Colorado Rockies: 3 positives heading into the All-Star break

The Colorado Rockies enter Sunday’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 43-49 mark and 18.0 games behind the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

On the surface, there’s not a lot to like about those numbers. However, if you dig a little deeper, the Colorado Rockies are entering the All-Star break with a bit of momentum and hope about what the second half of the season might bring.

Some of that hope rides on the fact that the Rockies are just six games out of the final NL Wild Card slot plus, by securing series wins in their last three series, they have separated themselves from the Arizona Diamondbacks and the division cellar.

Here are three positives the Colorado Rockies can look to for hope as the All-Star break looms

First, the roster addition of starting pitcher José Ureña has been a boost

In his three starts with the Rockies so far this season, the 30-year-old right-hander has posted a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 innings of work. That includes six shutout innings at Coors Field on Saturday against the Pirates as the Rockies went on to post a 2-0 win.

Ureña came to the Rockies after being designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers in early May. He only pitched out of the bullpen for the Brewers in four games earlier this season and was stretched back out to have enough of a pitch count to be a starter (something he did for seven seasons with the Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers) once acquired by the Rockies.

“It was a little tough because you feel like you wasted a little bit of time,” Ureña said after Saturday’s win, referring to his time getting stretched out in the minors before getting called up by the Rockies. “But you have to keep your mind right and do the best you can when you get the opportunity.”

That opportunity has come with the Rockies and Urena is making the most of it. His next start is scheduled for Saturday … in Milwaukee against the Brewers.

Second, Kris Bryant is making a difference

Heading into Sunday, the Rockies have played 92 games, so they are well past the halfway point of the season. Kris Bryant, the player that manager Bud Black has repeatedly said is an integral part of the lineup this season, has seen action in just 32 of them. Dealing with back issues for most of the first three months of his time in a Rockies uniform, Bryant watched from the sidelines as Colorado struggled.

However, since coming back from the injured list on June 27, Bryant has shown exactly what he can do for the Rockies at the plate, slashing .356/.415/.627 with eight extra-base hits (including four home runs) and eight RBI. As our writer @SABRSkeptic pointed out on Twitter, Bryant’s impact on the team, on and off the field, can’t be overlooked.

“He’s arguably, when he’s right, our best offensive player,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “When you go through every team and identify that guy, then take him out, what does that lineup look like? When you put him back in, what’s that look like?”

That’s exactly what Colorado is asking heading into the rest of the schedule. Bryant won’t be participating in the All-Star Game, so he’ll head to Milwaukee fresh and healthy for a four-game series against the Brewers where the Rockies have the opportunity to continue their recent momentum.