| W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | SO | WHIP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1.97 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 24 | 1.09 |
| Career Minors | 10 | 2 | 2.04 | 24 | 21 | 0 | 119.1 | 135 | 0.89 |
| G | W-L | ERA | IP | SO | WHIP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | 2-0 | 1.97 | 32 | 24 | 1.09 |
| Career Minors | 24 | 10-2 | 2.04 | 119.1 | 135 | 0.89 |
| Season | Tm | LG | L | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 Teams | Minors | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.25 | |
| 2023 | ACL Rockies | ACL | ROK | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.50 |
| 2023 | Fresno Grizzlies | CAL | A | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.00 |
| 2024 | 2 Teams | Minors | 9 | 2 | 2.11 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 115.1 | 90 | 32 | 27 | 9 | 15 | 125 | 0.91 | |
| 2024 | Spokane Indians | NWL | A+ | 7 | 2 | 2.16 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 83.1 | 62 | 25 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 101 | 0.84 |
| 2024 | Hartford Yard Goats | EAS | AA | 2 | 0 | 1.97 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 32.0 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 1.09 |
| ACL Rockies | ACL | ROK | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.50 | |
| Hartford Yard Goats | EAS | AA | 2 | 0 | 1.97 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 32.0 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 1.09 | |
| Spokane Indians | NWL | A+ | 7 | 2 | 2.16 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 83.1 | 62 | 25 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 101 | 0.84 | |
| Fresno Grizzlies | CAL | A | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.00 | |
| Career Minors | 4 Teams | 10 | 2 | 2.04 | 24 | 21 | 0 | 119.1 | 90 | 32 | 27 | 9 | 16 | 135 | 0.89 |
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45
Following the trail blazed by 2020 Braves first-rounder Jared Shuster, Sullivan has gone from Tabor Academy (Marion, Mass.) to Wake Forest, though he did spend his first college season at Northwestern. He might have been no more than a midweek starter for the Demon Deacons had Teddy McGraw not been lost to elbow surgery, yet he has ranked among the NCAA Division I leaders in K/BB ratio and whiff rate despite relying almost solely on a fastball that parks around 90 mph. In a Draft bereft of left-handed starters in the college ranks, he was making a bid to go as high as the second round before he sat out his final two regular-season starts with triceps inflammation. He did return for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and the NCAA playoffs.
Sullivan's fastball usually ranges from 88-92 mph and peaks at 95, and hitters know it's coming because he throws it nearly three-quarters of the time. But they still can't touch it because he uses his 6-foot-4 frame to deliver it from a low release height and wide angle that produce tremendous carry up in the strike zone. It has below-average velocity yet plays as a plus pitch and is the reason he ranked among the NCAA Division I leaders in strikeout rate (14.3 per nine innings, second), WHIP (0.92, fourth) and opponent average (.175, fifth).
The rest of Sullivan's repertoire consists of a fringy upper-70s slider and an average low-80s changeup with a bit of fade. He doesn't have textbook mechanics but pounds the strike zone and is difficult to steal against. J.P. Sears gave off a similar vibe while pitching in the area at The Citadel in 2017, and he has gone from 11th-rounder to big league starter.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45
For years, the Rockies would tend to draft pitchers who fit a certain mold, usually power guys with a sinker-slider combination. Sullivan, a left-hander who started his career at Northwestern and then transferred to Wake Forest, certainly does not belong in that bucket. Moved into the weekend rotation in 2023 when Teddy McGraw got hurt for the Demon Deacons, Sullivan showed that his combination of deception and feel for pitching could work just fine, helping him to land in the second round with the Rockies.
Sullivan is an outlier in a number of ways, not just for being the antithesis of how the Rockies have drafted pitching. Even though his fastball averaged just a tick over 90 mph last year (though he could touch 95 mph), he threw it 75 percent of the time with Wake. Because of his lower slot and wide angle that leads to huge carry up in the zone, it doesn’t get hit even when hitters know it’s coming (36 percent miss rate on the pitch in 2023). Right now, Sullivan’s best secondary offering is his changeup, which can also miss bats and is an easy average pitch. He has a tendency to change the slot on his slider, hurting its consistency, but the Rockies think it could improve as he works on pitch design with pro instruction.
Sullivan does an excellent job of filling up the strike zone despite his unusual mechanics, and he tunnels his mix well to make him even harder to hit. It remains to be seen if this will work in Colorado, but he’s the kind of pitcher you don’t try to change. Seeing how his stuff plays in his first full season of pro ball will be an interesting storyline in the Rockies' system.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45
Following the trail blazed by 2020 Braves first-rounder Jared Shuster, Sullivan went from Tabor Academy (Marion, Mass.) to Wake Forest, though he did spend his first college season at Northwestern. He might have been no more than a midweek starter for the Demon Deacons had Teddy McGraw not been lost to elbow surgery, yet he ranked among the NCAA Division I leaders in K/BB ratio and whiff rate despite relying almost solely on a fastball that parks around 90 mph. While he missed his final two regular-season starts with triceps inflammation, he did return for postseason play. Aided by a lack of left-handed college starters, Sullivan went in the second round, where the Rockies gave him a slightly below-slot bonus of $1.7 million.
Sullivan's fastball usually ranges from 88-92 mph and peaks at 95, and hitters know it's coming because he throws it nearly three-quarters of the time. But they still can't touch it because he uses his 6-foot-4 frame to deliver it from a low release height and wide angle that produce tremendous carry up in the strike zone. It has below-average velocity yet plays as a plus pitch and is the reason he ranked among the NCAA Division I leaders in strikeout rate (14.3 per nine innings, second), WHIP (0.92, fourth) and opponent average (.175, fifth).
The rest of Sullivan's repertoire consists of a fringy upper-70s slider and an average low-80s changeup with a bit of fade. He doesn't have textbook mechanics but pounds the strike zone and is difficult to steal against. He reminded some scouts in the area of J.P. Sears, who pitched at The Citadel in 2017, and has gone from 11th-rounder to big league starter.
| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
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| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
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| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
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| Week | Team |
|---|---|
| 07/28/2024 |
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| Team | Date | Transaction |
|---|---|---|
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08/03/2024 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to Hartford Yard Goats from Spokane Indians. |
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07/09/2024 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to Spokane Indians from ACL Rockies. |
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06/24/2024 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to ACL Rockies from Spokane Indians. |
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04/01/2024 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to Spokane Indians from Fresno Grizzlies. |
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03/07/2024 | Colorado Rockies Prospects activated LHP Sean Sullivan. |
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09/26/2023 | Fresno Grizzlies activated LHP Sean Sullivan from the 7-day injured list. |
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09/05/2023 | Fresno Grizzlies placed LHP Sean Sullivan on the 7-day injured list retroactive to September 2, 2023. |
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08/29/2023 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to Fresno Grizzlies from ACL Rockies. |
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08/01/2023 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to ACL Rockies. |
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07/16/2023 | Colorado Rockies signed LHP Sean Sullivan. |
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05/26/2023 | College Workout activated LHP Sean Sullivan. |
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05/24/2023 | College Workout activated LHP Sean Sullivan. |
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05/20/2023 | LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to Wake Forest Demon Deacons. |
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05/20/2023 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons activated LHP Sean Sullivan. |
