Let the re-stocking of arms begin.
The pitching-needy Rockies selected Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander at No. 9 overall on Sunday, hopefully giving them a piece in their thinned rotation at Coors Field in a few years.
Colorado then added another potential future starter at No. 46 overall, picking Wake Forest southpaw Sean Sullivan.
Dollander began his college career at Georgia Southern before transferring to Tennessee in 2022, where he was unbeatable, going 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA to earn SEC pitcher of the year and numerous All-American accolades. He came back down to earth this spring, posting a 4.75 ERA in 17 starts, a regression some attributed to a change in arm slot.
“He was dominant as a sophomore, and this year he rarely even went over five innings and had at least one bad inning in almost all his starts,” MLB Pipeline senior writer Jim Callis said. “A lot of scouts think it’s an easy fix with him, because his arm angle got lower this year. You can raise it back up and he could be who he was as a sophomore.”
Dollander has a mid-to-high-90’s fastball that produces a lot of swing-and-miss (292 college strikeouts), especially when paired with an above-grade slider that sits in the mid-80s. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder also has a mid-70s curveball and a developing upper-80s changeup. Despite his inconsistent 2023 season, he still projected as a front-end starter coming into the draft.
He was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 9 overall prospect, and has above-average command and control. Because of his heavy workload with Tennessee, the Rockies will likely ease Dollander into pro ball this summer. He’ll likely start his career with Low-A Fresno.
The slot value of Dollander’s selection is $5,716,900, and the 21-year-old is the eighth right-handed collegiate pitcher to be selected in the first round by the Rockies. Dollander is also the third Tennessee player drafted by the Rockies in the first round, joining franchise icon Todd Helton (No. 8 overall in 1995) and outfielder Jordan Beck last year at No. 38 overall.
The slot value of Sullivan’s selection is $1,868,400. The 20-year-old left-hander started his college career at Northwestern before transferring to Wake Forest, where he had a 2.87 ERA in 15 games (nine starts) this spring. Like Dollander, he’s a high-strikeout guy, as Sullivan racked up 90 Ks this year and set Wake Forest’s record for single-season strikeouts-per-nine at 14.34.
Last year, the Rockies took right-hander Gabriel Hughes at No. 10 overall out of Gonzaga. Prior to that, general manager Bill Schmidt and the Rockies spent their prior four first-round draft picks on position players. Colorado also selected outfielders Sterlin Thompson and Beck in last year’s first round, both of whom are off to promising starts to begin their pro careers.
The Rockies closed the first day of the draft by selecting San Diego State catcher Cole Carrigg at No. 65 overall in Competitive Balance Round B. Carrigg is a switch-hitter who can also play shortstop and center field, but many scouts project him as a backstop in the pros. He led SDSU with a .303 average and 24 steals this year, when he started 41 games in center.
Also of note on the first day of the draft, the Pirates got things going at No. 1 overall by selecting right-hander Paul Skenes out of LSU. Skenes pitched two seasons at Air Force before transferring to Baton Rouge, where he established himself as the draft’s consensus overall prospect.
With the Falcons, Skenes was had a 2.72 ERA across 33 games (15 starts), with 126 Ks to 39 walks. He escalated that dominance at LSU, going 10-2 with a 1.69 ERA in 19 starts, with 209 strikeouts to 20 walks while being labeled as a generational pitching prospect by scouts and analysts alike.
