Former Tennessee baseball ace Chase Dollander made his return to the big leagues Monday after spending the month prior in the minors. Dollander turned in one of the best starts of his professional career in his return as the St. Louis Cardinals knocked off the Colorado Rockies 3-2.
Dollander allowed just one earned run on five hits and three walks while striking out five batters against the Cardinals on Monday night. It was Dollander’s best start since April 30 when he allowed one run on two hits and three walks in 5.2 innings pitched against Atlanta.
The former SEC Pitcher of the Year has struggled for much of his rookie season. Despite a good start on Monday, Dollander still boasts a 2-9 record, 6.35 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 73.2 innings pitched. He’s struck out 57 while walking 36 batters in 16 starts this season.
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Colorado sent Dollander back down to AAA Albuquerque in early July amidst his struggled during his rookie season. Dollander hadn’t posted fantastic numbers in AAA but clearly worked on some things Colorado wanted to see him work on and called him back up to the show.
The right-handed pitcher spent two years at Tennessee after transferring in from Georgia Southern. Dollander was the 2022 SEC Pitcher of the Year and posted a 17-6 record and 3.64 ERA in 168 innings pitched in his two seasons in Knoxville.
Colorado drafted Dollander with the No. 9 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and kept him in the minor leagues for one full season, where Dollander excelled and earned an invite to the Futures Game, before calling him up to the MLB roster early in the 2025 season.
Colorado has been the worst team in baseball this season, boasting a 30-88 record after its Monday night loss in St. Louis.
