Bettis lasted five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts against the Dodgers on Thursday. Bettis threw 106 pitches over five innings for the Rockies after getting recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque. He gave up a two-run double to Adrian Gonzalez in the first then an RBI single to Brett Anderson in the second and an RBI single to Yasmani Grandal in the fifth. Bettis's next start is scheduled for Tuesday against Philadelphia.

Bettis has been officially recalled and will start Thursday against the Dodgers. Bettis' recall was just a matter of time as he was already announced as the starter Thursday. He's posted a 3.97 ERA and 1.41 WHIP while accumulating 26 strikeouts. A good outing Thursday could lead to another start in the rotation, with only four other pitchers currently listed as part of the rotation.

Bettis will be recalled to start Thursday against the Dodgers, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. The Rockies have chosen Bettis, a second-round pick in 2008, to serve as the team's fifth starter for the time being over the struggling Jon Gray. Bettis' numbers with Triple-A Albuquerque this season are nothing to write home about (3.97 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 26:10 K:BB), and most will want to avoid the right-hander in his 2015 debut even in the pitcher-friendly confines of Dodger Stadium.

With Eddie Butler (shoulder) out of the mix, Bettis could open the season in the major-league starting rotation, the Denver Post reports. Bettis was called back up to big-league camp Tuesday, with Butler being shut down for at least the next couple of weeks. It now seems that Christian Bergman is a lock for the rotation, while the final spot should come down to Bettis and top prospect Jon Gray. In other words, Bettis' fate will be decided by whether or not the Rockies want to maintain an extra year of team control over Gray. Even if the Rockies opt to start Gray in the minors, the talented right-hander will likely be called up in mid-to-late April. Putting it all together and taking Coors Field into consideration, Bettis is arguably the least valuable commodity out of the 150 pitchers that will start the season in a big-league rotation. And, of course, that assumes he even makes the rotation.

Bettis was optioned to the minors by the Rockies on Sunday. Bettis was one of a cadre of pitchers competing for a starting gig with the big club out of spring training, but even after the groin injury to Jorge De La Rosa and the release of Jhoulys Chacin, the 25-year-old still found himself buried on the depth chart. The right-hander fared well in his two Cactus League outing, tossing five scoreless innings while conceding only two hits and two walks, so the Rockies could still view him as a potential contributor later in the season if another starting pitcher is needed. Until an opening arises, however, Bettis will pitch out of the Triple-A Albuquerque rotation.

Bettis (shoulder) will start Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Angels, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. It will mark the spring debut for Bettis, who has been limited thus far in camp due to the shoulder injury. While the right-hander now looks to be fully recovered, he's probably lost too much ground to the likes of Tyler Matzek and Jordan Lyles for the Rockies' final two rotation spots, which Bettis probably never had a realistic shot at winning. After the team experimented with Bettis as a reliever to disastrous results last season, the 25-year-old will pitch exclusively in a starting role this season. He'll likely have to post positive results at Triple-A Albuquerque before receiving another look from the parent club.

Bettis (shoulder) will vie for a starting role with the Rockies during spring training, MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports. Moved to the bullpen last season in an attempt to bolster his chances of sticking with the big club, Bettis was a total disaster, posting a 9.12 ERA while walking 10 batters over 24.2 innings. He hadn't performed much better as a starter for the Rockies in 2013, either, but that won't prevent the organization from attempting one more last-ditch effort to salvage some value from the hard-throwing right-hander. With at least three of the starting jobs seemingly locked up, Bettis will be forced to compete with all of Jhoulys Chacin, Eddie Butler, Christian Bergman, Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson and John Lannan for two spots.

Tests on Bettis' sore shoulder came back negative earlier this week, MLB.com's Cody Ulm reports. Bettis was on track to join the Rockies following his start with Triple-A Colorado Springs in their season finale Monday, but those plans were tabled when he experienced the pain in his shoulder. While manager Walt Weiss acknowledged that Bettis wasn't set to join the Rockies "anytime real soon," he did suggest that the right-hander still has a chance to make an appearance this season. If so, Bettis may just appear in relief rather than in a starting role for the Rockies.

Bettis was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Monday with shoulder tenderness, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. The timing couldn't be any worse for Bettis, who was expected to join the Rockies as a starter following his outing with Colorado Springs on Monday. Now, his status is completely up in the air. While Bettis struggled mightily in 21 appearances out of the major league bullpen earlier in the year (9.12 ERA), he's been far better at Colorado Springs, with a 3.09 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 20 appearances (five starts).

Bettis has moved back to the starting rotation at Triple-A Colorado Springs, MLB.com reports. Bettis made the Rockies out of spring training as a long reliever, but scuffled mightily over 21 appearances, yielding a 9.12 ERA and 2.11 WHIP before he was demoted. The 25-year-old didn't have much success as a starter in the second half of last season with the Rockies either, so the move back to the rotation might not be a cure-all to his woes.