The Rockies announced they’ve selected reliever Seth Halvorsen onto the MLB roster. He joins the bullpen in place of Noah Davis, who was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rox had an opening on the 40-man roster after passing left-hander Antoine Kelly through outright waivers yesterday.
Halvorsen, 24, will be making his big league debut. The 6’2″ righty spent two years at the University of Missouri before transferring to Tennessee for his junior season. He turned in a 3.81 ERA over 52 innings for the Vols. The Rockies selected him in the seventh round of last year’s draft.
Colorado got Halvorsen to Double-A by the end of his draft year. He has split this season between Double-A Hartford and Albuquerque. Halvorsen turned in a 4.84 ERA in 35 1/3 Double-A frames, striking out nearly 26% of opponents while walking 12% of batters faced. While he only has nine Triple-A appearances under his belt, he has already punched out 15 at the top minor league level.
In April, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Halvorsen the #14 prospect in the Colorado system. Longenhagen credited him with an upper-90s fastball, as well as an above-average slider and splitter duo. He doesn’t have great control, potentially pushing him into a middle relief role. The Rox are desperate for reliable contributors in the bullpen. There’s plenty of room for Halvorsen to establish himself quickly.
