The Rockies have placed 32-year old lefty starting pitcher Jeff Francis on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 15th, due to a strained left groin.  Francis has pitched in 8 games (all starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 2-3 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  Francis has given up 43 hits (6 homers) and 14 walks while whiffing 21 batters in his first 36 innings so far this year, which isn’t too good.  The Rockies will likely let Francis rest until he’s almost completely healthy, because he has not pitched too well in 2013.

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.

The Rockies have placed 39-year old lefty swinging 1B Todd Helton on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 20th due to left forearm inflammation.  Helton has played in 13 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 11 for 41 (.268 avg, .748 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs.  The Rockies have called up 24-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Ryan Wheeler and he will likely share P.T. with 27-year old righty swinging Jordan Pacheco until Helton returns to action.  Wheeler has played in 1 game for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1 for 4 with a double.  He also played in 15 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies earlier this year and he was 16 for 46 (.348 avg, .973 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs.  Pacheco has played in 13 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 12 for 38 (.316 avg, .692 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs.  The Rockies should be o.k. until Helton returns to action.

The Rockies have placed 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin on the 15-day disabled list due to a lower back strain.  He has pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP.  The Rockies have called up 26-year old righty reliever Rob Scahill to replace Chacin on the roster.  He pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rockies so far this year and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP.  Scahill got his first taste of the majors for the Rockies last year and he worked in 6 games (0 starts) in which he was 0-0 with a 1.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  The Rockies hope that Chacin is ready to return soon, as he has been electric for them so far this year.

The Rockies have placed 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Edwar Cabrera on the 60-day disabled list due to a left shoulder impingement.  Cabrera pitched in 2 games (both starts) in his first taste of the majors with the Rockies last year and he was 0-2 with a 11.12 ERA and a 2.82 WHIP.  He also pitched in 21 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 11-5 with a 3.05 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP.  This is a bad break for Cabrera, as he was going to get a shot to win a job in the Rockies’ rotation this spring.

41-year old lefty swinging 1B Jason Giambi will miss the remainder of the 2012 season due to a hernia. Giambi played in 60 games for the Rockies this year and he was 20 for 89 (.225 avg, .675 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. Giambi played in 230 games in his first four years with the Rockies and he was 104 of 420 (.248 avg, .827 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 22 homers, 86 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has likely played his last game with the Rockies.

The Rockies have lost 36-year old righty swinging catcher Ramon Hernandez for the rest of the 2012 season due to a ruptured hamstring. Hernandez was expected to be the starting catcher for the Rockies in 2012, but he only played in 52 games this year in which he was 40 for 184 (.217 avg, .601 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 5 homers and 28 RBIs. He has now played in 1,509 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,335 of 5,057 (.264 avg, .744 OPS) with 576 runs scored, 166 homers, 751 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hernandez will return in 2013 as the Rockies’ backup catcher as 23-year old Wilin Rosario has earned the starting job with his play this year.

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 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.