Rockies’ Ryan Feltner Out Indefinitely with Fractured Skull, Concussion
A scary incident involving Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner will see him miss extended time after suffering a skull fracture and a concussion in Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Feltner, making his eighth start of the season, was struck in the right side of his head by a 93-mph comebacker by right fielder Nick Castellanos in the second inning. The 26-year-old remained face-down on the ground in pain for several minutes before leaving the field with team trainers.
The right-handed starter was immediately transported to a nearby hospital in Colorado for further testing and remained in their care into Sunday.
Feltner stayed in contact with Rockies manager Bud Black and his teammates, though, exchanging text messages with each other to provide updates on his condition.
Black released the details of his status on Sunday, revealing Feltner suffered a fractured skull and concussion during Saturday’s contest. But thankfully, his injuries didn’t require surgery and should heal fully with rest.
“What we found out was he has a small skull fracture and he’s concussed… but overall, he’s fine,” Black said prior to Sunday’s finale versus the Phillies. “The feeling’s that it could have been worse, obviously. But he’s going to miss some time.
“Ryan was communicating with players via text, so he was pretty stable by the time the game ended and guys were getting home, 11 o’clock, midnight. He was texting with our medical staff, his parents, and we texted last night. He was obviously in a concussion state, but he was fairly lucid.”
Given the severity of Feltner’s ailments, however, it will likely be a matter of weeks or even months before he returns to the mound. The 6-foot-4 hurler was discharged from the hospital Sunday night, and the Rockies are hopeful he can visit their clubhouse next week.
Colorado placed the young righty on the 15-day injured list ahead of Sunday’s contest, recalling fellow right-hander Riley Pint from triple-A Albuquerque.
While Feltner will be sidelined for at least a few weeks, things definitely could’ve been far more severe for the fourth-round selection from 2018. Luckily, though, his injuries weren’t any worse than they are.
Now he needs to provide his body with enough recovery time before resuming baseball activities.
“The biggest thing is he has to let the trauma heal and let nature take its course on this one,” Black said. “He suffered a head injury. Time is the best healer. From everything that I’ve been told here this morning, things are looking up.”
These comments should help ease the concern amongst Feltner’s friends and family, but also for his teammates as well. It will likely have a similar effect on Castellanos, too, as he was in complete shock after his line drive impacted the Rockies hurler.
“As soon as I touched first [base], I turned around and was just really hoping that what happened didn’t happen,” Castellanos said. “There was a part of me that wanted to go to the mound, but I guess the baseball player takes over and you go to first.”
The Orlando, Fla., native made his MLB debut in September 2021, compiling 6.1 innings across two starts. He returned to Triple-A the following season, though he split time between the majors and minors, posting a 5.83 ERA and 4.76 FIP over 97.1 innings with the Rockies.
Feltner owns a 5.86 ERA and 4.37 FIP with 33 strikeouts through 35.1 innings in eight starts this season, worth 0.6 fWAR.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85