Rockies' Late Rotation Change Gives Chase Dollander Golden Opportunity

Dollander has a real opportunity to prove his worth over the next two weeks.

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The Colorado Rockies are expected to start reliever Brennan Bernardino in an opener role tonight against the Phillies. The veteran southpaw has thrown three scoreless innings over four games so far this season.

In relief of the "opener," Chase Dollander will pitch a bulk of the innings tonight, if everything goes according to plan. Dollander started the majority of last season, and it didn't go well. He posted a 6.52 ERA over 21 starts and 98 innings.

Dollander was the Rockies' No. 1 prospect last season after his 2.59 ERA over 23 starts and 118 innings during his first minor league campaign. Colorado's 2023 first-round pick just pitched 15.1 innings over four games at Triple-A before being promoted.

Dollander Has a New Season To Showcase Himself

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After his struggling rookie campaign, the Rockies are taking a much different approach with Dollander this season. During his first game, he pitched four innings of relief for Tomoyuki Sugano, who pitched 4.2 brilliant innings.

Dollander allowed four runs on five hits and their homers, but picked up the win over the Blue Jays. He didn't start the season in the rotation, but Jose Quintana's hamstring injury changed the plans.

“We spent a week on turf -- Miami and Toronto -- and it’s probably coming from there,” said Quintana regarding his injury via MLB.com, “It’s hard to tell, but I was doing my routine, and I felt it. I think it’s going to be good, but we don’t want to be rushing and have it get worse.”

Colorado won't be rushing Quintana back into the rotation, but he's hopeful to return without a rehab outing. With him on the 15-day injured list, Dollander could presumably get up to three long-relief appearances in his absence, if that's the preferred route.

Jose Quintana’s Injury Paves Way for Dollander To Rejoin Rotation

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Ideally, if tonight goes well, he could be thrust back into the rotation for a turn or two before Quintana returns, but the Rockies are undecided. At his peak, Dollander was listed as the No. 25 prospect in baseball. His elite Sophomore campaign at Tennessee put him on the map.

In his final season at Tennessee in 2023, Dollander posted a 4.75 ERA across 17 starts but racked up 169 strikeouts over 118 innings. His elite fastball velocity and nasty curveball haven't translated to many big-league strikeouts yet. If Dollander improves from last season and inches toward his ceiling, the sky is truly the limit for the young flamethrower.