The Hartford Yard Goats’ 2024-25 campaign came to an end on Sunday with an 8-2 win against the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The Goats came into the week a distant 3.5 games back of the Somerset Patriots and were eliminated from Eastern League playoff contention on Thursday. After leading the team to the franchise’s first playoff berth in 2024, Hartford took a step back in manager Bobby Meacham’s second season at the helm. The squad finished just one game over .500 at 69-68 and had a losing record in the second half. Despite the drop off in team performance, the Yard Goats benefited from many important contributors who could appear for the Colorado Rockies and other big-league teams in coming seasons.
Kyle Karros has already made that jump. Beginning 2025 as Hartford’s opening day third baseman, Karros started the season with a bang with two home runs in the team’s first contest. The UCLA alum played 55 games with Hartford, putting up an elite .399 OBP before getting promoted to Triple-A and eventually to Colorado. Karros hasn’t hit much at the MLB level but will keep getting chances for a historically bad Rockies team.
The highest ranked prospect to appear for Hartford this season was 2025 third-overall pick Charlie Condon. The first baseman, who was profiled in the Daily Campus last week, finished the season with .235/.342/.465 triple slash and was Hartford’s best all-around hitter from August on. Condon is a virtual lock to make his MLB debut in 2026 save for injury.
Up the middle, Dyan Jorge was a consistent presence at shortstop. The glove first infielder committed just nine errors but was a liability at the bottom of Hartford’s lineup. Jorge finished with a .520 OPS, the second worst in the EL. After a deadline trade from the Yankees organization, Roc Riggio served as Jorge’s double play partner down the stretch. Riggio was one of the best left-handed hitters in minor league baseball while with the Yankees, slashing .261/.335/.542 with a .877 OPS for Somerset. The 23-year-old’s slugging percentage with Hartford dropped over 150 points and left him with a tepid .735 OPS with the Goats.
Center fielder Cole Carrigg led the team with 123 games played and established himself as one of the best prospects in the EL. The 23-year-old set a team record for stolen bases with 46 and also popped 15 home runs to lead the team. While the switch hitter’s overall stats at the plate left a bit to be desired, his combination of speed and power provided a sparkplug at the top of the lineup. Carrigg could be the long-term replacement for Rockies centerfielder Brenton Doyle should the incumbent continue his season long slump or get traded to a contender.
Joining Carrigg on the grass was 2021 top ten draft pick Benny Montgomery. The former top 100 prospect was a fixture of the Hartford lineup throughout the entire season after missing most of 2024 with a shoulder injury. Over 86 games, Montgomery hit just .201 and had an OPS of .537 which was well below league average. Still only 23 years old, Montgomery seems likely to be given more time by the Rockies to make good on his potential and is a candidate to repeat Double-A in 2026.
Rounding out the outfield mix was midseason call up Jared Thomas. Thomas put up a scorching .922 OPS in High A, but that number dropped over 200 points in Double-A due to a lack of power with just fourteen extra-base hits. Still, Thomas got on base at a .347 clip and was a positive contributor in the middle of Hartford’s order.
Though many of the team’s more exciting prospects and performers could be found in the position player group, Hartford also featured multiple pitchers who flashed plus potential. Sean Sullivan put up an argument for being Hartford’s best starter in 2025. Over 18 starts, the New England native put up a 3.14 ERA with a solid 1.07 WHIP. If Sullivan can increase his strikeouts while maintaining his low walk rates, he is a candidate to be a fast riser on prospect lists next season.
Starter McCade Brown began the year in High-A before joining the Yard Goats at the end of May. The right-hander made 11 starts for Hartford and did a decent job limiting walks on route to a 3.14 ERA. Brown was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of 8/24. That performance, along with his solid body of work, earned him a call up to the Rockies to join their rotation. Brown has struggled to keep runs off the board in four major league starts, but an adjustment period has to be expected for a player who skipped Triple-A to start games in the most difficult pitching environment in MLB.
Rockies organizational top prospects Konnor Easton and Michael Prosecky each received late season promotions to Hartford. While Prosecky struggled over nine starts with Hartford, he lowered his final ERA down to 4.97 thanks to a pair of strong starts to close out the season. It was Easton who really shined in his short time with the Goats. While he finished with a 5.30 ERA, the final numbers down paint the full picture of how dominant he was. He only allowed two runs over his first ten innings and set the Yard Goats single game record for strikeouts in his second start with 11. Both pitchers should be back with Hartford to begin 2026.
In the bullpen, Wellington Herrera stuck out as one of the more exciting young arms in the EL. Just 21-years-old, Herrera was over three years younger than the average Eastern Leaguer, but that gap did not show up in his play. After being promoted to Hartford in late May, Herrera hit the ground running and accumulated seven saves while striking out a huge 13.6 batters per nine innings. The lefty was one of Hartford’s two selections to the All-Star Futures Game, along with Condon.
The pitching staff struggled as a whole, allowing the third most runs in the EL and posting the second worst team ERA. They were in the middle of the pack in both strikeouts and walks. Offensively, the team put up average production in all of batting average, OBP, OPS, runs scored and homeruns. They were towards the bottom of the league in walks taken. Overall, the average offense could not overcome the woes of a struggling pitching staff to secure a playoff spot.