Chase Dollander, Rockies’ top pitching prospect, reassigned to minor-league camp

Chase Dollander showed enough in his spring-training glimpse in major-league camp to tantalize. But as expected, the 2023 first-round pick of the Colorado Rockies will start the season in the minor leagues.

The Rockies reassigned Dollander to minor-league camp on Saturday, leaving 35 players in their major-league camp as their regular-season opener at Tampa Bay approaches in six days.

Colorado also reassigned a pair of other right-handed relievers, Zach Agnos and Jaden Hill. Hill, a second-round pick in 2021, made nine relief appearances at the major-league level last season, notching a 5.06 ERA and a 1.125 WHIP. Agnos, a 10th-round selection in 2022, had a 3.86 ERA this spring.

Dollander had a 5.65 ERA in five spring-training starts, but that fails to tell the true story.

His five Cactus League starts ran the gamut. His first start was brief and alternately promising and frustrating; he yielded a solo home run, but struck out three batters in 2 innings of work.

In his second start against Arizona, Dollander struck out four in three innings, but the Diamondbacks tagged him for four runs — three earned — and drew a walk in three innings. His next start, against the Athletics, saw him allow five earned runs as he permitted six baserunners on four walks and two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work as he threw just 26 strikes in 50 pitches.

But Dollander began recovering his control in a four-inning start against Cleveland five days later, striking out three and walking two while allowing two hits over four scoreless innings.

Chase Dollander's fourth Cactus League outing is his best of the spring 🔥

4 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 3 K @Rockies pic.twitter.com/PCoUjnGI4D

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 13, 2025

Five days later, he notched another 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball against San Francisco, striking out seven Giants.

“The fastball tonight had life to it,” manager Bud Black told MLB.com after Dollander’s start against the Giants. “The curveball was good. He threw a couple good changeups; sliders were fine. His overall stuff was fine. Delivery looked good, repeated.”

Despite the struggles against Arizona and the Athletics, Dollander held opposing batters to a .204 average over five spring-training appearances. His BB/9 rate of 5.65 needs work, but his K/9 rate of 11.30 is encouraging and what the Rockies hope to see.

If Dollander shows the same stuff in the minors as he displayed in his last two spring-training starts, one should expect to see him at Coors Field this summer.

But for the putative future ace of the Rockies staff, the big day will have to wait just a little bit longer.