Idaho’s Gabriel Hughes signs with Colorado Rockies. Here’s what the first-round pick got
Former Rocky Mountain High standout Gabriel Hughes signed with the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday and made his debut with the hometown media.
The Rockies did not release terms of the deal, but MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported that Hughes received a $4 million signing bonus.
That’s below the projected slot value for the 10th overall pick: $4.983 million. But it easily gives the 20-year-old the highest MLB signing bonus in Idaho history.
“I’m just excited,” Hughes, who played college baseball at Gonzaga, told reporters at Coors Field. “I’ve been ready to sign, ready to get going since I heard my name called. So I’m just relieved. I’m ready to get going. Now that I’m here, I’m just trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment.”
The 6-4, 220-pound right-handed pitcher joined the Rockies’ broadcast Wednesday night and described his draft night experience.
“It was a whirlwind,” Hughes said. “As soon as my name got called, there were a thousand things I did after that. Those next couple of days were just a blur. But I’m here now. I’m ready to get down to Arizona and get back on the field.”
Hughes is the second-highest draft pick to come out of Idaho, following Caldwell High’s Mark Garman, taken third overall in 1967 by the Boston Red Sox. The only two other first-round picks from Idaho were Lewis-Clark State’s Beau Mills (13th overall, 2007) and Madison High’s Clayton Mortensen (36th overall, 2007).
Hughes graduated from Renaissance High in 2019. The school did not have an athletic program, so he played at Rocky Mountain, where he was twice named the Idaho Gatorade player of the year as the state’s best player in all classifications.
Hughes spent his first two years at Gonzaga as a two-way player before focusing on pitching this season. The dedication paid off as he went 8-3 with a 3.21 ERA and finished ninth in Division I with 138 strikeouts in 98 innings.
Scouts reported he threw a 94-97 mph fastball and featured a powerful slider, vaulting him up the draft boards.
“The Rockies’ system is lacking in starting pitching prospects, especially pitchers with frontline potential — and that’s what Hughes brings as the No. 10 pick,” ESPN’s Dan Mullen wrote. “Standing 6-foot-4 with a high-90s fastball and slider, he projects to at least a mid-rotation starter.”
Hughes told the Rockies’ broadcast he planned to fly down to the team’s Arizona complex Wednesday night. His first minor league assignment remains undecided. The Rockies’ High-A affiliate is in Spokane, marking a possible return to his college town.
The Rockies had a short-season affiliate in Boise until MLB contracted its minor-league franchises last year.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 12:39 PM.
