Colorado welcomed September roster expansion, adding OF-R John Barnes, RHP Shawn Chacon, LHP Randy Flores, OF-L Ross Gload, IF-R Jose Ortiz, UT-R Ben Petrick, UT-R Jason Romano, and LHP Cory Vance to the team.

The Rockies grabbed Barnes off waivers from the Twins in September of 2001. He possesses decent plate discipline with a little power, but generally doesn't have any skills that would make him stand out against Colorado's other outfield options. At AAA Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League this season, he hit .286 with a .340 OBP and .442 SLG on 77 H, 20 2B, 2 3B, and 6 HR with an 18:16 BB:K and 5/9 SB% in 269 AB. There won't be many at-bats available for the 26-year-old this month, but he might pinch-hit a couple times or grab a late inning in the outfield.

Chacon lost his roster spot to Brian Fuentes in late August after losing his place in the rotation to Aaron Cook. Last season, Chacon performed well despite only 24 innings of AAA experience. This year the 24-year-old experienced a substantial drop in dominance, compiling a 67:60 K:BB with 122 H and 25 HR allowed in 199.1 IP for a 5.73 ERA. Although he missed a month with a strained pectoral muscle in the first half, an injury doesn't seem the cause of his decline, so he should be able to rebound next season.

Cook joined the team in early August and worked out of the bullpen for a few games before grabbing Chacon's rotation spot. Colorado drafted Cook out of high school in the second round of the 1997 draft. He's progressed slowly through their system prior to this season, spending a season-and-a-half at both A Asheville in the South Atlantic League and A+ Salem in the Carolina League. The Rockies sent him to AA Carolina in the Southern League to start 2002, but promoted him to AAA after he compiled a 58:19 K:BB in 95 IP with 73 H and 4 HR allowed for a 1.42 ERA over 14 starts. Cook made 10 starts at AAA Colorado Springs, compiling a 32:18 K:BB in 64.1 IP with 67 H and 6 HR allowed for a 3.78 ERA before the Rockies brought him up to the big leagues. Over 5 starts in 9 appearances, the 23-year-old allowed 41 H and 4 HR with a 14:13 K:BB in 35.2 IP for a 4.54 ERA in the majors. However, Colorado plans to shut down Cook for the rest of the season as he's thrown a career-high 195 innings this season. He's starting to look tired and the Rockies want him to retain his rookie status next season.

Mike Hampton will miss a second start this week due to a strained ligament in his left foot. Denny Neagle has "floating bodies" in his elbow but doesn't plan to miss a start. However, the Rockies have no intention of using Chacon to spot start and haven't used him in relief since his call-up, so I doubt he'll pitch again this season.

Randy Flores will take Hampton's start. Colorado picked up Flores off waivers from Texas in mid-July. The Rangers never should have attempted to remove him from their 40-man roster. While the Rangers experimented with moving Flores to the bullpen, Colorado had him make seven starts at AAA, in which he compiled a 27:18 K:BB with 36 H and 1 HR allowed in 35.2 IP for a 3.28 ERA. His control problems appeared to diminish in relief, so the Rockies should probably return him to that role. As a starter, Flores is mediocre at best.

Victor Santos will make Aaron Cook's start. At the end of July, the Rockies promoted Santos from AAA, where he owned a 134:43 K:BB with 147 H and 17 HR allowed in 118 IP for a 5.72 ERA. Aside from a start on September 14th, Santos worked as a reliever in the majors, compiling a 20:18 K:BB with 28 H and 3 HR allowed in 20.2 IP for a 9.15 ERA. Although his AAA command and dominance are quite impressive personal bests, his hits and homers indicate a problem even at that level. Consequently, while's he's an acceptable choice as a spot starter for a non-contending team, he really doesn't deserve a full-time major league position.

Despite the improved batting average, Gload's skills regressed at Colorado Springs this season. He hit .314 with a .338 OBP and .514 SLG on 139 H, 28 2B, 6 3B, and 16 HR with an 18:59 BB:K and 9/13 SB% in 442 AB. The 26-year-old is Colorado's left-handed pinch-hitter this month. Gload needs to show improvement in the minors before earning a regular major league position.

Jose Ortiz hit the DL in mid-June with a strained left hamstring. Unfortunately, while on a rehab assignment for the hamstring, he tore the medial meniscus in his right knee, requiring surgery and another recovery period. The Rockies weren't overly happy with his performance prior to his injury and chose to have him work out at a variety of positions while on rehab, hoping to make him into a more flexible player. With Todd Zeile a free agent, the team has contemplated using Ortiz or Petrick at third. This month Ortiz will split time at second with Brent Butler and make a start or two at third base.

Although the idea of Petrick at third was discussed, he didn't actually appear at the position in AAA. However, he did reassert his offensive skills, hitting .321 with a .406 OBP and .600 SLG on 85 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, and 16 HR with a 40:77 BB:K and 10/16 SB% in 265 AB. He could easily make the team next season as a utility player, as he's out of options. He'll grab some games in the outfield this month since the Rockies don't want him distracted by catching.

Romano's probably sixth in line for playing time in Colorado's outfield right now and their third choice at second base. He'd be an interesting candidate for third, though he didn't spend any time at the position this season. The Rockies will likely give him a thorough look this month in order to make plans for next season.

Colorado drafted Vance out of Georgia Tech in the fourth round of the 2000 draft. After a full season at A+ Salem in the Carolina League last year, he advanced to AA Carolina in 2002. While at AA, the 23-year-old compiled a 114:76 K:BB with 142 H and 8 HR allowed in 150.1 IP for a 3.77 ERA. He's not ready for the majors, but he needs to be added to the 40-man roster, so he might as well come up for a visit. I suspect he might receive a spot start at some point in the last couple weeks if the Rockies' rotation remains this tenuous. Vance should probably return to AA for at least a portion of next season and definitely needs a full year at AAA.

In early August, the Rockies extended manager Clint Hurdle's contract through 2004 with club options for 2005 and 2006. While I like him better than some managers, he seems prone to favorites and somewhat indecisive. However, the structure of the contract seems to insure a suitable audition and allows for either easy extension or replacement.