26-year old righty reliever Adam Ottavino has been pretty solid as a long reliever for the Rockies so far this year. He has pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 5-1 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Ottavino has only given up 50 hits while whiffing 64 batters in his first 63 1/3 innings, which is impressive, but he has also walked 28 batters and that is way too many. Still, even with his control issues, Ottavino has been a rock solid reliever for the Rockies so far this year.

26-year old righty reliever Joey Williamson has been pitching well in the minors for the Rockies so far this year. Williamson has pitched in 40 games (1 start) in AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies so far this year and he is 3-2 with 1 save, a 2.34 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He has given up 47 hits and he has whiffed 59 batters in only 50 innings pitched which is impressive, but, he has also walked 27 batters so far this year and that’s just too many. Williamson has now pitched in 159 games (27 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 30-10 with 7 saves, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Maybe Williamson will get his first shot at the show when rosters expand on September 1st.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood has looked really solid in August for the Rockies. He has started 4 games for the Rockies so far in August and he is 2-2 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Chatwood has pitched in 11 games (4 starts) overall this year and he is 3-3 with 1 save, a 5.46 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The Rockies hope that Chatwood keeps rolling along now that he’s in his favorite role as a starting pitcher.

The Rockies have placed 27-year old switch-hitting 2B/OF Eric Young on the 15-day disabled list due to an intercostal strain. He has played in 98 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 55 of 174 (.316 avg, .825 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. This is a bad break for both Young and the Rockies, as he was starting to see increased P.T.

The Rockies have placed 33-year old righty swinging OF/1B Michael Cuddyer back on the 15-day disabled as he aggravated his strained right oblique muscle.  Cuddyer has played in 101 games for the Rockies this year and he is 93 of 358 (.260 avg, .806 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  The Rockies have called up 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Andrew Brown to replace Cuddyer on the active roster.  Brown played in 11 games earlier this year for the Rockies and he was 5 for 24 (.208 avg, .522 OPS) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs.  The Rockies should wait until Cuddyer is 100% before bringing him back this time around.

The Rockies have designated 28-year old righty reliever Mike Ekstrom for assignment. Ekstrom pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he was 0-0 with a 6.32 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has now pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 0-3 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. This won’t hurt the Rockies at all moving forward, as Ekstrom just isn’t that good.

UPDATE: The Rockies have outrighted Mike Ekstrom to AAA.

26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Carlos Gonzalez has been ripping the ball this year for the Rockies. He has played in 105 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 134 of 417 (.321 avg, .939 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 20 homers, 78 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. But, he has slown down a bit since July 1st. Since July 1st, Gonzalez has played in 34 games in which he is 37 of 129 (.287 avg) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers, 20 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Rockies aren’t worried one bit about Gonzalez as he is the best player on the team right now with Troy Tulowitzki out of action.

The Rockies have signed 28-year old righty starter/reliever Jeff Marquez to a minor league deal. He pitched in 17 games (14 starts) in AAA-ball for the Mariners earlier this year and he was 4-8 with a 6.69 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Marquez gave up 108 hits and he walked 34 batters in only 76 2/3 innings in the minors while whiffing 45 batters. He he pitched in 4 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Marquez is unlikely to help the Rockies much in 2012.

The Rockies have placed 25-year old righty reliever Edgmer Escalona on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 6th, due to right elbow inflammation. Escalona has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Rockies and he is 0-1 with a 11.88 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. Despite his rough time so far this year, the Rockies still have high hopes for him. Escalona has now pitched in 28 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Rockies and he is 0-1 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Rockies have called up 27-year old righty reliever Will Harris to replace Escalona in the bullpen. Harris pitched in 44 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 4-1 with 1 save, a 2.08 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Harris gave up 35 hits and walked 13 batters in 52 innings in the minors this year while whiffing 66 batters, which is downright impressive. Harris has now pitched in 187 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 13-13 with 11 saves, a 2.66 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The Rockies hope that Harris is ready for his first shot at the majors.

27-year old switch-hitting 2B/OF Eric Young is really starting to hit well for the Rockies. Since July 1st, Young has played in 31 games in which he is 22 of 60 (.350 avg) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 88 games overall this year with the Rockies and he is 40 for 134 (.299 avg, .768 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. With Marco Scutaro off to the Giants, Young could start seeing a lot more P.T. at 2B.