​March 22, 2026 | Eli Whitney

Chase Dollander’s confidence isn’t an accident. Ask him about it, and he’ll correct the premise before you finish the question. The “I know I’m the best” line that has circulated through Rockies camp this week wasn’t a declaration of superiority – it was a description of process.

Dollander has spent years figuring out what puts him in the right headspace to compete, and talking himself up happens to be part of it.

“The story you believe the most is the one you tell yourself,” he said. “I’m just making sure I’m telling myself what I want to hear and what I need to hear. It’s not a cockiness thing. It’s just something that works really well for me to get into the right place.”

He’ll also tell you that level of confidence wasn’t always there. He built it – the same way he builds everything else.

Earned, Not Given

Dollander is clear-eyed about where his confidence actually comes from. It isn’t posturing. It’s preparation.

“My confidence comes from my preparation,” he said. “If I’ve done everything I possibly can to be ready for a start, that’s all I can do. So I just go out there and show them what I’ve got.”

Some guys, he acknowledges, seem to carry that belief naturally. He isn’t one of them – or at least, he wasn’t always.

“Some people are just born with it,” he said. “Good for them. For others, you kind of have to work towards it.”

Dollander works towards it. And the work isn’t finished. While Dollander went 9th overall to the Rockies in 2023, he started his college career at mid major Georgia Southern and a lesser sought Georgia prep prospect. He’s no stranger to the grind.

Even Keel, With a Fist Pump

There’s a version of the bulldog pitcher that lives entirely in the red – all fire, no filter. That’s not Dollander. He’s something more interesting: a competitor who keeps himself deliberately even and lets the emotion out only when it’s earned.

“I don’t do it often,” he said. “But when I do, it’s usually because something good happened. You know, the other day I was struggling a bit, then really came back strong the last two innings – yeah, I let it out a little bit.”

He’s drawn natural comparisons to Opening Day Starter Kyle Freeland, who has talked about his own bulldog mentality on multiple occasions. For Dollander, the parallel is real.

“Having a bulldog mentality is a great way to put it,” he said. “You kind of have to have that when you’re pitching in this league.”

But the other side of the coin is knowing when to dial it back. In two-strike counts, Dollander has been actively working on getting out of his own way– resisting the urge to reach for something extra when his stuff is already plenty.

“I get really antsy,” he admitted. “I really want to get a punch out. So I just have to tell myself, ‘Calm down.’ Don’t try to make the pitch nastier. It’s already nasty. Just execute. Change your sights, not the execution.”

Learning from Leichman

An ESPN article this week quoted pitching coach Alon Leichman speaking with characteristic bluntness about the philosophy he’s installing in Colorado. The language was direct. The message was unmistakable. Get ahead. Attack. Put hitters away.

For Dollander, being around the intensity on a daily basis has felt like an ongoing education.

“He has a lot of knowledge about this game,” Dollander said. “His attitude – you’re just going to get better around him. Whenever this guy talks, it’s pretty important. So you always take something from him.”

It’s a relationship built on trust and a shared appetite for getting better.

Dollander isn’t just absorbing what the new staff teaches – he’s actively seeking it out, asking questions, filing things away for a season that he believes is going to look very different from his last one.

“Every time I’ve talked to [Leichman], I’ve learned something new,” Dollander said. “I’m going to pick his brain as much as I can this season and see what happens. It’s going to be a really fun season.”

A Different Version

Last season is a closed chapter. Dollander isn’t dwelling, isn’t deflecting, and isn’t interested in relitigating. He’s said what he needed to say about it: it won’t happen again.

“I’ve put last year behind me,” he said. “You’re going to get a different version of Chase this year.”

The version Rockies fans will see in 2026 is a pitcher who has put real thought into what makes him effective, built his confidence on a foundation of preparation rather than assumption, and arrived at spring training with a clearer sense of who he is and what he’s capable of than perhaps at any point in his young career.

The stuff has never been in question. The efficiency, the execution, the ability to stay present when the moment gets big – these are the things he’s been working on. And the work, as he’ll tell you, is where everything starts.