TODAY : The Rockies officially selected Dollanders contract, and optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move. APRIL 4 : The Rockies are going to promote their top pitching prospect, reports . Right-hander will make his major league debut when he starts for the club on Sunday. Theres already an opening on the 40-man roster, so the club will only need to make a corresponding active roster move. Dollander, now 23, has been a hyped-up name for a while now. He put up big numbers for Tenne see and was ranked as one of the top players available in the 2023 draft. The Rockies selected him with the ninth overall pick and then signed him to a slot-value bonus of $5,716,900. He made his profe sional debut last year in impre sive fashion. He to sed 118 innings over 23 starts, going from High-A to Double-A in the proce s. He allowed just 2.59 earned runs per nine, striking out 33.9% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 9. Will Brennan Jersey 4% clip. Going into 2025, the industry consensus is that hes one of the top prospects in the league. currently lists him #7 overall and #24. had him at #12 to start the season, but with the now-graduated as one of the guys ahead of him. had Dollander at #14, though also behind Crews. was more bearish, putting Dollander down at #75, with concerns about some of his results in Tenne see. The Rockies reportedly gave some consideration to having Dollander in the season-opening rotation. They sent him to Triple-A Albuquerque instead, where he made one start, allowing one earned run over four innings. The big league club started the season with just four games before their first off-day, having , , and start those. likely would have had a fifth spot but he started the season on the 15-day injured list with shoulder sorene s. He made a rehab start for Albuquerque but was scratched from making a second due to inflammation in that shoulder, per . Perhaps due to Gombers setback, Dollander will get an early-season call-up. The big unknown will be how Dollander handles the challenges of pitching at Coors Field, the most hitter-friendly venue in the big leagues. believes Dollander is well-positioned to succeed, even though plenty of other talented arms have struggled there. Pontes points out that pitchers with low release heights, such as Dollander, have previously fared well at Coors. The piece also cites the spin efficiency of Dollanders fastball, which sits between 96 and 98 miles per hour, as a factor that could work in his favor. In addition that fastball, he throws a changeup, a curveball and another breaking ball that is characterized as either a slider or a cutter by various sources. If Dollander can thrive at Coors, he could become the most important arm in the rotation for their next competitive window. The club has been losing for a long time now but have seen some young players come up and establish themselves as building blocks, such as at shortstop and in center field. In the rotation, theres little long-term certainty. Mrquez and Gomber are impending free agents while the contracts for Senzatela and Freeland are only guaranteed through 2026, with options for 2027. Its po sible the Rockies sign new deals with those pitchers but theyre all in their 30s now regardle s. At 23 years old, Dollander could potentially be the rock of the group for many years to come, if everything breaks right. Though he wasnt on the Opening Day roster, he is getting called up early enough to potentially earn a full service year in 2025. A baseball season is 187 days long but a player needs only 172 days on the active roster or injured list to get a full year. If hes not optioned down to the minors at any point, he would be on track to qualify for free agency after the 2030 campaign, though a notable optional a signment would push that trajectory by one year. If he does stay up, the Rockies would be eligible to potentially receive an extra draft pick. The current collective bargaining agreement introduced measures to combat service time manipulation. One such measure is that a team can earn an extra draft if they promote a top prospect early enough to earn a full service year. To qualify, a player must be on two of the three Top 100 lists of BA, ESPN and MLB Pipeline. The player must then win Rookie of the Year or place in the top three of MVP or Cy Young voting in their pre-arbitration seasons. Those will perhaps be factors later in the year. For now, one of the best young pitchers in the game is coming up to the majors. Facing big league hitters for the first time is always a fascinating challenge for any pitching prospect but the interest level is arguably even higher in this case, given the unique circumstances of Coors Field and Dollanders potential importance to the franchise. Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri and Steven Branscombe, Imagn Images Vic Davalillo Jersey