Is something wrong with Josh Collmenter?

Josh Collmenter labored through Spring Training before being placed on the DL with a shoulder injury in late March. Now, he’s laboring through the minor leagues as he inches closer to his return.

In two rehab appearances totalling 3.2 innings of work at the Single-A level, Collmenter has allowed seven hits and five earned runs. That equals out to a 12.27 ERA. Ouch.

It’s hard to tell if these numbers will have any impact on Collmenter once he returns to the majors. Sometimes, pitchers will look to refine only one pitch per rehab outing. So if some pitchers want to improve their change-up, they will throw only change-ups. It’s unclear if Collmenter is doing this, however.

Collmenter struggled equally in his Cactus League outings, holding a 9.69 ERA in 13 innings of work. This is alarming, especially since he has never had a regular season ERA eclipse the 4.00 mark. He was initially slated to return to the Diamondbacks during the team’s current nine-game road trip, but this looks to be in question now. It could take him a little bit longer to come back– how much longer remains to be seen.

The Diamondbacks’ 2014 Opening Day starter is expected to make another rehab appearance tomorrow. Arizona can really use him in the bullpen, where Collmenter had a 1.89 ERA in 32 games last season. The Diamondbacks have the seventh-best bullpen ERA baseball at 3.98, so there is plenty of room for improvement on this front.

Despite the struggles, he is still expected to return to the major league roster, a place where he has been a fixture since the team last made the playoffs in 2011.