Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin left his last start on Thursday against the rival Arizona Diamondbacks with a left oblique injury. Chacin left the game after tossing his 100th pitch of the night in 6.1 excellent, scoreless innings (only three hits and one walk allowed with five strikeouts). His oblique was described as “stiff”, and he needed to be re-evaluated yesterday in the form of an MRI.

We don’t know whether or not the Rockies will place Chacin on the disabled list, but Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports that Chacin will miss his next scheduled start on Wednesday and “maybe more”. If the Rockies do decide to place Jhoulys Chacin on the disabled list, then Saunders adds that Tyler Chatwood would be the starter called up. Some believe that Drew Pomeranz could be the one to fill in for Chacin, but we do know that Chacin won’t be pitching against the Atlanta Braves.

It’s difficult to envision Chacin not landing on the disabled list, so Rockies fans should be prepared to see Chacin on the shelf briefly with the oblique injury and Chatwood on his way up. So far this season, Chacin has been absolutely terrific with a meager 1.46 ERA and an excellent 0.89 WHIP in 24.2 innings. He’s 3-0, and the 25-year-old right-hander has only given up 16 hits thus far. Hopefully, the oblique injury doesn’t affect Chacin when he comes back, because he’s been off to a dream start to the 2013 season.