Fearless speedster Cole Carrigg makes Rockies debut, plays with 'hair on fire,' manager says

DENVER (AP) — Cole Carrigg brings speed to the diamond and an aura of fearlessness to go with it.

No way he’s dialing it back, either. Nor do the Colorado Rockies want him to as the rookie made his major league debut Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs. The outfielder who now wears No. 16 — it was assigned to him — and batted seventh in the order plans to hold nothing back.

Not his style anyway.

“He plays with his hair on fire,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “We just want that to continue up here. Anytime he’s on the baseball field, anything can happen. Just want him to play without fear, have fun, play free, and just let his skills shine.”

Carrigg becomes the fifth Rockies player to make their big league debut this season. He will have a handful of family members, including mom and dad, along with friends and coaches in the stands to cheer.

He got a glimpse of this level during the World Baseball Classic while playing shortstop for Team Israel. He said facing Venezuela and Ronald Acuña Jr. in front of more than 20,000 fans was certainly an eye-opening experience.

“As loud as I could have ever imagined,” said Carrigg, who was taken in the CB-B round of the 2023 first-year player draft out of San Diego State University. “It definitely got me prepared, for sure.”

The 24-year-old was in the midst of quite a season for Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .338 with 15 doubles, five triples, six homers, 42 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He played outfield and mixed in some shortstop, too.

This after after a spring training in which he hit .387 and made a compelling case to possibly be on the Rockies roster. He just went to work.

“I think when you feel like you have a chance to be up here and a chance to help the team, and you know you’re kind of playing well, it’s hard not to look up here,” Carrigg said. “It’s hard to stay where your feet are. But I think that’s the best thing you can do is just keep using those opportunities in Triple-A to make sure that you’re ready for when you get here.”

He officially found out about his promotion over the weekend in front of his Isotopes teammates. Then again, he had an inkling the moment was about to arrive. Or, his teammate, Adael Amador, did anyway.

“Adael came up to me in the fifth inning of the game and he’s like, “I think you’re getting called up, bro,'” Carrigg said. “I’m like, “What do you mean?’ He’s like, ‘I got a feeling.’ He had a feeling.'”

About No. 16: Turns out one of his father’s favorite players, Bo Jackson, donned that number while with the Kansas City Royals.

“That’s the first thing he said and I’m like, ‘That’s a pretty good number to have,'” Carrigg recounted.

Schaeffer’s eager to see how his skills translate on the big league field.

“I mean, listen, he can run, he can hit from both sides and he can play instinctual center field, plays good shortstop, he steals bases,” said Schaeffer, who plans to use Carrigg as an outfielder. “A lot of people do that, but there’s not a lot of people that do that without fear. That’s part of his game.

“It’s one thing to have the tools, it’s another thing to use them, and he’s a guy that uses them.”

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