He lands in the top ten after all.
Tennessee starting pitcher Chase Dollander has been selected ninth overall by the Colorado Rockies. Dollander was being projected anywhere through picks 7 and 15, so this landing spot isn’t much of a surprise.
2023 MLB Draft
1. PIT – Paul Skenes, RHP
2. WSH – Dylan Crews, OF
3. DET – Max Clark, OF
4. TEX – Wyatt Langford, OF
5. MIN – Walker Jenkins, OF
6. OAK – Jacob Wilson, SS
7. CIN – Rhett Lowder, RHP
8. KC – Blake Mitchell, C
9. COL – Chase Dollander, RHP
10. MIA – Noble Meyer, RHP— John Sparaco™ (@JohnSparaco) July 10, 2023
Tony Vitello added Dollander out of the transfer portal following the 2021 season. The right-hander went 4-3 for Georgia Southern as a freshman, posting a 4.04 ERA over 49 innings pitched.
He joined the Volunteers and immediately became one of the most dominant arms in college baseball. In his first year at Tennessee, Dollander put up a staggering 10-0 record and a 2.39 ERA. That special season put him on the MLB’s radar, potentially even as the top pick in the draft.
However, Dollander failed to backup his 2022 numbers. An up and down 2023 season left him with a 4.75 ERA and a 7-6 record for the season. It also left scouts and executives with plenty of questions to answer. Can they get him back to his 2022 form? That’s been a topic of debate throughout this process. That’s now up to the Rockies organization to figure out.
The MLB Draft will continue over the next two days.