HARTFORD, Conn. — The night didn’t start at all like Konner Eaton had hoped.

With his Hartford Yard Goats coming off a road trip to Binghamton, where they had won five of six games against the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, Eaton hoped to start a homestand back in Hartford strong on Tuesday.

However, Portland, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, scored four times in the first inning to make a mark against Eaton and put the Yard Goats in a quick hole.

Had this been 2025, Eaton said he would have handled the results of that start differently. However, the Rockies’ 26th-ranked prospect said on Wednesday it’s a new year and a new way of looking at the challenges that come with pitching in the Eastern League.

“I think I’m handling my starts a lot better,” Eaton told The Denver Gazette as he stood outside the home dugout at Dunkin’ Park in downtown Hartford. “I feel like I’m in a better mental state than I was last year. It’s really trying to become more of a professional each and every day. That’s what I’m going for right now.”

The numbers show that Eaton is on his way to doing just that. Despite the tough first inning, Eaton’s ERA on the season rose to just 3.89 after his seventh start. That follows a campaign which saw him post a 3.79 in 27 starts last year split between High-A Spokane and Hartford.

One of the stretches that helped Eaton get the promotion to Hartford came last July when he logged a 2.73 ERA over five Spokane starts that spanned 33 innings. That span stays in Eaton’s head almost one year later.

“This year is about learning from last year,” Eaton said. “I had a really good stretch in July, so it’s really trying to find that click and getting that one start to get me rolling.”

Hartford manager Robinson Cancel oversaw Eaton at Spokane last year before he moved up a level this offseason. Once again, having Eaton under his wing, Cancel sees plenty of positives for the 23-year-old southpaw.

“Yesterday, he had one bad inning,” Cancel said. “Other than that, I thought he threw the ball well. There are things he needs to work on like everybody else, but he is trending in the right direction. He has the stuff to be a big leaguer. We see the flashes of it.”

Some of those flashes include a slider that has become not only arguably Eaton’s best pitch, but also a companion that hasn’t left him since coming into his life at a young age.

“It’s really just always been there,” Eaton said of the slider. “It’s been my pitch ever since I was 10 years old. I haven’t changed the grip on it at all.
I don’t do anything crazy. I am trusting the grip and throwing it with conviction.”

The slider has helped Eaton navigate the jump to Double-A as well as earn him some looks this spring. He was invited to be a part of spring training with the Rockies for the first time.

“It’s a big difference,” Eaton said of the gap between High-A and Double-A. “You get a little taste of Major League Baseball because there are a lot of prospects here and they’re here for a reason. “This league (Eastern) is probably one of the hardest out there, so it’s good competition and really helps get you prepared for the majors.”

Making it to Denver is certainly Eaton’s goal, but he knows there is plenty of work to be done before that happens.

“Last year, I was really too high or too low,” Eaton said. “This year, I feel like I’m turning the page over a lot sooner.”

He’s also learned how to look at those ups and downs in a new light, thanks in part to a new pitching philosophy that has been pushed throughout all levels of the organization by the Rockies front office. This year, the focus for every pitcher in the organization is on attacking the zone with all pitches.

Even with that, good hitters can still make good pitchers pay for a mistake. However, there are lessons to learn even on a night when you give up four runs in the first inning.

“The good starts are there to keep your confidence up. Those bad starts … well, I wouldn’t say bad starts. I would just say they’re a learning curve,” Eaton said. “God’s trying to teach you something from every outing.”