SPO to the Show: Record Year for MLB Debuts
Published on September 26, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Spokane Indians News Release
A total of 241 players realized their big league dreams in 2025 as they reached the majors for the first time. Nineteen of those players - or nearly 8% - were Spokane Indians at one point in time, including a baker's dozen that reached the majors with the team's MLB affiliate - the Colorado Rockies. That's the highest total during the team's current affiliation with the Rockies (2021 - present) and the most players to reach the big leagues in a single season in over four decades. SPO to the SHOW, indeed!
A full list in alphabetical order can be found below:
Zach Agnos | April 20th | Colorado Rockies
A 10th-round pick out of East Carolina University in 2022, Agnos was nearly unhittable for the Spokane Indians in 2024 (4-1, 0.73 ERA, 10 SV, 30 K/2 BB) before a June promotion to Hartford. Less than a year later, the right-hander was pitching for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Agnos tossed a scoreless inning in his big league debut against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field and would not allow an earned run through his first seven appearances (9.1 IP) at the big league level.
Warming Bernabel | July 26th | Colorado Rockies
An international free agent signing in 2018, Bernabel put himself on the prospect map with a strong 2022 season split between Fresno (.317/.390/.504) and Spokane (.305/.315/.486). He struggled in both 2023-24 at Hartford, but rebounded with Albuquerque this season and earned an MLB call-up at the end of July. Bernabel didn't take much time to 'warm' up, hitting .500 with three home runs and eight RBI over his first seven games to take home National League Player of the Week honors.
McCade Brown | August 24th | Colorado Rockies
A third-round selection out of Indiana in 2021, Brown posted pedestrian numbers with Fresno in 2022 and then missed nearly two full seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned to action with the Indians this season and made quick work of the Northwest League (1.60 ERA, 48 K's in 33.2 IP) to earn a late-May promotion to Hartford. The tall-right hander made just 11 starts at Double-A before becoming the first member of the Indians (1983-present) to make an MLB debut in the same season they played for Spokane. In fact, Brown's first big league start came three months to the day that he last pitched for the Indians (Saturday, May 24th vs. Tri-City).
Blaine Crim | May 2nd | Texas Rangers
Signed out of Mississippi College for just $5,000 by the Texas Rangers in 2019, Crim would go on to win Northwest League MVP with the Indians that summer after slashing .335/.398/.528 with eight home runs and 45 RBI. He hit well at every stop in the minors (.292/.372/.503 in 671 career MiLB games), but never got a shot with the Rangers until a brief five-game cameo in May. Crim went 0-for-11 with Texas before being sent down (and later released) but was given a second chance at the big league level after signing with the Rockies. The 28-year-old first baseman made the most of a fresh start, collecting four home runs and 11 RBI in his first nine games with Colorado.
Dugan Darnell | August 1st | Colorado Rockies
The right-hander went undrafted out of Division III Adrian College (Michigan) and pursued a career in finance before returning to pitch in Indy Ball, where he eventually caught the attention of the Rockies. Darnell signed with Colorado before Spring Training in 2021 and was stellar with Fresno (0.66 ERA, 17 K/0 BB) and Spokane (4-3, 2.38 ERA, 15 SV) in 44 appearances that season. He methodically worked his way up the ladder and picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief in his MLB debut at Coors Field on August 1st.
Chase Dollander | April 6th | Colorado Rockies
The ninth-overall selection out of the University of Tennessee in 2023, Dollander tossed five no-hit innings for the Indians on Opening Night last year and never looked back, posting a 4-1 record, 2.83 ERA, and 14.27 K/9 mark to earn a July promotion to Hartford. The right-hander was even better in Double-A (2-1, 2.25 ERA) and made the leap to the big leagues are just one start at the Triple-A level this spring, picking up the win in his MLB debut with five solid innings against the A's on April 6th.
Yanquiel Fernández | July 2nd | Colorado Rockies
Signed out of Cuba in 2019, Fernández reached Spokane in 2023 and torched the Northwest League with a slash line of .319/.354/.605 and 17 home runs in 58 games. He completed the first cycle for a Spokane Indians in over 40 years on May 11th and added a $10K grand slam on May 27th before earning a June promotion to Hartford. Fernández continued to hit well with the Yard Goats in 2024 and Isotopes in 2025 to earn his first big league call-up in July. After a slow first month with the Rockies, the 22-year-old outfielder responded with a .318 average and three home runs in August.
Braxton Fulford | April 16th | Colorado Rockies
A sixth-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2021, Fulford opened the season with Spokane in 2023 and slashed .307/.398/.511 in 37 games to earn a late-May promotion to Hartford. He hit well with the Yard Goats in 2023-24 and was tearing the cover off the ball in Albuquerque to open the season before getting the call to the majors in April. He picked up his first MLB hit and home run in his Coors Field debut on April 20th and has served as Hunter Goodman's backup for the majority of the season's second half.
Heriberto Hernández | May 30th | Miami Marlins
Originally signed by the Texas Rangers out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, Hernández reached Spokane for a three-game cup of coffee in 2019 after a stellar season in the Arizona League. He was traded to the Tampa Bay organization in 2020 and would spend the next four years with the Rays before signing with the Miami Marlins after the 2024 season. The 25-year-old outfielder was called up from Triple-A Jacksonville at the end of May and slashed .358/.386/.547 in his first full month in the big leagues.
Kyle Karros | August 8th | Colorado Rockies
The son of longtime MLB first baseman Eric Karros, Kyle was drafted in the fifth round out of UCLA in 2023 and reached Spokane the following year. Karros had a season for the ages with the Indians in 2024, leading the team to their first Northwest League title in 16 years while also being named league MVP (.311/.390/.485, 33 2B, 15 HR, 78 RBI) and winning an MiLB Gold Glove at third base. He continued to hit well with Hartford this season (.294/.399/.462) and was called up to the big leagues after just 16 games at Triple-A Albuquerque. Karros singled, walked, and drove in a run in his MLB debut against Arizona on August 8th and hit his first big league home run on August 19th at Dodger Stadium (with his dad watching on from the stands).
Zak Kent | April 23rd | Cleveland Guardians
A ninth-round pick out of the Virginia Military Institute in 2019, Kent made 10 appearances with Spokane that summer on an Indians team that also featured Blaine Crim and Heriberto Hernández. The right-hander spent the next four years in the Rangers organization before being traded to the Guardians in 2024 and tossed three innings of one-run ball against the New York Yankees in his MLB debut on April 23rd.
Willie MacIver | May 25th | Athletics
Drafted out of the University of Washington by Colorado in 2018, MacIver appeared in 46 games with Spokane in 2021 (.286/.395/.542) before being promoted to Hartford at the end of June. He remained in the Rockies organization for three more seasons before signing with the A's last offseason, where he received his first call to the big leagues in May after a strong showing at Triple-A Las Vegas (.362/.426/.541). MacIver picked up his first MLB hit and RBI in his debut against the Phillies and added his first career home run against the Astros on June 19th.
Juan Mejia | April 24th | Colorado Rockies
Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Colorado Rockies in 2017, Mejia appeared in 13 games with Spokane in 2022 (1-1, 6.75 ERA) and 35 in 2023 (2-2, 4.81 ERA, 13.4 K/9). The hard-throwing right-hander spent all of 2024 with Hartford and opened this season in Albuquerque before getting the call to Coors Field on April 24th. Mejia tossed a scoreless inning of relief in his debut against Kansas City and has emerged as one of the top arms out of Colorado's bullpen.
Carson Palmquist | May 16th | Colorado Rockies
The younger brother of former Spokane Indians pitcher Cody Palmquist, Carson was a third-round draft pick out of Miami in 2022 and made 15 starts with the Indians the following year (7-2, 3.73 ERA, 106 K/28 BB). He reached Triple-A in 2024 and got the bump to this bigs this spring, tossing four innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his debut on May 16th.
PJ Poulin | August 5th | Washington Nationals
Drafted by the Rockies out of UConn in 2018, Poulin pitched against the Indians with the Boise Hawks that summer before joining Spokane in 2021. The southpaw was superb out of the bullpen for the Indians (1-0, 2.35 ERA, 4 SV), earning a June promotion to Hartford where he would finish out the year. Poulin stalled out at Triple-A with both the Rockies and Tigers but found a fresh start with the Washington Nationals, who claimed him off waivers from Detroit in August and immediately added him to their big league roster. The 28-year-old rookie tossed a scoreless inning of relief in his MLB debut against the Athletics and would go on to post a 1.84 ERA in 14 appearances during his first month in the majors.
Ryan Ritter | June 6th | Colorado Rockies
A fourth-round pick out of Kentucky in 2022, Ritter was named MVP of the Cal League with Fresno in 2023 while also posting an .808 OPS in 46 games with the Indians that season. He held his own with Hartford in the challenging Eastern League last year and was red hot with Albuquerque (.303/.405/.610) prior to his June arrival in the bigs. Ritter tripled in his MLB debut against the Mets and collected his first MLB home run on July 12th in Cincinnati. Still just 24 years old, Ritter looks like he could be the Rockies long-term solution at second base.
Joe Rock | June 28th | Tampa Bay Rays
Selected 68th overall out of Ohio University in 2021, the lanky lefty and was a mainstay in Spokane's rotation the following season (7-8, 4.43 ERA, 109 K's in 107.2 IP). Rock had an up-and-down year between Hartford and Albuquerque in 2023 before being traded by Colorado to Tampa Bay in the offseason. The southpaw spent all of 2024 with Triple-A Durham and opened this year there before the Rays summoned him to the majors in June. Rock struck out four over two innings in his debut against Baltimore and finished the season with a 2.25 ERA and 11 K's in three appearances at the big league level.
Ryan Rolison | May 13th | Colorado Rockies
The 22nd overall pick out of Ole Miss in 2018, Rolison first pitched for Spokane in 2021 and reached Triple-A that same season before injuries slowed his ascent to the majors. He returned to the Indians on a rehab assignment in 2024 and was finally rewarded with a trip to bigs after a strong start to the year with Albuquerque. The southpaw was unscored upon in his first three MLB appearances and picked up win No. 1 against the Diamondbacks on August 16th.
Zac Veen | April 8th | Colorado Rockies
The Swamp Thing always seemed destined for the big leagues after being drafted ninth overall out of Florida's Spruce Creek High School in 2020. He was a CAL League All-Star with Fresno in 2021 and won the Northwest League MVP with Spokane the next year (.806 OPS, 11 HR, 60 RBI, 50 SB). Veen battled injuries the next few years before getting the call to The Show in April, where he picked up a single in his MLB debut on April 8th and added his first big league home run on April 20th.
Northwest League Stories from September 26, 2025
- SPO to the Show: Record Year for MLB Debuts - Spokane Indians
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