Rockies Rotation Gets Boost as Ryan Feltner Returns from Injured List

The Colorado Rockies needed a fresh arm in their starting rotation, and they got one in their former fourth-round pick.

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies starting rotation needed a boost after losing Jose Quintana to the injured list. That boost came on Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants.

Before the game, the Rockies activated right-hander Ryan Feltner from the 15-day injured list with the intention of starting him against the Giants. To make room, Colorado placed left-handed pitcher Welinton Herrera on the 15-day IL with left elbow inflammation.

Feltner wasn’t just adequate for the Rockies. He was sharp, putting together one of his best starts of the season after a month on the injured list as the Rockies beat the Giants for the second straight night, though far less dramatically than Ezequiel Tovar’s walkoff on Friday.

Ryan Feltner’s Sharp Return

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— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 31, 2026

Feltner threw about as well as the Rockies could have asked for as he came back from the injured list. He provided six strong innings, as he allowed just four hits, no earned runs and no walks. He struck out two and saw his ERA drop to 4.85 for the season. It was a quality start in his return.

By the time the seventh inning rolled around Feltner had thrown just 63 pitches. He could have gone longer, but in an effort not to overtax him in his return, the Rockies went to Brennan Bernardino out of the bullpen in the seventh.

Feltner went on the injured list on April 24 with right ulnar nerve inflammation. Without him, the Rockies rotation remained steady. But, in the past couple of weeks injuries removed pieces of the rotation, leaving an opening for Feltner to return.

The Rockies lost Chase Dollander to a right elbow sprain on May 15 and it's not clear when he will return. Quintana's injury, a left elbow sprain, put him on the injured list on May 25 and he is now on the 60-day IL. The sprain isn't likely to require surgery, but he needs time to rest up and isn't expected to be back until the second half of the season.

Being on the IL is not new to Feltner. He has already made as many starts as he made last season when he also dealt with an injury. He went on the injured list on May 2 with back spasms and didn’t return from the IL until July. But he was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after he was activated and landed on the Isotopes’ IL for the rest of the season. He went 0-2 with a 4.75 ERA.

Before 2025, he was a full-time starter for the Rockies in 2024, making 30 starts and going 3-10 with a 4.49 ERA in 162.1 innings. He struck out 138 and walked 52. He was the Rockies’ fourth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft out of Ohio State and made his MLB debut in 2021.