21-year old righty swinging 3B Nolan Arenado came into this season as the Rockies’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Arenado has played in 28 games in AA-ball so far this year for the Rockies and he is 30 for 102 (.294 avg, .782 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 14 RBIs. He has now played in 308 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 360 for 1,195 (.301 avg, .825 OPS) with 166 runs scored, 35 homers, 223 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Rockies have a huge hole at 3B, so Arenado might get his first shot at the show at some point in 2012.

26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is ripping the ball for the Rockies. He has played in 22 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 26 for 89 (.292 avg, .966 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 7 homers, 23 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Gonzalez has now played in 383 games in his first four years with the Rockies and he is 444 for 1,435 (.309 avg, .926 OPS) with 278 runs scored, 80 homers, 261 RBIs and 66 stolen bases. Gonzalez has been hitting well since he came to the A’s on November 10th, 2008 along with closer Huston Street and lefty starting pitcher Greg Smith for outfielder Matt Holliday.

The Rockies have sent 24-year old righty starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin to AAA. He has started 5 games for the Rockies this year and he is 0-3 with a 7.30 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP. Chacin gave up 31 hits (7 homers) and he walked 15 batters in his first 24 2/3 innings while whiffing 22 batters, and those are not good numbers as opposing hitters were running up to the plate with him on the mound. Chacin has now pitched in 73 games (58 starts) in his first four years with the Rockies and he is 20-29 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Rockies will likely call up Chacin quickly if he gets his act back together in AAA.

UPDATE: (5/7/2012) - The Rockies rescinded Jhoulys Chacin’s demotion to AAA and they have placed him on the 15-day disabled list instead due to right shoulder inflammation.

26-year old switch-hitting CF Dexter Fowler has been a tease to this point in his career for the Rockies. In his first four years, Fowler has career highs of 84 runs scored, 6 homers and 45 RBIs. But, he is off to a good start for the Rockies with the bat so far this year. He has played in 21 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 17 of 68 (.250 avg, .805 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Rockies hope that Fowler keeps up the good work.

The Rockies have placed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained right shouder which happened in a bicycle accident. Guthrie has pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 2-1 with a 5.92 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Rockies have called up 28-year old righty starting pitcher Guillermo Moscoso to replace Guthrie in the rotation. Moscoso has pitched in 4 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he was 1-3 with a 7.91 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. But, Moscoso has pitched in 34 games (21 starts) so far in his major league career and he is 8-10 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. I have a feeling that Moscoso is going to do a decent job for the Rockies.