34-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt has accepted arbitration from the Colorado Rockies. Betancourt pitched in 61 games (0 starts) last season for the Rockies & Indians and he was 4-3 with 2 saves, a 2.73 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 403 games (0 starts) in his seven years in the majors and he is 26-23 with 18 saves, a 3.16 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. The Rockies have to be happy to have Betancourt back as he will be a solid set-up man for Huston Street in 2010.

26-year old righty closer Huston Street of the Colorado Rockies finished in a tie for 25th in the MVP Voting in the N.L. with Justin Upton and Ryan Zimmerman. Street pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he was 4-1 with 35 saves, a 3.06 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He only allowed 43 hits in 61 2/3 innings last season for the Rockies while whiffing 70 batters showing that he has adapted well to both Coors Field and the National League. Street has now pitched in 311 games (0 starts) in his 5-year major league career and he is 25-13 with 129 saves, a 2.91 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The Rockies have finally found the lockdown type closer that they have been looking for in Street.

If the Rockies decide to go with three starters in the first round of the playoffs, Jason Marquis will likely be pitching in long relief. That just doesn’t seem fair when you consider that he started 32 games so far this season in which he is 15-12 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Rockies would likely go with Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook and Jorge De La Rosa in the first round of the playoffs as the starting pitchers. Jimenez by far has the best stuff as he started 33 games in which he was 15-12 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Aaron Cook is coming back from an injury. He started 27 games for the Rockies this season and he is 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The lone lefty will be Jorge De La Rosa who is having by far the best year of his major league career. He has pitched in 32 games (31 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 16-9 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. If the Rockies make it past the first round of the playoffs then Jason Marquis will rejoin the starting rotation.

34-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt has been nasty since coming over in a trade with the Cleveland Indians. He has pitched in 27 games out of the pen for the Rockies and he is 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.77 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. He has only allowed 13 hits in 20 1/3 innings for the Rockies while whiffing 22 batters showing just how nasty his stuff has been. Betancourt will have a key role late in games down the stretch for the Rockies who are trying to sew up the Wild Card.

23-year old lefty Franklin Morales is doing a fine job filling in for the injured Huston Street as the Rockies’ closer. Morales has pitched in 32 games (2 starts) for the Rockies this season and he is 3-1 with 6 saves, a 2.75 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Morales has whiffed 36 batters while only allowing 25 hits which shows how nasty his stuff can be. But he needs to tighten his control up a bit as he has walked 18 batters already this season. Despite Morales pitching so well out of the bullpen his future still likely lies in the Rockies’ rotation.