Riley Pint

From BR Bullpen

Riley Pint

Riley Kenneth Pint

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Riley Pint was the fourth overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft, by the Colorado Rockies. Heading into the draft, he was rumored to be one of several players under consideration by the Philadelphia Phillies who held the #1 overall pick; they eventually settled on OF Mickey Moniak, another high schooler. He signed for a $4.8 million bonus.

Riley began his career with the Grand Junction Rockies of the Pioneer League, where he was 1-5, 5.35 in 11 starts, logging just 37 innings. In 2017, he was moved up to the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League, where he went 2-11, 5.42 in 22 starts. He once again had trouble pitching deep into games, as he logged just 97 innings, during which he allowed a lot of traffic on the bases: 96 hits and 59 walks, against 79 strikeouts. It should be noted that his number were skewed somewhat by a horrendous final start in which he failed to retire a batter and gave up 9 runs. These were not numbers usually associated with such a high draft pick, and he fell in Baseball America's top 100 prospect list from #46 before the 2017 season, to #99 before 2018. Still working in his favor were his youth - he had just turned 20 after the 2017 season - and his raw stuff, which was still considered above average with a fastball hitting the triple digits, even if the results weren't there.

Pint never managed to get it all together however. After the minor league hiatus of 2020, he appeared in 10 games with the Spokane Indians of High-A West in 2021, going 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA. That ERA was misleading, as he had given up as many unearned runs as earned ones, and it was problematic that he was still in A ball five years after having been a top draft choice. On June 8, he announced that he was retiring from baseball, realizing that he would never fulfill the hopes placed in him when he was drafted. In 68 games, he had gone 4-20 with an ERA of 5.56 and 134 walks in 166 2/3 innings. His final game was June 2.

However, he had a change of heart. On March 4, 2022 he announced that he was unretiring and returning to the Rockies organization; he was relisted on the Spokane Indians' roster at that time, but began the season with the AA Hartford Yard Goats. He got into 38 contests and pitched a total of 42 2/3 innings, during which he posted an ERA of 4.64 and a 1.406 WHIP. He struck out 55 men, but walked 29 and uncorked 7 wild pitches. He was promoted to AAA Albuquerque in August and pitched 3 games before an injury ended his season. He had received support from Rockies pitcher Daniel Bard, who had to overcome his own emotional issues in order to make it back to the majors.

The Rockies added Pint to the 40-man roster on November 15, 2022 and there was talk about him competing for a bullpen spot with the big club in spring training 2023. He was optioned back to Albuquerque on March 11, though, and began the season with the Isotpoes. He was recalled by the Rockies on May 14 when Ryan Feltner was placed on the injured list after being hit by a batted ball the day before. Plans were to use him as a long reliever for the time being. Riley had appeared in 13 games with Albuquerque, putting up a 7.41 ERA and a WHIP over 2, but with 24 strikeouts in 17 innings. His ERA was skewed by two poor outings at the beginning of May in which he allowed 9 earned runs - half of his season's total to that point - in 3 1/3 innings. He made his Major League debut on May 17th against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing a run on 3 walks and a hit while recording a single out. He was optioned back to AAA Albuquerque after the game in favor of Karl Kauffmann.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Thomas Harding: "Former Rox first-round pick unretires", MLB.com, March 4, 2022 [1]
  • Thomas Harding: "7 years after being 1st-round pick, RHP finally called up to The Show: Former first-rounder Pint gets callup to Rockies two years after brief retirement", mlb.com, May 14, 2023. [2]
  • Jason Owens: "First-round Rockies pitcher Riley Pint retires at 23 years old", Yahoo!Sports, June 8, 2021. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Riley_Pint&oldid=1284141"