DENVER -- Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez finds himself precisely, and delightfully, in the middle between apprentice and mentor.

Márquez was a key rotation contributor as the Rockies grabbed postseason berths in his rookie year of 2017 and the following season. His performances in many categories over the last two seasons have been comparable to some of the game’s best. In line for his second career Opening Day start, Márquez is wielding increasing influence among fellow pitchers.

But he listens as much as he talks.

“When I got to the Majors in ’16, I was pretty young,” said Márquez, who turns 26 on Monday. “I learned through those years. This year, I feel like a leader among starting pitchers. But the older pitchers -- Mychal Givens, our closer, Daniel Bard -- those guys are good. They like to talk to the younger players, and I’m still learning every day.”

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Márquez has demonstrated the makings of being a strikeout threat, with 640 in 634 1/3 career innings. In the last three seasons, his 451 2/3 innings pitched rank 10th in the Majors. Keep in mind that the Rockies shut him down with a little more than a month left in 2019, a lost season for the club.

In the shortened 2020 season, Márquez led the National League with 81 2/3 innings while going 4-6 with a 3.75 ERA and 73 strikeouts to 25 walks. The season would have looked better if not for one messy blip at Coors Field -- 10 runs in five innings against the Astros on Aug. 20.

Márquez’s overall marks of 42-30 with a 4.24 ERA in 109 games, with his only three relief appearances coming during his 2016 callup, suggest he is on the verge of earning acclaim beyond the circles of those who truly know.

“The win-loss record wasn’t where I think it’s going to be even this year and long term, but he’s handling his progression over these first four years with great poise, leadership -- and I think he’s just becoming a guy,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “The thing that I like is managers and coaches around the league realize his talent. When other managers, coaches and players start talking about Germán Márquez with the other starting pitchers in the league -- the good ones-- then you know he’s arrived.”

Márquez believes he still has heights unreached.

Most of Márquez’s success has come by beating hitters below the strike zone with two- and four-seam fastballs, his slider and a knuckle curve. For example:

Since 2018, his 282 strikeouts on curves below the zone lead the Majors, and his 373 swings and misses overall on curves rank third.

The graphics here show that no matter whether the batter swings left or right, his fastballs, curves and sliders to his glove side (outside to righties, inside to lefties) are difficult to hit.

What you don’t see, however, is whiffs (the Statcast term for swings and misses) up in the zone, where the four-seamer tails between 95 and 96 mph -- as another way to get to zones he likes.

“I’m looking up in the zone, and if the hitter swings and misses, I can come with my secondary pitch,” Márquez said.

One way of getting there is creating deception by pairing the release points of his fastball and curve -- known as “tunneling” the pitches. It’s something he has managed at a high level in 2020 with his sinker and slider. In fact, there is not much difference between Márquez’s performance last season and that of the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard in 2019, when he was King of Sinker-Slider Tunneling.

The growth area is in melding the release points of the four-seamer, which works high, and the curve, which drops, so the hitter can’t readily detect.

“His growth with mental toughness and simplifying his thinking has helped him immeasurably,” Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster said. “His pitch mix and tunneling have improved as his command has improved.

“Last year, he improved in using his fastball at the top of the zone to certain hitters in certain counts. He is a teachable, adaptable and moldable athlete, and a real joy to coach.”

With the Rockies largely dependent on the rotation as they settle lineup issues, Márquez has shouldered responsibility for passing knowledge. Márquez encouraged righty Antonio Senzatela to use his curve at the end of the 2019 season, and it helped produce a career year in ’20.

Last season, the Rockies were forced to rush Antonio Santos (16.50 ERA in three games, one start) and José Mujica (12.46 ERA in two games). But using the same intuition he used with Senzatela, Márquez is passing on lessons in Spanish. Márquez is from San Felix, Venezuela; his countryman, Mujica, grew up 10 1/2 hours away in Valencia. Santos is from Villa Gonzalez, Dominican Republic.

“They have a strong mentality, and they are smart,” Márquez said. “They have to put the bad things away and keep going. That’s my word to them.”

Márquez’s attitude toward the two less-experienced pitchers is indicative of an approach needed by the Rockies, who started pitcher-catcher workouts on Thursday. Put the numbers aside and focus on the people.

Last year, the Rockies had three of the 17 pitchers in the National League with the lowest run-support average – Kyle Freeland (3.75 average runs), Márquez (4.39) and Senzatela (4.66). But Márquez sees talent in the roster and delights in the prospect of a turnaround.

“The team is still young, and everybody is hungry to play, excited to win,” Márquez said. “This year is going to be really good for us.”