Inside Rockies Top Prospect Chase Dollander’s First Spring Start

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Chase Dollander had just given up his first home run during an MLB spring training game, and now the Colorado Rockies top pitching prospect had to face veteran third baseman Matt Chapman, coming off a season where he paced the San Francisco Giants in bWAR with 7.1.

This might be a time when a 23-year-old right-hander getting his first taste of facing a lineup peppered with big leaguers might show some cracks. However, Dollander has already developed a reputation for locking in and pitching well above his experience in the minor leagues (where he has logged just one season and 23 starts, none of which came above Double-A).

Facing Chapman, Dollander quickly jumped in front 0-2 and then launched a pitch that was headed behind the five-time Gold Glove winner.

Chapman ducked, with his posture sticking his bat up in the air. Dollander’s wayward pitch ended up striking the bat, resulting in a foul ball and a moment of levity in an intense matchup.

“I don’t know if you saw it on camera, but he was actually smiling after that pitch,” Rockies pitching coach Darryl Scott said. “Chapman was as well. You could tell Chase was like, ‘Oh well, whatever.’ And then he came back and made the next pitch.”

The next pitch was an 86-mph slider that fell out of the zone and eluded Chapman’s bat, registering Dollander’s second strikeout of the opening frame. It was part of a 37-pitch performance that included 28 strikes and first-pitch strikes on six of the eight batters he faced.

“You have to flush it and move on,” Dollander said of the home run. “I just went back on the attack. You really can’t get scared.”

Dollander said his success on Monday started long before he took the mound, and included a way to calm himself down on the 20-minute bus ride between Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and Scottsdale Stadium.

“For me, it’s just controlling my breathing,” Dollander explained.

“I kind of do like a meditative state kind of thing and just slow the heart rate down. On the bus ride over here, you get pretty anxious and ready to go. So for me, it’s like, don’t let that happen too quick. That way I’m not tired when I go out to the mound.

So what does that meditative state look like?

“I control my breathing, listen to some music and and just get locked in,” Dollander said.

He was locked in against the Giants, with Scott brushing off the damage that San Francisco did against him with two hits (an infield single and Jung Hoo Lee’s home run).

“I thought he looked great,” Scott said. “Really, the only hiccup was the home run, and that was just a young kid falling behind 1-0. It was more of like a strike pitch instead of staying aggressive with it.”

But he controlled himself really well in the in the bullpen and came into the game under control. His delivery held and I thought it was a really good first outing.”

Dollander threw a mix of sliders, fastball, curveballs and changeups (learn about his arsenal here), noting after the game that the changeup will likely be used more as spring progresses.

#Rockies Chase Dollander shows the curve and then makes Willy Adames take some time before grounding to third @JustBB_Media pic.twitter.com/2FVMJNf5KR

— Kevin Henry (@kgh23) February 24, 2025

“My stuff has been really good over my bullpens and live at-bats, so I was really happy to see it work and be able to use all my stuff today,” Dollander said. “I threw the changeup some today, and I think I can use it more in the future. I was just happy I was able to throw all my pitches.”

While there was plenty to talk about with what Dollander’s arm can do, Scott was also quick to point out what he saw from the mental side of things as well.

“I think the maturity,” Scott answered when asked what stood out about Dollander on Monday.

“That first game, he’s amped up. But you could see in the bullpen, there was a very distinct effort to slow himself down and make sure that things were under control. When he went out there, you could tell he’s under control. He’s landing those curveballs early and fastball command was good. So, for me, that’s a really good first outing.”

Learn more about the ninth overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft in this exclusive interview with Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton.