26-year old righty reliever Adam Ottavino is making the most of the opportunity that the Rockies have given him so far this year. He has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Rockies and he is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only given up 13 hits and walked 3 batters in his first 16 innings pitched this year while whiffing 19 batters, which is pretty darn impressive. Ottavino has now pitched in 20 games (3 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. It looks like a change in scenery has done Ottavino a lot of good.

37-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt came into this season with only 27 career saves in his first 9 years in the majors. But, when the Rockies dealt Huston Street to the Padres over the winter, they turned the closer’s job over to Betancourt. Betancourt has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1-1 with 9 saves, a 2.37 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has only given up 13 hits and 5 walks in his first 19 innings while whiffing 20 batters so far this year as he has been impressive in his new role. The Rockies hope that Betancourt keeps up the good work.

24-year old lefty starting pitcher Christian Friedrich came into this season as the Rockies’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America. Friedrich then started five games in AAA-ball this year and he was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He earned the promotion due to the Rockies’ rotation being in shambles and he has excelled so far. Friedrich has started 2 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only given up 11 hits and walked 2 batters in his first 13 innings pitched for the Rockies, while whiffing 17 batters. The Rockies hope that Friedrich keeps up the good work.

40-year old lefty starting pitcher Jamie Moyer should probably have three wins already this year, but he doesn’t. Moyer has pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Moyer has given up 46 hits (5 homers) in only 33 2/3 innings this year, but he has only walked 10 batters and whiffed 17….which has limited the damage a little bit. Moyer has now pitched in 692 games (634 starts) in his first 25 years in the majors and he is 268-206 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. If Moyer is going to have a legit shot at 300 wins in his career, the Rockies are going to have to start scoring more runs when he pitches.

36-year old righty closer Rafael Betancourt and 31-year old righty set-up man Matt Belisle have been locking down games late so far this year for the Rockies. Belisle has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.15 WHIP. He has only allowed 1 base runner (it was a hit) while whiffing 6 batters in his first 6 2/3 innings. Betancourt has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 0-0 with 5 saves, a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. The Rockies are glad that things are working out at the back end of the bullpen as they took a big chance in going with these guys to close out games.

49-year old lefty starting pitcher Jamie Moyer was outstanding last Tuesday Night against the San Diego Padres. He threw 7 innings in which he gave up 6 hits, 2 unearned runs and he walked 2 batters while whiffing only 1 batter. Moyer didn’t have a pitch break 80 miles per hour in this game as he is an artist on the mound. Moyer broke major league record that had stood since 1932, as he became the oldest pitcher to win a major league game, besting Jack Quinn by 81 days. Moyer’s win came oddly enough on the 66th anniversary of Quinn’s death in 1946. Moyer has now pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Padres so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Moyer is now 32 wins away from 300 for a career, and I’m not betting against him getting it.

31-year old righty reliever Matt Belisle has been rock solid for the Rockies so far this year. He has pitched in 72 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 10-4 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Belisle has now pitched in 172 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Rockies and he is 20-10 with 1 save, a 3.50 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Belisle has really turned his career around with the Rockies and they hope he continues to give them good work out of the pen in the future.

36-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt is turning in another solid year for the Rockies in 2011. He has pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 2-0 with 6 saves, a 3.09 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Betancourt has only given up 45 hits and walked 8 batters in his first 58 1/3 innnings, while whiffing and impressive 66 batters. Betancourt has now pitched in 168 games (0 starts) in his first 3 years with the Rockies and he is 10-2 with 8 saves, a 3.08 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

26-year old lefty reliever Matt Reynolds is proving that he belongs in the majors. He has pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has only given up 34 hits in his first 42 1/3 innings this year while also whiffing 38 batters. He has not been dominating, but he has still been impressive. It looks like the Rockies have found themselves a nice lefty reliever for the future in Matt Reynolds.

24-year old rookie righty starting pitcher Juan Nicasio has been really solid in his first taste of the majors this year for the Rockies. He came into this season as the Rockies’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. Nicasio has started 10 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 4-2 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He looks like he’s going to be a big part of the Rockies’ future.