36-year old lefty swinging starting 1B Todd Helton is off to a very slow start this year. He has played in 55 games for the Rockies this year and he is 49 of 192 (.255 avg, .684 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. Helton has played 14 years for the Rockies appearing in 1,867 games in which he is 2,183 of 6,698 (.326 avg, .985 OPS) with 1,244 runs scored, 326 homers and 1,213 RBIs. I blame the Humidor and Helton’s age as the reasons he’s not hitting like he used to. The Rockies can’t make the playoffs with Helton hitting like he is right now so they need him to wake up…..and soon!

35-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt was awesome last season for the Rockies pitching in 32 games (0 starts) in which he was 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.78 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. But Betancourt has been nowhere near as good this season for the Rockies. He has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 1-1 with a 5.48 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Betancourt has only walked 3 batters this season while whiffing 27 batters in only 21 1/3 innings so his stuff has been there. But he’s not missing enough bats as he has given up 28 hits already this season. I think Betancourt will get his act together soon because his major league track record shows it will.

Righty swinging outfielder Dante Bichette benefitted of playing for the Rockies before they started putting game balls in the Humidor. He was a 4-time All-Star with the Rockies and he also led the league in hits twice and RBIs once. Bichette played in 1,018 games in his 7 years with the Rockies and he was 1,278 of 4,050 (.316 avg, .892 OPS) with 665 runs scored, 201 homers, 826 RBIs and 105 stolen bases. Bichette is #4 all-time with 1,018 games for the Rockies. He is also #5 in batting average (.316), #6 in OPS (.892), #3 in runs scored (665), #4 in homers (201), #3 in RBIs (826), #3 in stolen bases (105), #3 in doubles (270), #10 in triples (18) and he is #9 in walks (226) in Rockies’ history. Bichette was definitely aided by playing half of his games at Coors Field but he was still a really good baseball player regardless.

37-year old righty swinging outfielder Jay Payton is playing well in AAA for the Rockies this year. He has played in 47 games this year in which he is 51 of 162 (.315 avg, .819 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 26 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Payton last played in the majors in 2008 with the Orioles. He has now played in 1,239 games in his major league career and he is 1,145 of 4,119 (.278 avg, .747 OPS) with 558 runs scored, 119 homers, 521 RBIs and 46 stolen bases. The Rockies are deep in the outfield but if Payton keeps hitting well he will likely get a call at some point this year to return to the show.