Sullivan ready to make another leap with healthy 2025 campaign

January 11th, 2025
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      This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

      DENVER -- Left-handed starting pitcher , the Rockies’ No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, came through his first professional season in 2024 with strong numbers, even if the significantly higher workload strained him.

      A second-round Draft choice out of Wake Forest in 2023, Sullivan posted a 2.11 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 115 1/3 innings across two levels this past year. The performance was good enough to earn him a late-season promotion from High-A Spokane to Double-A Hartford, and an invitation to 2025 Major League Spring Training.

      Imagine what Sullivan would have done had he not pitched the latter part of the season with a right hip impingement that required surgery in the offseason. But with the experience behind him and the issue corrected, through an operation to shave bone growths and make a slight repair to the hip labrum, Sullivan could get a real Major League look this Spring Training if his recovery is complete, or could work his way to the Majors at some point.

      “It was a great experience,” Sullivan said. “I learned a lot of things for myself. Just watching and being around that much baseball, and pitching that much, you learn a lot about yourself and the game.

      “I got to Double-A, which was a big step for me, because I wanted to face that level of competition.”

      In 2022, Sullivan threw a combined 92 2/3 innings as a freshman at Northwestern and in the Cape Cod summer league. After transferring to Wake Forest, he fanned 111 batters in 69 2/3 innings 2023.

      Sullivan made 14 starts at Spokane last year, with the Rockies building in a three-week break in late June and early July -- mainly to rest his arm and hip and to study his delivery at the team’s performance lab in Scottsdale, Ariz. His time on the mound was special. His 2.16 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings earned him Northwest League Pitcher of the Year honors. Sullivan pitched to a 1.97 ERA in his seven Double-A starts.

      At its best, Sullivan’s fastball crosses at in the low to mid 90s in mph. But hitters have difficulty timing him up because of a combination of an unusual lower motion and a lengthy stride toward the plate. Sullivan, listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, is capable of release points of up to 7 feet, 4 inches closer to the plate than the rubber. So 60 feet, 6 inches can become 53 feet, 2 inches, translating into less reaction time for the hitter.

      Because of the hip irritation, Sullivan’s radar readings dropped to around 88 mph. But hitters still were late on the fastball. Sullivan also has a sweeping slider and a changeup that went from a seldom-used pitch in college to a true asset in pro ball.

      And there’s an attitude that allows a pitcher with a below-average fastball to dominate hitters.

      “I’m not saying he’s as good, but he’s that Greg Maddux/Orel Hershiser kind of guy -- who looks mild, meek and intellectual off the field but competes like crazy between the lines,” said Flint Wallace, Rockies’ coordinator of pitching strategies. “He’s tougher than people give him credit for.”

      Sullivan said he will know in the next several weeks if he’ll be full speed by Spring Training. He is eager to reach full speed, and show that what he has is enough to succeed at the highest level.

      “I’ve never been a super-sought-after guy, so I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder where I’m kind of an underdog,” Sullivan said. “I may not be on these prospect lists. It’s almost better that way. I have something to prove.”

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      Senior Reporter Thomas Harding has covered the Rockies since 2000, and for MLB.com since 2002.