If the Rockies decide to go with three starters in the first round of the playoffs, Jason Marquis will likely be pitching in long relief. That just doesn’t seem fair when you consider that he started 32 games so far this season in which he is 15-12 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Rockies would likely go with Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook and Jorge De La Rosa in the first round of the playoffs as the starting pitchers. Jimenez by far has the best stuff as he started 33 games in which he was 15-12 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Aaron Cook is coming back from an injury. He started 27 games for the Rockies this season and he is 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The lone lefty will be Jorge De La Rosa who is having by far the best year of his major league career. He has pitched in 32 games (31 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 16-9 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. If the Rockies make it past the first round of the playoffs then Jason Marquis will rejoin the starting rotation.

34-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt has been nasty since coming over in a trade with the Cleveland Indians. He has pitched in 27 games out of the pen for the Rockies and he is 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.77 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. He has only allowed 13 hits in 20 1/3 innings for the Rockies while whiffing 22 batters showing just how nasty his stuff has been. Betancourt will have a key role late in games down the stretch for the Rockies who are trying to sew up the Wild Card.

23-year old lefty Franklin Morales is doing a fine job filling in for the injured Huston Street as the Rockies’ closer. Morales has pitched in 32 games (2 starts) for the Rockies this season and he is 3-1 with 6 saves, a 2.75 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Morales has whiffed 36 batters while only allowing 25 hits which shows how nasty his stuff can be. But he needs to tighten his control up a bit as he has walked 18 batters already this season. Despite Morales pitching so well out of the bullpen his future still likely lies in the Rockies’ rotation.

28-year old lefty starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa is pitching his best baseball of his career right now. He has pitched in 26 games (25 starts) for the Royals this season and he is 12-9 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He’s making batters miss the ball this season as he’s trusting his stuff which has resulted in 152 whiffs in only 148 2/3 innings this season. He has now pitched in 54 games (48 starts) in his two years with the Rockies and he is 22-17 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP for them. De La Rosa is one of the few pitchers in the history of the Rockies that improved his performance with them. Before coming to Colorado, De La Rosa pitched in 97 games (41 starts) in his major league career and he was 15-23 with a 5.85 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. The Rockies need De La Rosa to keep up the good work the rest of the year as they are in a dogfight with the Giants for a playoff spot.

The Rockies have shut down righty reliever Taylor Buchholz due to a case of right shoulder inflammation. This is a shame as Buchholz had a breakout season out of the bullpen for the Rockies in 2008. He pitched in 63 games this season and he was 6-6 with 1 save, a 2.17 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Buchholz might pitch later in games in 2009 for the Rockies.

Aaron Cook found out Sunday that he has made the All-Star Team for the National League. He has been by far the best starting pitcher on the Rockies this season. He has started 18 games for the Rockies this season and he is 11-5 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Cook’s power sinker keeps hitters off balance even at the launching pad at Coors Field. Look for Cook to have a big second half for the Rockies if he can just stay healthy which has been a huge issue early on in his major league career.

Veteran lefty Brian Fuentes is back in his old role as closer for the Rockies and he is dominating this year. He has pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 1-2 with 11 saves, a 2.20 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Fuentes never should have lost his job as the closer last year while he was hurt. But, he snapped the job right back from Manny Corpas who has been pretty bad so far this season. Look for him to continue to dominate this season for the Rockies.

Taylor Buchholz has been great out of the pen for the Rockies. He has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this season and he is 2-2 with 1 save, a 1.27 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. Buchholz has only allowed 14 hits in 28.1 innings this season which shows how dominating he has been. He has been a beacon of light in a dark season to this point for the Colorado Rockies.

Aaron Cook was given a nice contract in the off season and many questioned why the Rockies did it. The answer is that the Rockies felt that if Cook could stay healthy that he would be a good pitcher for them. They seem to have been right as he has been by far the best starting pitcher for the Rockies this season. Cook has started 7 games for the Rockies this year and he is 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. As long as Cook keeps the ball down he will continue to be effective this season.

The Rockies have decided to give Brian Fuentes back his old job of closer. He probably should have never lost his job in the first place but Corpas pitched really well when Fuentes was on the D.L. last year. Corpas couldn’t keep the magic up this season however. In 11 games for the Rockies this season, Corpas was 0-1 with 4 saves, a 7.50 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Fuentes has really outpitched Corpas pretty badly this season. In 13 games for the Rockies this year, Fuentes is 0-1 with 1 save, a 2.25 and a 1.08 WHIP. This was the right move at the right time by Rockies’ manager Clint Hurdle.