SAN DIEGO -- Rockies right-handed No. 1 prospect (via MLB Pipeline) Chase Dollander is firing fastballs that averaged a tick below 98 mph. But the speed at which he is learning and applying is even greater.
His first batter on Saturday night, the Padres¡¯ Fernando Tatis Jr., powered a 97.6 mph fastball into the Padres bullpen in center field for a home run.
Tatis¡¯ next two times up, Dollander showed why he ranks as the No. 23 prospect in MLB. He had Tatis spinning away from a 76 mph curve with a 1-2 count and a runner at second in the third inning. After falling behind 3-0 in the sixth, Dollander climbed to a full count and beat Tatis with a cutter that dipped away and out of the zone for another strikeout.
In 5 2/3 innings, Dollander, 23, fanned seven against two walks and looked dominant for all but a few pitches. He gave up three hits, including solo homers from Tatis and Jason Heyward -- who couldn¡¯t catch up to a 98.3 mph heater for a strikeout to end the third but pulled a 97.3 mph heater to right field in the fifth.
¡°It was the first inning, first batter, just trying to get a feel for everything,¡± Dollander explained. ¡°I didn¡¯t really have a feel for my breaking stuff just yet so I had to keep throwing fastballs. Obviously, with a hitter like that, he¡¯s going to get one. On top of that, I didn¡¯t hit my spot.
¡°But when I start getting my breaking balls in the zone, it¡¯s game over. It¡¯s tough for a hitter to respect four pitches at one time. [As] soon as that happens, it¡¯s hard for a hitter to put bat on ball.¡±
Dollander became the first starter this season to hold the strong Padres offense to three or fewer hits and strike out seven or more. However, his pitching was undone by the 2025 Rockies offense -- which disproved the adage that solo homers don¡¯t beat you.
The 2-0 loss was the second straight shutout the Rockies have absorbed in this series. After managing just three hits, all by Kyle Farmer, in Friday night¡¯s 8-0 defeat, they managed four hits the next day, including a Farmer double and single. Zac Veen and Farmer singled off Padres closer Robert Suarez in the ninth, only to see Tatis break Rockies hearts by leaping to the right-field wall to nab a Kris Bryant line drive.
¡°I know these guys are going to come through,¡± Dollander said. ¡°I have complete confidence in them. We¡¯ve all seen it in the spring, seen it in the season. It¡¯s going to be fun once we get going.¡±
Dollander, the ninth overall MLB Draft pick in 2023 out of Tennessee, has provided some joy in his first two starts, a win over the Athletics last Sunday in which he gave up three runs on two homers but struck out six in five innings, and Saturday¡¯s solid effort. The Rockies will take Dollander¡¯s solid work, interspersed with occasional home runs.
¡°He¡¯s composed,¡± Rockies manager Bud Black said. ¡°He¡¯s a clear thinker. He knows there¡¯s a long way to go in a baseball game after the first hitter. This guy has pitched at the collegiate level in a strong conference. This guy has pitched a couple of years of professional baseball. He¡¯s ready for this.¡±
In and around the home run cheers, Dollander kept the sellout crowd quiet until the sixth -- when he gave up a Luis Arraez one-out single, committed a throwing error on a one-out pickoff throw to allow Arraez to reach third, and walked Gavin Sheets with two outs. The last walk was a ¡°red flag¡± that led Black to replace Dollander with Jimmy Herget -- who escaped as the Rockies deftly defended a double steal and trapped Arraez in a rundown.
A workhorse pitcher at Tennessee, Dollander earned trust to extend his pitch count while in the Minors. Dollander left after 93 pitches Saturday, but believes he¡¯ll blow past such a count once he¡¯s more accustomed to the Majors.
¡°I¡¯ve told everybody, six innings in the big leagues is way different than six innings in the Minor Leagues, so to be able to go out there for that six was huge for me,¡± Dollander said. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve gone six, I mean, what¡¯s next?
¡°Seven. Eight. Nine. There you go. It¡¯s just a matter of being locked in, every pitch, and not letting that stuff get to me.¡±