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A sign of the Rockies¡¯ improving depth was the difficulty of cuts late in Spring Training. But an option or a reassignment to Triple-A Albuquerque is not goodbye forever. General manager Bill Schmidt discussed some of the players who didn¡¯t quite make the Opening Day 26-man roster but could end up important figures this season.
RHP Chase Dollander (Rockies No. 1/MLB Pipeline No. 25): Dollander, 23, tied Kyle Freeland for the team lead in Spring Training strikeouts with 24, in 1 1/3 fewer innings in his first Major League camp**.** He also yielded a team-high five home runs and walked 10 in 17 2/3 innings. But he has the talent to clean things up quickly.
Schmidt: ¡°He¡¯s got to be more efficient. His last outing [in the Minors in 2024], he was 4 2/3 [innings], [86] pitches. So let¡¯s get him some experience in Triple-A. We like him a lot.¡±
On Sunday afternoon in his first start for Albuquerque, Dollander held Sacramento to one run and six hits, struck out five and threw 79 pitches (48 strikes) before being removed.
2B Adael Amador (Rockies No. 7): For Amador, 21, improvement was dramatic from last year¡¯s callup, when he was dealing with oblique soreness and was laboring with the switch from shortstop to second base. The Rockies optioned him before the final decisions, but considered bringing him back after Thairo Estrada sustained his right wrist fracture.
Schmidt: ¡°[Amador] worked very hard this offseason and I give a lot of credit to Rolando Fernandez [vice president of international scouting and development] for spending time with him and our Dominican staff. He leaned out a little bit. The at-bats were better. Defensively, he was better.¡±
OF Zac Veen (Rockies No. 8): Veen, 23, batted .270, led the team with 11 RBIs, homered twice and stole nine bases in the spring. But some fundamental mistakes in key spots of games and mistakes of exuberance defensively were signs of inexperience. He missed significant time the last two years with injuries to his left hand and right thumb.
Schmidt: ¡°What¡¯s in Zac¡¯s best interest. He wanted to be on the team on Opening Day. Everybody does. But what¡¯s best for everybody concerned is that there¡¯s still work to be done. Getting consistent at-bats every day is what he needs now. We want him up here. Hopefully, it¡¯s sooner than later, but he¡¯ll show us when he¡¯s ready.¡±
RHP Jaden Hill (Rockies No. 19): A reliever, Hill, 25, struck out 11 in 9 1/3 Cactus League innings, plus three in the Spring Breakout game against the White Sox. Hill can increase confidence in the changeup, but the best explanation was it being a case of not enough spots.
Schmidt: ¡°A lot of tough decisions had to be made, and I would classify that as one of them. Hopefully, he goes down there and performs -- puts himself in a situation where he¡¯s ready and we need to go get him.¡±
RHP Zach Agnos (Rockies No. 28): Much like Hill, Agnos, 24, was close. Also, he isn¡¯t on the Major League roster, and that affected the decision. But there was a compelling baseball reason he was sent down as well.
Schmidt said: ¡°He needs to get some experience at altitude, so Triple-A will do him good. He can learn some adjustments because eventually, we want him pitching late in games.¡±