The Rockies have placed 34-year old righty swinging RF Michael Cuddyer on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 9th, due to an inflamed cervical disc.  Cuddyer has played in 31 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 38 for 119 (.319 avg, .963 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers, 23 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  The Rockies have called up 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Charlie Blackmon to replace Cuddyer on the active roster.  Blackmon played in 31 games in AAA-ball this year for the Rockies and he was 37 for 110 (.336 avg, .997 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 3 homers, 21 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Blackmon has played in 69 games in his first two years with the Rockies and he is 57 of 211 (.270 avg, .659 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Blackmon will do a solid job with the Rockies, but they are going to miss Cuddyer’s power bat.

19-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Dahl came into this season as the Rockies’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America.  Dahl has played in 10 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 11 for 40 (.275 avg, .735 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Dahl has now played in 77 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 117 of 320 (.366 avg, 1.009 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 9 homers, 64 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.  The Rockies are likely going to take things slowly with Dahl moving forward, but he does have a huge upside.

28-year old righty swinging SS Troy Tulowitzki and 34-year old righty swinging RF Michael Cuddyer are off to smoking hot starts with the bats in 2013 for the Rockies.  The Rockies need both of these guys to stay healthy if they are going to be a legit contender in the N.L. West.  Tulowitzki played in only 47 games for the Rockies last year and he was 52 of 181 (.287 avg, .846 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 8 homers, 27 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has already played in 30 games so far this year and he is 32 for 92 (.348 avg, 1.095 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 7 homers and 28 RBIs.  He has also walked more times (15) than he has whiffed (14) so far this year, as he is locked in at the plate right now and the Rockies hope he stays hot.  Cuddyer only played in 104 games for the Rockies last year and he was 93 of 358 (.260 avg, .806 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Cuddyer has played in 31 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 38 for 119 (.319 avg, .963 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers, 23 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

38-year old righty closer Rafael Betancourt keeps rolling along for the Rockies in 2013.  He has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1-0 with 8 saves, a 1.46 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP.  He has only given up 5 hits and 6 walks while whiffing 8 batters in his first 12 1/3 innings this year, which is impressive.  Betancourt has now pitched in 245 games (0 starts) in his first five years with the Rockies and he is 12-6 with 49 saves, a 2.86 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.  Betancourt is currently #5 in Rockies’ history with his 49 saves and he could move up that list with a bullet if he keeps pitching well in 2013.

The Rockies have signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to a minor league deal.  He pitched in 17 games (9 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 4-3 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.  Oswalt has now pitched in 356 games (335 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 163-96 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  The Rockies aren’t going to rush Oswalt too much, but I really like this signing for them.  He could really help them some time in June until the end of the 2013 season.

26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Charlie Blackmon is ripping the ball in AAA for the Rockies so far this year.  Blackmon has played in 22 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 29 for 78 (.372 avg, 1.113 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Blackmon has played in 69 games in his first two years with the Rockies and he is 57 for 211 (.270 avg, .659 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Blackmon will be the first outfielder called up with the need arises with the Rockies.

The Rockies have acquired 21-year old righty swinging outfielder Jose Monzon from the Astros as the player to be named later to complete the deal that also brought Wilton Lopez to Denver.  Monzon has yet to play in a game in the minors in 2013.  He played in 45 games in Rookie-ball last year for the Astros and he was 25 for 117 (.214 avg, .583 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Monzon has now played in 183 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 124 of 582 (.213 avg, .610 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 6 homers, 50 RBIs and 34 stolen bases.  Don’t expect to see Jose Monzon in Houston for a long, long time….if he ever makes it there.

32-year old lefty starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa is off to a great start for the Rockies in 2013.  He has pitched in 5 games (all starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  He has given up 22 hits and he has walked 11 batters in his first 30 1/3 innings for the Rockies this year while whiffing 26 batters.  He is in the last season of a 3-year, $31.5 million dollar deal that he signed back in the winter of 2010.  In the first two years of that deal, De La Rosa pitched in 13 games (all starts) in which he was 5-4 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  The Rockies hope that De La Rosa can stay in one piece for the entire 2013 season.

The Colorado Rockies have called up 22-year old righty swinging 3B Nolan Arenado.  He came into this season as the Rockies’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America.  Arenado played in 18 games in AAA-ball this year for the Rockies and he was 24 for 66 (.364 avg, 1.059 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs.  He has played in 432 games in his five years in the minors for the Rockies and he was 501 of 1,675 (.299 avg, .818 OPS) with 224 runs scored, 49 homers, 286 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Arenado will likely take over as the Rockies’ starting 3B starting today.

The Rockies have designated 27-year old righty swinging 3B Chris Nelson for assignment.  Nelson played in 21 games for the Rockies this year and he was 16 for 66 (.242 avg, .600 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and an amazingly bad 19 strikeouts.  Nelson played in 212 games in his four years with the Rockies and he was 172 of 616 (.279 avg, .738 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 13 homers, 73 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  The Rockies will likely try to deal Nelson, as there is no way I see him getting through waivers.  This was a surprising move to me as Nelson has played well for the Rockies in the past.

UPDATE:  (5/2/2013) - The Rockies have dealt Chris Nelson to the New York Yankees for either a player to be named later or cash.