27-year old righty reliever Manny Corpas looks like he’s getting his groove back. He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Rockies so far this season and he is 0-1 with a 1.13 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. Corpas is really pitching well as he has only allowed 8 hits in 16 innings pitched so far this season. The Rockies hope that Corpas can keep this up because he had the look of a breakout pitcher back in 2007. In 2007, Corpas pitched in 78 games (0 starts) for the Rockies in which he was 4-2 with 19 saves, a 2.08 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. But the last two years have been a disaster for him. In 2008 & 2009, Corpas pitched in 111 games (0 starts) for the Rockies in which he was 4-7 with 5 saves, a 4.92 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. If Corpas continues to pitch well the Rockies will start using him later in games soon.

The Rockies have placed lefty Jorge De La Rosa and righty Jason Hammel on the 15-day disabled list. De La Rosa has a torn tendon in his left middle finger which will cause him to miss a while. This will hurt the Rockies as De La Rosa has been one of the better starting pitchers for the Rockies the last couple of years. He has started 4 games for the Rockies this season and he is 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has whiffed 26 batters in 23 innings showing just how good his stuff has been this season. Hammel has a strained right groin. He has started 4 games for the Rockies so far this season and he is 0-2 with a 9.16 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. Hammel hasn’t missed many bats so far this season as he has allowed 28 hits in only 18 2/3 innings so far this season for the Rockies. The Rockies have called up 22-year old righty starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin and righty reliever Juan Rincon to replace De La Rosa and Hammel on the pitching staff. Chacin was the Rockies’ #4 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He will join the starting rotation. He started 4 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has only given up 15 hits in 21 1/3 innings while whiffing 21 batters in AAA this year which shows how nasty he can be. He has already pitched 1 inning of scoreless relief for the Rockies whiffing 2 batters. Juan Rincon was the stopper at AAA this season. He pitched in 8 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 0-1 with 5 saves, a 4.91 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He also has pitched in a game already for the Rockies this season working 1 inning in which he gave up 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned run. I think Chacin will do a good job for the Rockies but they need De La Rosa in particular to get healthy soon.

The Rockies have demoted 27-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Iannetta to AAA and they have recalled 33-year old righty swinging catcher Paul Phillips to replace him on the active roster. Iannetta was off to a very slow start this season for the Rockies. In his first 8 games for the Rockies this year he was 4 for 30 (.133 avg, .569 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 2 RBIs. He just looked uncomfortable at the plate this season as he whiffed 11 times. This move pretty much makes Miguel Olivo the full time catcher as Phillips is nothing more than a backup. Phillips played in 6 games in AAA-ball so far this season and he was 4 of 22 (.182 avg, .445 OPS) with 1 double. He was 0 for 1 in his first game with the Rockies this season. The Rockies hope that Iannetta turns things around soon so he can get back to Denver to help them.

The Rockies have designated 23-year old righty reliever Al Alburquerque for assignment. He pitched in 4 games (0 starts) in AA-ball this season and he was 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA and a 2.31 WHIP. In his two years in Colorado’s minor league system he pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-5 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Rockies needed Alburquerque’s roster spot for 33-year old righty swinging catcher Paul Phillips who has been promoted to the show.

Starting 3B Ian Stewart is really swinging a hot stick right now for the Rockies. He has played in 20 games for the Rockies so far this season and he is 21 of 67 (.313 avg, .972 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. His batting average is a major surprise so far this season and the Rockies aren’t expecting him to hit anywhere near .300 this season. But if he can hit .250-.260 he will be huge asset to the Rockies because of his big time power potential. He played in 147 games last season for the Rockies and he was 97 of 425 (.228 avg, .786 OPS) wtih 74 runs scored, 25 homers, 70 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Rockies think he will eclipse all of those numbers in 2010 because he’s not sharing P.T. with Garrett Atkins this year.