Denver native Kyle Freeland will make MLB debut in Rockies home opener

When the Colorado Rockies drafted Kyle Freeland in 2014 with the eighth overall pick out of the University of Evansville many all the sudden had a vision. That vision was of the 2011 Thomas Jefferson High School graduate making his Coors Field Debut in front of a ruckus section of friends and family from just down the street, cheering on the team they all love and the one Freeland grew up rooting for as the lefty steps to the Coors Field mound for the first time.

That first time Freeland steps onto the Coors Field mound, which will happen Friday, will be the first time he steps onto any big league hill. Not only that, Freeland on Friday will be making his first MLB start in front of 50,000 as the Rockies begin their 2017 campaign at home.

This is quite possibly the quintessential local kid makes good in front of entire area community. From Freeland’s prospective, he will need to find a way to remain calm while making his MLB debut in one of the most unnerving environments possible.

This spring he had a 3.48 ERA across 20-and-two-thirds innings, which included 19 strikeouts. Last season in Triple-A, he made 12 starts as an Isotope with a 3.96 ERA. His strikeout rate climbed overall on 2016 as he spent half the year in Double-A before getting called up.

Freeland will get the ball Friday at 2:10 as the Rockies begin play at Coors Field against the Dodgers.