As a starter, he’s topped out at 93 mph and averaged just over 90 mph, but it plays up because of the deception from his delivery and his excellent command of it. His upper-70s slider features some quick break, is extremely tough on lefties and misses bats consistently. He had mostly used those two pitches coming out of the pen, but has gone to his fading changeup a lot more frequently as a starter.

While Palmquist’s willingness to use that third pitch perhaps gives him the chance to start, scouts are unsure if he has the overall command, especially of his secondary stuff, to do so long-term, particularly with his funky delivery. Teams considering taking him in the first few rounds can always send him out as a starter knowing they can put the southpaw in the bullpen and get him to the big leagues in a hurry.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Palmquist spent his first two seasons pitching out of the University of Miami’s bullpen and was one of college baseball’s best closers as a sophomore in 2021, finishing with 14 saves. A successful move into the weekend rotation as a junior helped him land in the third round of the 2022 Draft. What kind of role he has once he gets to the big leagues might be in question, but he went straight to High-A Spokane last year and missed a ton of bats as a starter, getting a bump to Double-A and tossing seven shutout innings in his debut with Hartford.

While Palmquist is never going to light up a radar gun, his combination of funkiness, deception and ability to pitch to both sides of the plate has allowed him to be an uncomfortable at-bat for both lefties and righties, leading to a 13.1 strikeout per nine rate in 2023. His fastball averages around 90 mph and tops out at 95, but it misses bats because it comes from a low, almost sidearm slot. His mid-70s sweeping slider is also a big swing-and-miss pitch, and his low-80s changeup has been an effective third offering. 

Despite the funk and the deception, Palmquist tends to be around the plate, with some thinking he might have better than average control when all is said and done. He has conviction in all his pitches and loves to pitch inside with a fierce competitive streak. One evaluator did say he’s built like a fungo and there are concerns about durability in a starting role, but he’ll continue to do that for now even if he ultimately ends up in a bullpen.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

As a sophomore at Miami, Palmquist was among the best closers in Division I baseball, racking up 14 saves and finishing with a 75/4 K/BB ratio. A move into the Hurricanes’ weekend rotation in 2022 certainly helped his stock as he continued to miss a lot of bats over 16 starts, helping him land in the third round of that summer’s Draft, where he signed for a slightly over-slot $775,000.

While it remains to be seen what role Palmquist will have long-term, the Rockies are intent in letting him develop as a starter, wanting to see how his three-pitch mix plays coming from his low-slot, almost sidearm delivery. His fastball averaged around 90 mph as a starter in 2022 and topped out at 93, though he’s shown there’s a bit more velocity in shorter relief stints. It often plays better than average because of the funk and deception in his delivery. His sweeping slider is a tough look especially for left-handed hitters and he grew to rely on his low-80s changeup as a starter, showing a willingness to use it against hitters on both sides of the plate.

Palmquist impressed with his ability to command the baseball during instructs last fall, attacking both sides of the plate and even when he missed, he’d do so off the plate and not back over the middle of it. The Rockies will see if he sustains that in a starting role, knowing that they can always flip him back to the bullpen later if it doesn’t stick.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Palmquist wasn’t a Draft prospect when he attended Riverdale High School in Fort Myers, Fla., and headed to the University of Miami without much fanfare after graduating in 2019. He established himself as a solid reliever in his shortened freshman year and then became one of the nation’s top closers in 2021, finishing third among Division I relievers with 14 saves while posting an otherworldly 9.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio. A highly anticipated move into the Hurricanes rotation this spring was largely successful, but while it’s unclear what his long-term role will be, the Rockies thought his left arm was worth the investment in the third round, where he signed for $775,000.

With a loose arm and a funky, lower-slot delivery, Palmquist has a sneaky fastball that tops out at 96 mph in shorter relief stints but sits in the low 90s. As a starter, he’s topped out at 93 mph and averaged just over 90 mph, but it plays up because of the deception from his delivery and his excellent command of it. His upper-70s slider features some quick break, is extremely tough on lefties and misses bats consistently. He had mostly used those two pitches coming out of the pen, but has gone to his fading changeup a lot more frequently as a starter.

While Palmquist’s willingness to use that third pitch perhaps gives him the chance to start, scouts are unsure if he has the overall command, especially of his secondary stuff, to do so long-term, particularly with his funky delivery. The Rockies could send him out as a starter knowing they can put the southpaw in the bullpen and get him to the big leagues in a hurry.

Awards

EAS Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
07/07/2024

MiLB.com Organization All-Star

Year	Team
2023

NWL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/03/2024	LHP Carson Palmquist assigned to Albuquerque Isotopes from Hartford Yard Goats.
	08/03/2024	Albuquerque Isotopes activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	06/07/2024	Hartford Yard Goats activated LHP Carson Palmquist from the 7-day injured list.
	03/07/2024	Colorado Rockies Prospects activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	02/01/2024	Colorado Rockies invited non-roster LHP Carson Palmquist to spring training.
	09/26/2023	Hartford Yard Goats placed LHP Carson Palmquist on the 7-day injured list.
	09/26/2023	Hartford Yard Goats activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	09/26/2023	Hartford Yard Goats activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	09/17/2023	Hartford Yard Goats transferred LHP Carson Palmquist to the Development List.
	08/24/2023	LHP Carson Palmquist assigned to Hartford Yard Goats from Spokane Indians.
	08/24/2023	Hartford Yard Goats activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	05/30/2023	Spokane Indians activated LHP Carson Palmquist from the 7-day injured list.
	05/19/2023	Spokane Indians activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	04/02/2023	LHP Carson Palmquist assigned to Spokane Indians from ACL Rockies.
	04/02/2023	Spokane Indians activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	08/11/2022	ACL Rockies activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	08/11/2022	LHP Carson Palmquist assigned to ACL Rockies.
	07/27/2022	Colorado Rockies signed LHP Carson Palmquist.
	06/11/2022	LHP Carson Palmquist assigned to College Workout.
	06/11/2022	College Workout activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	05/21/2022	Miami Hurricanes activated LHP Carson Palmquist.
	05/21/2022	LHP Carson Palmquist assigned to Miami Hurricanes.