Is Daniel Murphy actually healthy? Is his finger messing with his swing? If so, shouldn't he go on the IL?
-- Adam H., Colorado

In 20 games since returning from an avulsion fracture of the left index finger, Murphy has hit .183 with two home runs (in his third and fourth games back in the lineup) and 13 strikeouts (including six in his last 11 at-bats). That is not the performance of someone who came to the Rockies with a career .299 batting average.

Murphy and the doctors decided against surgery, which would likely have lengthened his absence. He is wearing a splint that keeps the finger in a certain position and tries to prevent other bumps to the bone. Murphy recently said, “As long as I have my splint on, I’m continuing to heal while I’m playing.”

Do fractures really heal while swinging the bat or catching throws, sometimes digging them out of the dirt, especially from strong-armed infielders such as Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story?

When Murphy is right, the team needs him for his stingy at-bats, so his presence on the active roster is understood. But if rest and healing is the only way for him to contribute with measurable production, the team will have to make that difficult decision.

One problem is the quality of depth is not there.

Pat Valaika hasn’t gotten his big league footing yet, and brief stints from Josh Fuentes and Yonathan Daza showed they needed more preparation. I believe Garrett Hampson will be of help, but the Rockies would be smart not to recall him until after he’s had some regular playing time at Triple-A Albuquerque.

New hitting coach this year, same ridiculous amount of strikeouts. What gives?
-- @Crl770, Colorado

The Rockies, who went with Dave Magadan as hitting coach this year, have struck out 444 times this season, which through Sunday was fourth-most in the Majors, and they had played fewer games than the three teams ahead of them.

Is some of it pitching? Sure. The most alarming clusters have come against two unfamiliar American League staffs with strikeout-proficient pitchers (Rays and Red Sox). The Rockies also whiffed quite a bit against the Phillies (66 times in nine games). In fairness, the strikeouts were not as glaring before the current road trip through Boston and Philadelphia.

The frequency of the K's has also fluctuated during the course of games. For a few innings, the whiffs pile up, but in most games, there is an inning or two when the at-bats are stingier and batters recognize when to take a walk. The Rockies will have to figure out how to string together the latter with more consistency.

Usually, the lineup has included two to three hitters on the young side, meaning some combination of David Dahl (48 strikeouts), Raimel Tapia (37), Ryan McMahon (31) and recently called up prospect Brendan Rodgers. Of that crew, only Tapia’s .550 slugging percentage somewhat offsets the strikeouts. The others can improve the lineup by putting more balls in play in damaging ways.

What’s wrong with Kyle Freeland? Is he hurt? What’s up with his lack of command this year?
-- @Cjameson93

After challenging for the National League Cy Young Award last season, Freeland decided to make some tweaks to stay ahead of hitters. Batters knew he liked to work “glove side” (inside to right-handers, outside to lefties), so he wanted to develop a two-seam fastball against righties and a changeup against lefties to reach the “arm” side of the plate.

The problem is, Freeland's main pitches -- a four-seam fastball and a cutter-slider -- aren’t reaching the spots they reached last year. The two 2019 Statcast charts below, one on the four-seam fastball, the other featuring cutters and sliders, show just how much damage can be done when he misses -- which has happened too often.

Should the Rockies go out and sign some pitchers or trade for one?
-- Vance

In June last year, Colorado experienced a pitching blip. The starting rotation’s ERA spiked, and the bullpen struggled with the hitters they faced as well as inherited runners. The reaction was to coach their way out of it. Pitching coach Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes enlisted director of pitching operations Mark Wiley and Minor League co-pitching coordinator Darryl Scott (who had worked with much of the staff in the Minors). From late June to season’s end, the Rockies led the NL in several pitching categories.

The success hasn't materialized, but the belief that it will is there, Foster says.

“There is quicker ability to get application and understanding,” Foster said. “For me, that comes from relationship and trust. That takes time to build. I think we’re there. As guys struggle, you look for ways to help them. The things we do as coaches is challenge them with all the things that we do, from mechanics to what they’re thinking, why they’re doing what they’re doing.

“They’re not always going to be good. They’re not always going to be great. They have to fight and keep the right attitude.”