3. Chase Dollander, Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have not had a whole lot to be excited about in the pitching department for a long time, but Chase Dollander is changing that. Dollander is Colorado's No. 1 prospect and the fifth-ranked pitching prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline.
As one of the best strikeout pitchers in minor league baseball, he comes in as my third best pitching prospect. Among pitchers not named Paul Skenes, Dollander was arguably the best pitcher in the 2023 MLB Draft, when he was selected ninth overall out of the University of Tennessee.
While pitching in Coors Field will be quite the task for Dollander — as it is for any pitcher — I believe he has the stuff to be one of the better pitchers we've seen come through Colorado's farm system in a long time.
Dollander has some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in the game. Over his 118 innings across High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford, Dollander had a 16.6 SwStr% (whiffs/pitches). That ranked fifth in all of minor league baseball among pitchers with at least 20 starts.
On top of the ability to miss bats, he has limited the long ball very well in his career, which can obviously be a concern pitching at Coors. Granted, the environment he's throwing in at Double-A is much different, but it's important to note he only gave up one home run in his 48 innings at the level in 2024.
He also had league-average ground-ball and fly-ball rates, but hitters have a really hard time hitting him with authority just because of how good his stuff is. If he can pair that with his ability to get swinging strikes, Dollander can certainly be a front-of-the-rotation arm for years to come.
Dollander has ran his fastball up to 99 mph (though it tends to sit closer to 96 mph), and it plays up because of the vertical break on the offering paired with his ability to locate it well. His slider has earned a 60 grade while his curveball and changeup both earned a 55 grade, so there isn't anything to worry about in regards to him having a starter's arsenal. He has a very easy, repeatable delivery that reminds me a lot of Gerrit Cole's.
Although he only has one pro season under his belt, Dollander's big league debut may be closer than it seems. On top of having already received an invite to big league spring training, Rockies GM Bill Schmidt has already been on the record saying that Dollander has a chance to make the team out of camp.