TODAY: The Rockies formally chosen Dollander’s contract, and optioned Bradley Blalock to Triple-A within the corresponding transfer.
APRIL 4: The Rockies are going to advertise their high pitching prospect, studies Patrick Lyons of Simply Baseball. Proper-hander Chase Dollander will make his main league debut when he begins for the membership on Sunday. There’s already a gap on the 40-man roster, so the membership will solely must make a corresponding lively roster transfer.
Dollander, now 23, has been a hyped-up title for some time now. He put up massive numbers for Tennessee and was ranked as one of many high gamers obtainable within the 2023 draft. The Rockies chosen him with the ninth total decide after which signed him to a slot-value bonus of $5,716,900.
He made his skilled debut final 12 months in spectacular trend. He tossed 118 innings over 23 begins, going from Excessive-A to Double-A within the course of. He allowed simply 2.59 earned runs per 9, putting out 33.9% of batters confronted whereas giving out walks at a 9.4% clip.
Going into 2025, the trade consensus is that he’s one of many high prospects within the league. Baseball America presently lists him #7 total and MLB Pipeline #24. FanGraphs had him at #12 to begin the season, however with the now-graduated Dylan Crews as one of many guys forward of him. ESPN had Dollander at #14, although additionally behind Crews. Keith Legislation of The Athletic was extra bearish, placing Dollander down at #75, with considerations about a few of his leads to Tennessee.
The Rockies reportedly gave some consideration to having Dollander within the season-opening rotation. They despatched him to Triple-A Albuquerque as a substitute, the place he made one begin, permitting one earned run over 4 innings. The massive league membership began the season with simply 4 video games earlier than their first off-day, having Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Ryan Feltner and Germán Márquez begin these.
Austin Gomber seemingly would have had a fifth spot however he began the season on the 15-day injured record with shoulder soreness. He made a rehab begin for Albuquerque however was scratched from making a second resulting from irritation in that shoulder, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Maybe resulting from Gomber’s setback, Dollander will get an early-season call-up.
The massive unknown might be how Dollander handles the challenges of pitching at Coors Area, essentially the most hitter-friendly venue within the massive leagues. Geoff Pontes of Baseball America believes Dollander is well-positioned to succeed, regardless that loads of different gifted arms have struggled there. Pontes factors out that pitchers with low launch heights, reminiscent of Dollander, have beforehand fared effectively at Coors. The piece additionally cites the spin effectivity of Dollander’s fastball, which sits between 96 and 98 miles per hour, as an element that might work in his favor. As well as that fastball, he throws a changeup, a curveball and one other breaking ball that’s characterised as both a slider or a cutter by numerous sources.
If Dollander can thrive at Coors, he might grow to be crucial arm within the rotation for his or her subsequent aggressive window. The membership has been shedding for a very long time now however have seen some younger gamers come up and set up themselves as constructing blocks, reminiscent of Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop and Brenton Doyle in heart discipline.
Within the rotation, there’s little long-term certainty. Márquez and Gomber are impending free brokers whereas the contracts for Senzatela and Freeland are solely assured by 2026, with choices for 2027. It’s potential the Rockies signal new offers with these pitchers however they’re all of their 30s now regardless. At 23 years previous, Dollander might doubtlessly be the rock of the group for a few years to come back, if all the pieces breaks proper.
Although he wasn’t on the Opening Day roster, he’s getting referred to as up early sufficient to doubtlessly earn a full service 12 months in 2025. A baseball season is 187 days lengthy however a participant wants solely 172 days on the lively roster or injured record to get a full 12 months. If he’s not optioned all the way down to the minors at any level, he could be on observe to qualify free of charge company after the 2030 marketing campaign, although a notable non-compulsory project would push that trajectory by one 12 months.
If he does keep up, the Rockies could be eligible to doubtlessly obtain an additional draft decide. The present collective bargaining settlement launched measures to fight service time manipulation. One such measure is {that a} staff can earn an additional draft in the event that they promote a high prospect early sufficient to earn a full service 12 months. To qualify, a participant should be on two of the three High 100 lists of BA, ESPN and MLB Pipeline. The participant should then win Rookie of the 12 months or place within the high three of MVP or Cy Younger voting of their pre-arbitration seasons.
These will maybe be components later within the 12 months. For now, among the best younger pitchers within the sport is coming as much as the majors. Dealing with massive league hitters for the primary time is at all times an interesting problem for any pitching prospect however the curiosity degree is arguably even increased on this case, given the distinctive circumstances of Coors Area and Dollander’s potential significance to the franchise.
Photograph courtesy of Rick Scuteri and Steven Branscombe, Imagn Photos
