SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. • The Rockies’ starters ended 2022 with the second-highest ERA in MLB.

They believe 2023, despite having the same five guys on the mound, will be different.

They know they need to be better if the team has any chance of competing and have made it a point of emphasis since the first day of camp.

“I thought the starting pitchers would be a strength of our team,” Black said on the first official day of spring training. “We fell short of our standards. I think all those guys are ready to set the record straight about our rotation. ... I think those guys are all in a better place mentally and confidently and with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder to perform like they are very capable of.”

A look at the five who enter the season as part of the rotation:

Germán Márquez

His comeback starts with an opening day start. An All-star in 2021, Márquez took a step backward in 2022, ending the year with a 4.95 ERA. He never lost his confidence, he said, but was still disappointed in his performance. The key for him is his fastball release point — they’ve identified that if he stays behind the ball and doesn’t let his wrist tilt he’ll be more consistent. His control grades are good, but he still makes too many mistakes across the middle part of the plate.

Kyle Freeland

Fresh off a strong performance in the World Baseball Classic — where he pitched six innings for Team USA giving up two runs — Freeland is expected to be slated right behind Márquez. His best stuff came in 2018, when he finished fourth in Cy Young voting in his second year in the majors. He did fine last year, and was the Rockies best pitcher with a 4.53, but believes he has more in him. He spent part of his WBC experience learning from legends like Adam Wainwright, picking up cues on how to take his game to the next level.

Austin Gomber

Gomber makes his return to the rotation after spending the second half of last season in the bullpen, partly due to his performance and partly due to load management. He was dealing with some arm trouble, and by the time he was feeling better the team needed to keep him in the bullpen due to injuries to their left-handed relievers.

He’s had a full spring to ramp up, though, and has made mechanical changes that he thinks will help him finally solve the puzzle that is pitching at altitude.

He’s experimenting with throwing out of the stretch, which he thinks makes everything smoother and cleaner. Gomber’s also added leg strength to take some of the stress off his arm.

José Ureña

The Rockies picked Ureña up in May of last season and he spent July on as a part of the rotation. He had some stellar outings, like when he pitched six shutout innings against the Pirates, as well as some bluffs, like when he gave up nine runs against the Pirates in 1 1/3 innings. The Rockies, though, saw enough from him to bring him back on a one-year, $3 million deal with a club option for 2024, a cheap contract that won’t hurt the bank if it doesn’t work out. Ureña has focused on his breaking ball this spring, trying to stimulate where it can fit in with his two-seam and four-seam fastballs.

Ryan Feltner

The least-experienced of the crew, Feltner will be entering his second major league season. He developed a new slider midway through last season and his pitch mix isn’t set, the Rockies are still trying to get him to simplify his plan. His spring training results haven’t been great — he gave up eight runs against the Royals on March 18 — but they are hopeful that condensing that pitch mix will help him. He had a 5.83 ERA in 19 starts last year.

Depth options

Antonio Senzatela, recovering from a torn ACL, is expected back in May and should get his spot back in the rotation.

Peter Lambert, Noah Davis, Karl Kauffman and Connor Seabold are set to start the season in Triple-a. Seabold in particular has stood out this camp, and could be brought up as a long reliever option if there isn’t a starter opening.