DENVER -- Chase Dollander’s rookie year with the Rockies was a study in how even the slightest misdirection can make it hard for a pitcher -- even one talented enough to embody the franchise’s future on the mound -- to find the right path.
Dollander wasn’t totally lost. Called up much earlier than planned -- after one Triple-A Albuquerque start, thus scuttling the plan to finish off his development -- there were solid sequences in the 2-12, 6.52 ERA-performance in 21 starts, especially on the road. He had a 3.40 ERA in 10 away starts compared to a 9.98 ERA in 11 starts at Coors Field.
Still, Dollander expects better. Even before the Rockies overhauled the front office and pitching leadership, Dollander arrived at a detailed plan to fix the direction of his motion.
What emerges is a pitcher who fits what the new Rockies envision -- a thirst for improvement and, more importantly, a willingness to apply information. To move the Rockies toward winning ways, Dollander, 24, and a group of young starters coming up behind him will have to pass the Major League test of time.
Being a good student is an important step for Dollander.
The ideas flowed when he described bad habits that crept into his motion, and the process of fixing things this offseason started with T.J. Galenti, a Tampa, Fla.,-based data scientist, certified strength and conditioning expert and baseball performance coach.
“I was a little bit more cross-body -- I was pulling off everything,” Dollander said. “We figured out that I have a ton of external rotation in my hips, and that’s usually for guys that are more linear toward the plate. So I went to figure out what works. There were a bunch of different things we tried, with leg kicks, with setups, with thought processes. I think we found something that works.
“My fastball is in the zone more. My slider is in the zone more. I’m getting the ‘vert’ (induced vertical break) back on my fastball.”
Earlier this offseason, veteran lefty Kyle Freeland discussed how increasing the “coil” at the start of his delivery late last season increased his effectiveness. Desiring nastier action on his pitches, especially at Coors, Dollander unintentionally increased the coiling action to his motion.
Different students.
Different answers.
“I just started to get a little bit too coil-y in my legs, in my leg kick. That put me in a bad position, throwing cross-body,” Dollander said. “That’s a no-go for me. So we figured that out pretty quick in the offseason, and fixed it pretty fast.”
However, many pitchers have arrived with high Draft status and put their minds and pitching motions to the test. Dollander’s goal is to become one of the few pitchers to grade out at a high level in purple pinstripes.
According to Baseball Reference, here are the top performers -- ranked by Wins Above Replacement (WAR) -- for Rockies first-round MLB Draft picks while pitching for the club:
- Kyle Freeland, 19.2
- Jon Gray, 11.5
- Jason Jennings, Jeff Francis, 10.4 (tie)
- Tyler Anderson, 6.2
Here are the top five Rockies first-rounders, ranked by career WAR with any club.
- Kyle Freeland, 19.2
- Tyler Anderson, 16.8
- Jon Gray, Jake Westbrook, 13.1 (tie)
- Jason Jennings, 11.2
Anderson built much of his success after leaving. Westbrook, who earned a World Series ring in 2011 with the Cardinals, had not reached the Majors before being sent to the Expos as part of the 1997 Mike Lansing trade.
Freeland, Gray and Anderson -- along with trade acquisition Germán Márquez and international signing Antonio Senzatela (expected to pitch out of the bullpen) -- were young leaders of the pitching staff of the only Rockies teams that made consecutive postseason appearances (2017 and 2018). Can Dollander help lead the Rockies to similar heights?
Dollander and Tanner Gordon were rookies last season, in very much the same way that Gray and Anderson broke in with struggling Rockies teams. Freeland heads into the last year of his contract (there is a 2027 vesting option should he reach 170 innings pitched), but there is a longer future with Dollander, righty Ryan Feltner (under club control through 2028), Gordon (a rookie last season) and a couple of starting prospects in camp – righty No. 14 prospect Gabriel Hughes (10th overall, 2022) and lefty No. 12 prospect Sean Sullivan (second round, 2023).
The Rockies optioned Dollander to Albuquerque just before last year’s All-Star break for a combination of game action and work in the team’s Scottsdale, Ariz., performance lab. When he returned, the club positioned Dollander’s Coors Field locker next to that of Freeland. Dollander said he was “thankful” to spend time with a similarly fiery personality.
With Freeland and veteran free-agent signee Michael Lorenzen on board under a two-year contract, Dollander believes he can accelerate his path to proving himself as a leader on a club seeking a brighter future. Thursday’s first workout for pitchers and catchers at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick will be the start.
“We can't afford to go through what we went through last year -- both on the team and a personal level,” Dollander said.