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 called up 23-year old righty starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood to replace the injured Jhoulys Chacin in the rotation.  Chatwood pitched in 3 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.  Chatwood pitched in 19 games (12 starts) for the Rockies last year, his first year with the team, and he was 5-6 with 1 save, a 5.43 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP.  The Rockies need Chatwood to pitch better this time around.

Righty starting pitcher Armando Reynoso pitched for the Rockies before they started using the humidor there.  In the Rockies’ inaugural season (1993), Reynoso pitched in 30 games (all starts) in which he was 12-11 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.  He finished 11th in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting in 1993.  Reynoso pitched in 89 games (87 starts) in his four years with the Rockies and he was 30-31 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  He is still tied for 10th in games started (87) in Rockies’ history with Jason Hammel.  He is also #5 in ERA (4.65), #8 in WHIP (1.47) and he’s tied for #5 in complete games with 5 of them in Rockies’ history.

24-year old righty swinging catcher Wilin Rosario enjoyed a breakout season in 2012.  He played in 117 games for the Rockies last year and he was 107 of 396 (.270 avg, .843 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 28 homers, 71 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Rosario is off to a fast start with the bat in 2013 for the Rockies, showing that last year was not a fluke but a glimpse of things to come.  He has played in 15 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 16 for 53 (.302 avg, .874 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 homers, 13 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  The Rockies hope that Rosario keeps up the good work with the bat.

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.

39-year old lefty swinging 1B Todd Helton looked like he was toast last year for the Rockies.  He played in 69 games for the Rockies in 2012 and he was 57 for 240 (.238 avg, .743 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 7 homers, 37 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  But this year, it has been so far so good for Helton.  He has played in 12 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 11 for 39 (.282 avg, .769 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs.  The Rockies hope that Helton’s back holds up which could allow him to have a nice comeback year in 2013.

21-year old righty swinging 3B Nolan Arenado came into this season as the Rockies’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why so far this year.  He has played in 8 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies so far this year and he is 13 for 29 (.448 avg, 1.397 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs.  Arenado has now played in 422 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 490 for 1,638 (.299 avg, .819 OPS) with 218 runs scored, 48 homers, 275 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Arenado is going to be in Denver playing for the Rockies at some point in 2013, it’s only a matter of time.

25-year old righty starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is off to a red hot start for the Rockies in 2013.  He has started 2 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.  This is a good sign for the Rockies and Chacin, as he is coming off a rough 2012 season in which he pitched in 14 games (all starts) and he was 3-5 with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.  Chacin has now pitched in 84 games (69 starts) in his first five years with the Rockies and he is 24-31 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  Chacin has the biggest upside of any of the starters on the Rockies, so they need him to remain focused and motivated.

The Rockies are hitting .327 with a .921 OPS as a team so far in the 2013 season.  They have also scored 24 runs and have cranked 10 homers in their first four games of the 2013 season!  27-year old switch-hitting CF Dexter Fowler has played in all 4 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 6 for 18 (.333 avg, 1.202 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 3 homers and 3 RBIs.  24-year old righty swinging catcher Wilin Rosario is also off to a red hot start for the Rockies in 2013.  He has played in 3 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 6 for 12 (.500 avg, 1.500 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs.  28-year old righty swinging SS Troy Tulowitzki is pounding the ball so far this year, as usual.  He has played in 4 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 6 for 16 (.375 avg, 1.234 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs.  27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is also pounding the ball.  He has played in 4 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 6 for 18 (.333 avg, 1.035 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs.  The Rockies hope that this quartet keeps ripping the ball and they all have the potential to do so.

The Rockies have designated 28-year old righty reliever Will Harris.  Harris pitched in 20 games (0 starts) in his first taste of the majors in 2012 for the Rockies and he was 1-1 with a 8.15 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP.  Harris also pitched in 44 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 4-1 with 1 save, a 2.08 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Rockies as Harris got beat up in his first taste of the show in 2012.

UPDATE:  (4/4/2013) - The Rockies have lost Will Harris to the A’s off waivers.