Carson Palmquist

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Colorado Rockies #14 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Palmquist spent two seasons in the Miami bullpen as one of the top relievers in the country. He earned a USA Baseball Collegiate National Team invite heading into his draft spring and impressed during trials. Palmquist returned to Miami and made the successful jump into the starting rotation, earning first team all-ACC honors for his performance. Palmquist was drafted by the Rockies in the third round and made a single appearance in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League after signing. Palmquist began the 2023 season with High-A Spokane and struck out 35.7% of hitters over his 15 starts.Palmquist was promoted to Double-A on Aug. 24 making and made four starts with Hartford.
  
  Scouting Report: A low-slot lefty, Palmquist lacks power on his pitches but also doesn’t throw anything straight. He expanded his arsenal in 2023 by adding a slider and a cutter to complement his curveball. His fastball sits between 90-92 mph and touches 93 mph with heavy armside run and a flat approach angle. Despite Palmquist’s lack of velocity, his fastball is quite deceptive. His most frequently used secondary is a curveball that sits between 75-76 mph with a difficult horizontal angle. Palmquist’s best pitch is his changeup, which sits between 81-82 mph with heavy armside run and tumble. Both his curveball and his changeup drive weak contact and generate whiffs in and out of the zone. Palmquist’s slider and cutter are similar variations of the same pitch with a difference of 4-5 mph of average velocity. Palmquist is an average strike thrower with a feel for his entire arsenal.
  
  The Future: Palmquist’s lack of velocity as a starter is a limiting factor and he’ll likely settle into a bullpen role.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Cutter: 40 | Control: 50
• 
  Ranked Colorado Rockies #24 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: A reliever for his first two seasons at Miami who dominated out of the pen for the Hurricanes, Palmquist struck out 75 batters over 44.2 innings in 2021. After a star turn with the Collegiate National Team over the summer, he jumped into the Hurricanes' rotation. He made 16 starts and compiled a 9-4, 2.89 mark with 118 strikeouts to 32 walks. The Rockies selected Palmquist in the third round and signed him for an above-slot bonus of $775,000. Palmquist made one appearance in the Arizona Complex League.
  
  Scouting Report: With a lefthanded sidearm operation, Palmquist creates a difficult angle on all of his pitches, particularly to lefthanders. He mixes a fastball, changeup and slider. Palmquist's fastball sits in the low 90s as a starter but showed mid-90s velocity as a reliever his first two seasons at Miami. His changeup is a low-80s that generates whiffs at a high rate in college. His breaking ball is a mid-70s sweeper with moderate horizontal break that plays up out of his hand due to his sidearm slot. He's shown average command across a variety of roles as an amateur, and how his fastball velocity progresses as a starter will ultimately define whether he can stick in the role.
  
  The Future: Palmquist is a deceptive lefthander with a chance to start due to his average control, but a reliever role to fall back on if starting doesn't take.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #87 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Miami Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 21.8
  BA Grade: 45/High
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: - | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Cutter: | Control: 55
  Palmquist was a reliever for two years with Miami and in 2021 posted a 2.22 ERA over 44.2 innings, with 75 strikeouts and just eight walks—good for a 9.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He impressed in five innings with Team USA during the summer, striking out seven and walking none. Palmquist transitioned to a starting role this spring with Miami and continued to perform well. He posted a 2.89 ERA over 16 starts and 84 innings, with 118 strikeouts (32.9 K%) and 32 walks (8.9 BB%). His average velocity dropped a tick and he sat in the upper 80s and low 90s as a starter, compared to getting his fastball up into the 94-96 mph range out of the bullpen. Palmquist throws a changeup around 80 mph that generated whiffs 56% of the time this spring, and he also throws a slow and sweepy breaking ball in the mid 70s that plays up because of Palmquist’s arm slot more than any sharp or late-breaking action. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound lefty has a low, sidearm slot that creates difficult angles and adds deception to his entire pitch mix. Palmquist has the command to start, but his stuff might play better out of the bullpen.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: A reliever for his first two seasons at Miami who dominated out of the pen for the Hurricanes, Palmquist struck out 75 batters over 44.2 innings in 2021. After a star turn with the Collegiate National Team over the summer, he jumped into the Hurricanes' rotation. He made 16 starts and compiled a 9-4, 2.89 mark with 118 strikeouts to 32 walks. The Rockies selected Palmquist in the third round and signed him for an above-slot bonus of $775,000. Palmquist made one appearance in the Arizona Complex League.
  
  Scouting Report: With a lefthanded sidearm operation, Palmquist creates a difficult angle on all of his pitches, particularly to lefthanders. He mixes a fastball, changeup and slider. Palmquist's fastball sits in the low 90s as a starter but showed mid-90s velocity as a reliever his first two seasons at Miami. His changeup is a low-80s that generates whiffs at a high rate in college. His breaking ball is a mid-70s sweeper with moderate horizontal break that plays up out of his hand due to his sidearm slot. He's shown average command across a variety of roles as an amateur, and how his fastball velocity progresses as a starter will ultimately define whether he can stick in the role.
  
  The Future: Palmquist is a deceptive lefthander with a chance to start due to his average control, but a reliever role to fall back on if starting doesn't take.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: A reliever for his first two seasons at Miami who dominated out of the pen for the Hurricanes, Palmquist struck out 75 batters over 44.2 innings in 2021. After a star turn with the Collegiate National Team over the summer, he jumped into the Hurricanes' rotation. He made 16 starts and compiled a 9-4, 2.89 mark with 118 strikeouts to 32 walks. The Rockies selected Palmquist in the third round and signed him for an above-slot bonus of $775,000. Palmquist made one appearance in the Arizona Complex League.
  
  Scouting Report: With a lefthanded sidearm operation, Palmquist creates a difficult angle on all of his pitches, particularly to lefthanders. He mixes a fastball, changeup and slider. Palmquist's fastball sits in the low 90s as a starter but showed mid-90s velocity as a reliever his first two seasons at Miami. His changeup is a low-80s that generates whiffs at a high rate in college. His breaking ball is a mid-70s sweeper with moderate horizontal break that plays up out of his hand due to his sidearm slot. He's shown average command across a variety of roles as an amateur, and how his fastball velocity progresses as a starter will ultimately define whether he can stick in the role.
  
  The Future: Palmquist is a deceptive lefthander with a chance to start due to his average control, but a reliever role to fall back on if starting doesn't take.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  August Update: Palmquist was a reliever for two years with Miami and in 2021 posted a 2.22 ERA over 44.2 innings, with 75 strikeouts and just eight walks—good for a 9.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He impressed in five innings with Team USA during the summer, striking out seven and walking none. Palmquist transitioned to a starting role this spring with Miami and continued to perform well. He posted a 2.89 ERA over 16 starts and 84 innings, with 118 strikeouts (32.9 K%) and 32 walks (8.9 BB%). His average velocity dropped a tick and he sat in the upper 80s and low 90s as a starter, compared to getting his fastball up into the 94-96 mph range out of the bullpen. Palmquist throws a changeup around 80 mph that generated whiffs 56% of the time this spring, and he also throws a slow and sweepy breaking ball in the mid 70s that plays up because of Palmquist&#39s arm slot more than any sharp or late-breaking action. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound lefty has a low, sidearm slot that creates difficult angles and adds deception to his entire pitch mix. Palmquist has the command to start, but his stuff might play better out of the bullpen. He signed with the Rockies for $775,000 in the third round.