Biography
Hunter Robert Goodman (born October 8, 1999) is an American professional baseball first baseman and catcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Amateur career
Goodman attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Tennessee, and the University of Memphis, where he played college baseball for the Memphis Tigers for three seasons. He batted .326/.367/.573 with 16 doubles, 13 home runs, and 67 runs batted in (RBI) as a freshman and was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Newcomer of the Year.
After the 2019 season, Goodman played collegiate summer baseball for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, batted .276/.291/.494, and was named a league all-star.
He was slashing .357/.416/.743 as a sophomore before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Goodman slashed .307/.401/.678 with a school record 21 home runs in his junior season.
Professional career
The Colorado Rockies selected Goodman in the fourth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. He received a $600,000 signing bonus. In 2021 with the Arizona Complex League Rockies, he slashed .300/.419/.517.
Goodman began the 2022 season with the Fresno Grizzlies of the Single-A California League. Goodman played in 73 games while with the Grizzlies, slashing .291/.368/.592 with 22 home runs. On July 6, 2022, he was promoted to the Spokane Indians. While with the Indians, Goodman played in 50 games, where he slashed .315/.351/.589 with 12 home runs. He was promoted to the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats on September 7, 2022. During his 12 games with the Yard Goats, Goodman hit two home runs, slashing .227/.277/.364.
Goodman began the 2023 season with the Double–A Hartford Yard Goats, playing in 91 games and batting .239/.325/.523 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs. He was then promoted to the Triple–A Albuquerque Isotopes, where he hit .371/.418/.903 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs across 15 games.
On August 27, 2023, Goodman was selected to the Rockies 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues. At the time of his promotion, he was the minor league leader in home runs, with 34. In his MLB debut later that afternoon, he singled twice in four at bats as the Rockies went on to win 4–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. He drove in a run with his first hit off Jack Flaherty in the sixth inning and eventually scored the deciding run in the ninth after a leadoff infield single off Yennier Canó with the score tied at 3–3. In 23 games for Colorado in his rookie campaign, he batted .200/.247/.386 with one home run and 17 RBIs.
Goodman was optioned to Triple–A Albuquerque to begin the 2024 season. He was promoted to the Rockies in April and stayed with the organization until April 18 when he was sent back to the Isotopes for two weeks before finishing the season with the Rockies.
On June 15, 2024, Goodman went four for five with two home runs and five RBIs in a 16-4 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished the season as the Rockies backup catcher with a slashline of .190/.228/.417, including 13 home runs.