Colorado Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa is set to make his first start since April Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox.

De La Rosa has not pitched in the big leagues since April 26th, an outing in which he lasted just three innings, surrendering four runs.

The season did not treat De La Rosa kindly early on, as he currently owns an ERA over 10.

Without De La Rosa in the rotation, though, the Rockies pitching has fared pretty well (by their standards, at least), owning a club ERA of 4.17, more than a full point lower then their staff ERA in April.

It seems, at least for the time being, that the Rockies pitching staff is better suited without De La Rosa in it.

But manager Walt Weiss claims De La Rosa is trending upwards, despite the numbers in his rehab starts not being as crisp as you would hope.

“Jorge took care of his business in his last (rehab) start,” Weiss told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. “We wanted to see more efficiency, and he did that. We just want him to get back to being who he is.”

De La Rosa struggled in his first two rehab starts, getting knocked out early in both. His third and final start was better, as De La Rosa managed to last seven innings, surrendering four runs in the span.

One average start seemed to be enough for Weiss and the rest of the organization to feel comfortable bringing back the 35-year-old lefty.

Personally, I don’s see the point in bringing De La Rosa back so soon, especially with two of his three rehab starts being rough around the edges.

The Rockies staff has been trending upward ever since De La Rosa went down with injury, which begs the question: Has he earned his spot back in the rotation?

In my mind, if this wasn’t Jorge De La Rosa (arguably the greatest pitcher in franchise history, for whatever that means), he’d still be down in the minors. You can make the case that De La Rosa has been the worst pitcher in baseball this season, and his rehab starts really don’t say otherwise.

Not to mention, it’s not as if the Rockies are in dire need of bodies to fit into their rotation. Chris Rusin, who has been filling in for De La Rosa, has done a solid job owning an ERA of 4.50 this season.

So why mess with a good (or okay) thing? The Rox are taking steps in the right direction. As hard as it may be, it’s time to move on from Jorge. His leash needs to be as sort as possible.