Chase Dollander went from fearing the worst to hoping for the best.
The Rockies’ 24-year-old right-hander went on the 15-day disabled list Friday with an elbow sprain. But he said he dodged a torn ulnar collateral ligament that likely would have required season-ending Tommy John surgery.
“It’s a very minor UCL sprain,” Dollander said before the Rockies hosted Arizona at Coors Field. “The MRI showed just some minor inflammation around the ligament; nothing to be too concerned about. I’m just thanking God that it was nothing more than that. Honestly, it’s probably the best-case scenario. I’m trying to look on the positive side of things.”
Dollander, who’s being counted on as the ace of Colorado’s future, was pulled from Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh in the second inning with right arm tightness. After the Rockies’ 7-2 loss to the Pirates, he was asked about the severity of his injury.
“I don’t know, I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t want to say too much before anything else happens. Not to freak myself out or anybody else out.”
He admitted Friday that he was worried about some strange sensations in his arm and fingers when he pitched, something he had never experienced before.
“Obviously, if anything happens to that area, your mind automatically goes to the worst-case scenario,” he said. “That’s kind of what happened. But then I just kind of decided to sit with it and talk with some people I trust. So I knew going into the MRI this morning that it probably wasn’t what I thought it was. So, thank God that it wasn’t, or else we would be having a very different conversation.”
Manager Warren Schaeffer didn’t put a timetable on how long Dollander will be out of action, but the right-hander could miss a month or more. The Rockies are going to be cautious about bringing Dollander back too quickly.
“The elbow area is always scary,” Schaeffer said. “But with the MRI, I think everybody is happy — at this moment. We can’t have a timetable (right now).”
On Thursday, the Pirates knocked around Dollander for three runs in the first inning, the big blow a two-run homer to center field by Ryan O’Hearn. Dollander pitched to just two batters in the second, giving up a leadoff double to Endy Rodríguez, followed by a walk to Jared Triolo on five pitches. Dollander was shaking his right arm and hand during the inning.
After the walk to Triolo, head trainer Keith Dugger and Schaeffer met Dollander on the mound. After about a 2-minute conversation, Dollander threw one practice pitch before leaving the game.
Dollander said he first experienced some discomfort during his start at Philadelphia on May 8, but it went away the more he threw. When the discomfort showed up again on Thursday, accompanied by a slight dip in his fastball velocity, he realized it was time to shut down.
“I’m just glad that the trainer saw it and came out and got me,” Dollander said. “Because, me being me, I would have tried to stay out there and possibly blown myself out. I’m glad he took me out. (Dugger) said he saw me just kind of shake my arm a little bit. Honestly, I didn’t realize I did that.”
that Dollander’s four-seam fastball, which normally averages 98.9 mph, averaged 97.6, and his sinker, which normally averages 98.3, was down to 97.1.
“I noticed it in the bullpen a little bit, but I thought, ‘It’s a bullpen,’ ” he said. “But then I got in the game, and I realized that the (velocity) wasn’t there.”
After a difficult rookie season in which he went 2-12 with a 6.52 ERA over 21 starts, Dollander is 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA in nine appearances (three starts). He is beginning to perform like the top-of-the-rotation Colorado envisioned when it selected him in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2023 draft out of the University of Tennessee.
“My last couple of outings didn’t go like I wanted them to go, but I’m constantly learning and constantly on the attack,” Dollander said. “I’m making sure I’m working toward where I need to be.”
Sterlin debut. Outfielder Sterlin Thompson was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque ahead of Friday night’s game and was ready to make his major league debut. Thompson, 24, was not in the starting lineup, but Schaeffer said he would use Thompson as a pinch-hitter if need be.
Thompson will likely be in the starting lineup for Saturday afternoon’s game.
Thompson was born in Longmont, and even though his family moved out of state when he was about six months old, he still qualifies as a Colorado native. When he makes an appearance, he will become the first Colorado native positional player to make their big-league debut for the
Rockies. Overall, he would be the fourth Colorado native to make their debut with the Rockies alongside pitchers Lucas Gilbreath (2021), Kyle Freeland (2017) and John Burke (1996).
Colorado needed another outfielder because Tyler Freeman was placed on the paternity list as he and his wife, Jacy, are expecting their first child.
Thompson, and many of his Isotopes teammates, have been raking at Triple-A. In 36 games for the Isotopes, Thompson slashed .344/.491/.496 with five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 27 RBIs, and eight stolen bases.
Thompson had a feeling that he might be getting called up sooner rather than later, then added, “I want to stay up here for a long time and play multiple years in the big leagues,” he said. “This is something that I have always dreamed of, and I want to make the most of it.”
