Lames: Rocky Mountain cry, the downfall of Jorge De La Rosa

With steel sword in hand and plumed helmet on head, the Conquistador, Jorge De La Rosa(notes), entered the season on a quest to discover the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. After a jaw-dropping post-break performance the year before (10-2, 3.46 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 9.60 K/9), bountiful riches awaited him in 2010.
Unfortunately, his path to eternal wealth has been paved with potholes, not metallic bars. A finger injury and string of disastrous performances have beset the popular mid-round pick. Owners who invested heavily expecting a career year have suffered from an embarrassing case of Montezuma's Revenge. Suffice it to say, Kaopectate sales in Fantasyland have soared.
More trash than treasure, Colorado's Coronado has failed to reach the mythical heights pundits and optimistic managers placed on him preseason. Since returning from the DL on July 9, the southpaw has been rocked, surrendering 11 runs in just 7.2 innings. A deadly mixture of high walks and long-balls has ballooned his ERA to Blackburn-esque proportions. Nearly destitute, the once respected pitcher appears to be on the brink of defeat. Understandably, impatient owners scratching and crawling for every point have flushed the troubled hurler away. Jim Tracy is considering a similar move. From MLB.com:

The strong performance kept Jhoulys Chacin(notes) in line to return to the rotation, which is a possibility if left-handers Jorge De La Rosa or Jeff Francis(notes) continue to struggle …
"He's continuing to be very consistent and pitch the way he was pitching as a starter," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "We are at a point in time in our season where you fish or cut bait, do one of the two, and you've got a guy sitting there in that bullpen who was a part of the starting rotation when we lost three-fifths of it.
"If he continues to push the envelope, and we continue to get inconsistency in other areas of our rotation, your hand gets forced."

From a superficial perspective, most would label De La Rosa done. His control problems combined with a spotty track-record are damning indicators. Jeff Francis' spectacular outing on July 20 is yet another chink the armor. However, the Mexican import shouldn't be used as a pinata just yet.
Underneath the surface, there are numerous encouraging signs. Though the sample size is small, he's actually given up fewer fly-balls and coaxed more groundball outs this year (2.00 GB/FB). An increased reliance on changeups in place of curves explains why he has, for the most part, generated weaker contact. In truth, the Reds' bombardment a week ago has overshadowed the improvements.
So why the earned run binge?  
DLR's deplorable play could simply be a case of excessive rust. But, pouring over the stats, decreased slider accuracy is the most plausible explanation. When he located the pitch properly a season ago, bats were missed, walks declined and homers were few and far between. Unfortunately, this year, the opposite has been true. As a result, players have made more and often harder contact against him over the inner portion. If he can lean more on his two-seamer and attack hitters aggressively earlier in counts – a formula he noted was the reason behind his breakout last year – another spectacular late-season stretch could be on the horizon. Since he is a free agent after this season, money motivation could also play a major factor.
It's been a rough expedition for the Conquistador, but fantasy fame and fortune may lie just ahead.