A reborn Jorge De La Rosa takes the mound Friday night in Atlanta as the Rockies emerge from the all-star break. There is hope that De La Rosa and his four comrades can lift the Rockies to a better place in the second half of the season.

It’s a novel concept, this idea that Colorado’s starting rotation can be a building block. After all, the Rockies used eight starting pitchers who were a combined 29-35 with a 5.07 ERA in the first half. Only Cincinnati’s 5.29 ERA was worse in the National League.

But, at least in the eyes of manager Walt Weiss, there is talent and stability on the mound going forward.

“The best I’ve had here, no doubt,” said Weiss, who’s in his fourth season as manager. “It gives me a lot of optimism about the second half, having these five guys healthy, taking the ball every fifth day. I really like where our rotation’s at.”

It’s not exactly the Dream Team, but Colorado comes out of the break with De La Rosa, Chad Bettis, Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson and Tyler Chatwood lined up to start. The five have combined for a 4.59 ERA, but that’s misleadingly high when De La Rosa’s elevator-like season is taken into account.

De La Rosa was 1-4 with an 11.41 ERA to begin the season when he was banished to the bullpen. Under the tutelage of bullpen coach Darren Holmes, De La Rosa rediscovered what he does best — using his fastball to set up his diabolical split-finger changeup. Using the formula, De La Rosa posted a 2.61 ERA in five starts after returning to the rotation.

“He’s got a great (split-finger) changeup, but I think hitters were starting to sit on it,” Weiss said. “And the other stuff wasn’t showing up, but now he’s gone back to his mix. We are seeing him steal some strikes with his curveball, and the fastball’s been good for him. … He’s a master at being able to minimize damage.”

Colorado’s best, most consistent pitcher has been Chatwood, who returned this season after his second Tommy John surgery. Chatwood’s 1.30 ERA in eight road starts is the best among National League pitchers who have enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. At Coors Field, however, he’s been lackluster, going 3-5 in with a 5.32 ERA.

The right-hander missed two starts with a back strain suffered in mid-June, and he admitted that the back issues affected him upon his return.

“I just don’t think I have pitched well since I hurt my back,” he said Sunday after needing 93 pitches to get through five innings in a 10-3 loss to Philadelphia at Coors Field in the final game before the break. “I haven’t found my rhythm. That’s no excuse, I just haven’t pitched good.”

The Rockies hope that some time off will get Chatwood right again.

While Chatwood is not an overpowering pitcher — he averages just 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings — Gray has emerged as one. The rookie right-hander is averaging 9.6 strikeouts per nine nine innings, thanks to what Weiss calls his “wipe-out slider.” But it’s Gray’s improved fastball command and willingness to throw his curveball that are lifting him to the next level.

Bettis remains an enigma. He was 2-1 with a 3.77 ERA in April, but followed what up by going 2-3 with a 7.02 ERA in six May starts. According to Weiss, Bettis is at his best when he uses all of his pitches, mixing in his curveball and changeup with his fastball. The right-hander did just that in his last start before the break. He pitched 6⅔ innings, charged with two runs on seven hits. He walked just one and struck out five.

Anderson, the rookie left-hander, has provided the Rockies with a boost. Though he’s just 1-3 in six starts (he has not received much run support), he has a 3.03 ERA. His 1.5 walks per nine is excellent and he’s also averaged 8.1 strikeouts per nine. He doesn’t blow hitters away with his fastball — it averages only 90.4 mph, according to FanGraphs — but he deftly mixes it with an 80.7 mph changeup that keeps hitters guessing.

In his final game before the break, Anderson picked up his first major-league victory and also collected his first hit and first homer. Still, Anderson was disappointed in his performance on the mound, admitting he lacked command of his pitches. The fact that he was still able to maneuver through six innings spoke volumes about his maturity.

“That’s how you can tell that a guy is a big-league pitcher,” catcher Tony Wolters said. “Tyler was able to get the job done when he had hardly any command of his pitches. He grinded though it and we got the victory.”

Five Guys

Here’s how the starting rotation stacks up as the Rockies come out of the all-star break:

Pitcher Games/Starts Record ERA WHIP LHP Jorge De La Rosa 14/11 5-6 5.74 1.55 RHP Chad Bettis 18/18 7-6 5.65 1.5 RHP Jon Gray 15/15 5-4 4.67 1.17 LHP Tyler Anderson 6/6 1-3 3.03 1.26 RHP Tyler Chatwood 16/16 8-5 3.29 1.29

* Walks plus hits per inning pitched

Looking Ahead…

Rockies LHP Jorge De La Rosa (5-6, 5.84 ERA) at Braves RHP Lucas Harrell (1-0, 1.32), 5:35 p.m. Friday, ROOT; 850 AM

De La Rosa has put up a cool 2.61 ERA since being reinstated to the rotation June 14. The Rockies are counting on the veteran left-hander to help stabilize the rotation in the second half, but he’s also entering the final months of his two-year, $25 million contract. That means he could be on the trade market, especially if the Rockies continue to fall out of the wild-card race. Two contending teams that could use a veteran lefty are the Royals and the Mets. De La Rosa, however, has the power to nix any trade if it doesn’t suit him. Harrell, who pitched in Korea last season, is coming off a strong start, allowing one run in 7⅔ innings against the Cubs before the all-star break. That was good enough to earn him another start.

Saturday: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (7-6, 5.65 ERA) at Braves RHP Mike Foltynewicz (3-3, 3.67), 5:10 p.m., ROOT

Sunday: Rockies RHP Jon Gray (5-4, 4.67) at Braves Julio Teheran (3-8, 2.96), 11:35 a.m. ROOT

Monday: Rays LHP Drew Smyly (2-10, 5.47) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (1-3, 3.03), 6:40 p.m., ROOT