Former Hoosier McCade Brown Making MLB Debut For Rockies, Facing Pirates Ace Paul Skenes

The Colorado Rockies consider former Indiana pitcher McCade Brown to be a big part of their future, but on Sunday he's part of the present. He's going to make his major-debut in Pittsburgh, sharing a mound with All-Star Paul Skenes in a national TV game.

Former Indiana pitcher McCade Brown will make his major-league debut Sunday when the Colorado Rockies take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. | Colorado Rockies/MLB

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Colorado Rockies — the most pitching-starved franchise in all of baseball — have acted cautiously all year with pitcher McCade Brown. The former Indiana star, the Rockies' third-round pick in 2021, is coming off Tommy John surgery and the long recovery that followed.

Starting the season at High-A Spokane on a pitch limit, Brown was so dominant that he was moved up to Double-A Hartford in late May. And now, just three months later, he's being called up to the major leagues, bypassing Triple-A entirely. He is going to start for the Rockies on Sunday when they take on the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Making his MLB debut is one thing, but the challenge is even bigger than that. He will share a pitcher's mound Sunday with All-Star Paul Skenes, with all the world to see. The game is nationally televised on the Roku streaming service, and starts at 12:05 p.m. ET. Here's how to watch the game. CLICK HERE

Brown just turned 25 years old on Aug. 15 and is a hard-throwing right-hander from Normal, Ill. who spent three years at Indiana from 2019 to 2021. He was an every-day starter his final year, going 5-4 with a 3.39 earned run average, posting 97 strikeouts in just 61 innings.

Brown has stayed healthy this season, pitching 76 2/3 innings in his two minor-league stops, and striking out 106 batters. He's only allowed one earned run in August, and pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, in his last start on Aug. 19.

The Rockies are 37-93 this season, and were threatening to post the worst record in baseball history before they started playing better the past two weeks, going 7-2 before losing three straight heading into Sunday.

They are all about the future now, and they're hoping Brown is a big part of that. He certainly looks the part.

“I’m excited to see what he can accomplish,” said Hartford pitching Dan Meyer, who was tasked with getting Brown to be more pitch-efficient. “He’s got a chance to be really good. I don’t know if he understood how good his stuff really is. I wanted him to understand how good his stuff is in zone.”

“When he’s locked in mechanically and everything’s working down the slope, he’s as good as you can get. Big tall guy. Good extension (from the rubber to where Brown releases the ball.) So I wanted him to understand how good his stuff is in zone. All I did was challenge him.”

When Brown throws his first pitch Sunday, he will be the 40th Hoosier to play in the major leagues. Jack Perkins was No. 39 earlier this season when he was called up by the Athletics.

Here is the complete list of Hoosiers in the Pros: Mike Simon, Whitey Wilshere, Pinky May, Mike Kosman, Kermit Wahl, Mike Modak, Ernie Andres, John Corriden, Ted Kluszewski, Guy (Bob) Wellman, Ralph Brickner, Sammy Esposito, Ron Keller, Bruce Miller, Barry Jones, Mickey Morandini, John Wehner, Chris Peters, Kevin Orie, Doug DeVore, Zach McClellan, Kevin Mahar, Jake Dunning, Josh Phegley, Micah Johnson, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Dickerson, Sam Travis, Aaron Slegers, Caleb Baragar, Kyle Hart, Jonathan Stiever, Scott Effross, Tim Herrin, Andrew Saalfrank, Tanner Gordon, Craig Yoho, Matt Gorski, Jack Perkins.