Dugan Darnell’s baseball journey hit it’s highest and lowest points in 2025

Welcome to the 2025 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

Right-handed reliever Dugan Darnell was one of the few feel-good stories in a miserable 2025 season. The 28-year-old former infielder from Division III Adrian College in Michigan finally reached the mountain top and joined the eternal brotherhood of Major League Baseball players.

Darnell had never regularly pitched until his senior season at Adrian after discovering that he could clear 90 MPH off the mound.

“I didn’t throw anything but a fastball,” Darnell said. “I’d go from playing third base for eight innings to just go straight to the mound, throw as hard as I could and get my three outs.”

Darnell took an office job after going undrafted, but quit when he had an opportunity to play independent baseball. He leveraged that experience into a minor-league contract with the Rockies in 2021 after cold-calling all 30 MLB teams.

He spent five seasons in the Rockies’ farm system, compiling a 3.74 career minor league ERA across all levels. He even found success through parts of three seasons with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. In 93 appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he posted a 4.60 ERA with 137 strikeouts.

This season Darnell finally got the call.

Dugan Darnell made his MLB debut on August 1st as part of one of the most memorable games of the season. Darnell pitched two scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Rockies completed a historic comeback victory.

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After his debut, Darnell continued to get calls from the Rockies bullpen. In nine appearances, he posted a 3.86 ERA over 11 2/3 innings, struck out five batters, and had a 129 ERA+. He ended up one of the few Rockies players in 2025 to be worth positive wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. However, he also struggled somewhat with control. Darnell walked seven batters for a 5.4 BB/9 and had fewer than one strikeout per hitter walked.

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Darnell appeared to be building a solid foundation for his fledgling big league career. Unfortunately, his first cup of coffee ended shortly after it began.

After pitching 1 1/3 innings on August 21st against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Darnell had to be removed from the game by training staff. He was quickly placed on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation, and was transferred to the season-ending 60-day injured list shortly after that.

Darnell had torn the labrum in his left hip and had additional structural damage in the socket. The injury would require surgery that caused him to miss the start of the 2026 season.

“It was definitely pretty hard for the first couple of days,” Darnell said. “But, you know, I’ve accepted it. I’m going to attack recovery head on and come back stronger. In the meantime, I can support my teammates as much as they supported me when I first got here. I’m excited to help these guys. I’ll come back stronger next year and be a weapon for this team.”

Sadly, that was where Darnell’s journey with the Rockies ended.

He was quietly waived at the start of the off-season. The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed him, but designated him for assignment just a few days later. He was then claimed by the Detroit Tigers, but again designated for assignment at the Rule 5 protection deadline to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Darnell is now a free agent, and it’s unclear where his baseball journey might lead him next. However, he’s become familiar with adversity throughout his professional baseball career.

“There’s nothing you can do to change it. You can’t control it. Things happen,” he told Rockies media after his injury. “I’m trying to find the positives and make the most out of it.”

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