Rockies send top young starter to minors for a good reason

In a move that might be best for everyone right now, the Colorado Rockies have sent their best young pitcher, Chase Dollander, back to Triple-A.

Dollander, 23, has started four of the team’s 21 wins this season but has struggled recently. Even in Sunday’s Rockies win, the right-hander only made it into the fourth inning before getting pulled for allowing nine baserunners so early into the ballgame.

Dollander’s ERA has risen quite a bit in the last few outings, now at 6.68 with a 2-9 record on the season. He’s only made it through the sixth inning twice since mid-May, and most concerning is that he hasn’t struck out five batters in a game in his last seven starts after doing so five times in his first eight appearances.

There is an argument to be made that in a lost season, it’s better to keep Dollander up and have him gain confidence. But the Rockies see it another way and want him to go figure things out in Triple-A Albuquerque, where he’s only actually played one game, early this season. In fact, Dollander advanced through the minors and has made only 10 starts in total in the high minors since being selected by Colorado ninth in the 2023 Draft out of Tennessee.

Sending Dollander to the minors can actually benefit the Rockies in another way. With an off-day on Thursday and the All-Star Game early next week, Colorado can shift to a four-man rotation and have an arm more dedicated to coming out of the bullpen. However, they have called up Bradley Blalock, who has mostly been starting, so we’ll see if Warren Schaffer goes to a four-man or not.

Still, there’s a bigger way longer term that can help the Rockies by sending down Dollander, even if it’s just for a short amount of time. The Rockies can gain another year of team control on Dollander by keeping his service time under 172 days, which constitutes a full year of big-league ball. Yet the season is 187 days long, meaning if the Rockies can keep Dollander down for over 15 days this year, they’ll gain a seventh year of team control on his contract, which pushes his free-agency eligibility back a season.

Dollander already spent the first 10 days of the season down with the ‘Toeps, where he made his first start before joining the Rockies on April 6th. So Colorado only has to keep him in the minors until the other side of the All-Star Break to meet this loophole.

So Dollander could make a start or two in Triple-A and regain some confidence without even missing a turn in the major league rotation, while at the same time, the Rockies get another year of him down the road — that could be a win-win for the purple.

Related

Freeland leaves due to neck tightness as Rockies fall in extra inningsRockies fall to Dodgers as Ohtani launches another homer at their expenseRockies place All-Star Hunter Goodman on ILDr. Ramos & Zach Bye discuss Brenton Doyle’s ObliqueRockies pull plug on Lorenzen, designate him for assignmentRockies throttled as Dodgers, Ohtani light up Sugano