Luke Wortman | April 5, 2025
Yesterday, it was reported that Rockies top prospect Chase Dollander — arguably the best pitching prospect in Rockies history — was getting the call to the Show. In light of this, fans may want to get to know about the right-hander as much as possible. Below is a interview myself and other members of the Albuquerque media had with Dollander before the club’s first home series.
Chase Dollander Interview
Q: Your first Triple-A start went pretty well, how did it feel taking [Triple-A] on for the first time?
Dollander: Yeah, it felt pretty good. I was just trying to compound on what I’ve been working on in Spring Training, so I thought it went well but still a lot of areas to improve on so I’m excited about that. Places like location, command I’m excited to keep working on.
Q: What do you expect from the crowd in Albuquerque?
Dollander: I’ve heard we get good crowds here so I’m excited about that, so hopefully the fans will come in numbers to support us. I went out to the field for the first time today and there’s a lot of seating so it will be fun to see a packed house when it happens.
Q: How have you handled the first two years since the draft, you’ve had a lot of expectations placed on you obviously and you’ve lived up to them so far. So how have you been able to compartmentalize [those expectations] so far?
Dollander: Yeah I would say so. Big focus for me is just focusing on one day at a time, focusing on my execution while pitching. Those are really the only two things you can control while you are out there, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind you that you can’t control. So if you focus on those two things you will have a lot of success in my opinion. As long as you have a good process for when things aren’t going too well will help you a lot.
Q: I know guys in your position deal with pressure on every pitch, so being the top prospect in the organization, how do you deal with that pressure?
Dollander: I’ve been working with a mental strength coach since my junior year in college and it’s helped me a lot. One thing we always talk about is that pressure is a privilege, so if you have pressure on yourself it means you’re doing something pretty good. And like I said, I always try to take it one day at a time and to be able to stay present and be with the guys in the clubhouse. And then when I’m pitching I’m locked in and ready to go.
Q: Obviously Albuquerque is known as a major hitter’s park, what have you heard about it coming in and how are you going to approach this?
Dollander: Yeah like you said obviously it’s a big hitter’s park and the altitude plays a major role in that. For me the plan will be what it always has been, just execute my pitches to the best of my ability and commanding the zone and getting ahead of hitters. If I do that it’s going to be a hard time for them.
Q: I know you’re from the South but at any point of your career have you ever pitched at altitude before?
Dollander: I have not, so this is going to be my first time. I’m excited to see how it goes.
Q: How can you use the altitude as a test to prepare yourself for Denver?
Dollander: I definitely think it’s going to be a test, but a test that I’m prepared for and looking forward to. So I don’t think about it as hindering but being able to see what happens with my pitches. Like I said it always comes down to execution and doing what you need to do.
Q: Speaking of preparation, a big story in the big leagues is about the torpedo bats. From your perspective, how does your approach change at all?
Dollander: From a hitting side, the pitcher doesn’t change. I don’t feel like you can focus on that and obviously the bats are changing but I feel that they’ve been around for a little bit and teams are catching on to it for the first time, obviously the Yankees hit like 10 home runs that day so it got a lot of publicity, but as a pitcher none of the process changes.
Q: So when fans come out to watch you pitch, what should they expect? How would you describe your pitching style?
Dollander: I feel that I have pretty good stuff. I have a really good fastball, my slider has gotten a lot better; curveball and changeup have improved too. You can expect pretty high velocity from me and I’m one of those guys who is never going to give up and I’ll always fight no matter what the situtation is. Nothing really gets to me, which is something that I have been working on for a long time now.
Q: What is your biggest goal/point of emphasis to work on this season?
Dollander: Definitely command, definitely getting ahead of hitters. Trying to see how quick I can get to 0-1 and then to 0-2. I feel that if you can get ahead and stay ahead, it’s hard for hitters to have a plan against you so that is one of the big points of emphasis for me. Not only will getting ahead help me, but it will also help my efficiency and pitching deep into games. So just working on strike 1, and after that strike 2.
Dollander will debut tomorrow against the Athletics at Coors Field. He faces a tough first assignment against an up and coming lineup, though the Athletics will have their hands full with the promising Georgia product Dollander.
With Dollander called up within the first 2 weeks of the season, the Rockies will be eligible for a PPI pick should Dollander win NL Rookie of the Year.
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