I remember early on in the Rockies’ existence wondering what a good baseball player could do playing in Colorado after watching guys like Vinny Castilla and Dante Bichette turning into stars in the light air. I got my answer when Larry Walker came to Denver to play with the Rockies. Walker played 10 seasons with the Rockies appearing in 1,170 games in which he was 1,361 of 4,076 (.334 avg, 1.044 OPS) with 892 runs scored, 258 homers, 848 RBIs and 126 stolen bases. In 1997 Walker won the N.L. MVP Award by putting up eye popping numbers. In that year, Walker played in 153 games in which he was 208 of 568 (.366 avg, 1.172 OPS) with 143 runs scored, 49 homers, 130 RBIs and 33 stolen bases! In his 10 years with the Rockies, Walker was a All-Star 5 times, he won 5 Gold Gloves and he was a Silver Slugger twice. Walker is #2 all-time in games played (1,170), runs scored (892), hits (1,361), doubles (297), triples (44), homers (258), RBIs (848) and walks (584). It’s amazing to me that Walker is #2 all-time in 8 different categories in Rockies’ history especially with as much offense that has happened at Coors Field.

The Rockies have placed starting 1B Todd Helton on the 15-day disabled list with back soreness. Helton has not looked like himself at the plate this season. He has played in 69 games for the Rockies this season and he is 61 of 248 (.246 avg, .646 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. The Rockies have recalled 29-year old righty swinging 1B Brad Eldred to replace Helton on the roster. Eldred has played in 71 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 71 of 266 (.267 avg, .898 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 22 homers and 64 RBIs. Eldred has played in 74 games in his major league career and he is 47 of 236 (.199 avg, .670 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 14 homers and 30 RBIs. But he has some holes in his swing as he has whiffed 93 times in the majors. Eldred and Jason Giambi could platoon at 1B while Helton is out of action.

The Colorado Rockies might be looking for some middle infield help this month. With 2B Jonathan Herrera and Clint Barmes playing so well they might just be looking for a backup who can play both positions. John McDonald, Julio Lugo, Willie Bloomquist, Adam Kennedy, Craig Counsell, Jeff Keppinger and Ronny Cedeno each make sense. The Rockies are sitting at 44-38 which has them five games behind the Padres in the N.L. West. If Herrera starts to slump then guys like Mike Aviles, Mark Ellis, Christian Guzman and Mike Fontenot could come into play. The Rockies don’t need any major changes to compete for a playoff spot this year.

The Rockies have two All-Stars. 25-year old shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 26-year old righty starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez are the two guys. Tulowitzki has played in 62 games this season for the Rockies and he is 72 of 235 (.306 avg, .877 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 9 homers, 34 RBIs and 7 RBIs. He will have to miss his first All-Star Game appearance due to injury. Ubaldo Jimenez deserves to be the N.L. starting pitcher in my opinion despite his recent performance. Jimenez has pitched in 17 games (all starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 14-1 with a 2.27 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has only given up 84 hits in 119 innings pitched so far this season as he has been downright nasty. This will be Jimenez’ first appearance in the All-Star Game.

19-year old lefty starting pitcher Tyler Matzek was a first round pick of the Rockies in 2009. He was also considered the Rockies’ #1 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He is really off to a outstanding start in the minors for the Rockies. He has started 7 games in A-ball this season and he is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has only given up 22 hits in 35 innings so far this season while whiffing 39 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. But he has walked 24 batters as his control will need to tighten up quite a bit before he eventually gets to Denver.