DENVER — Removing his C/R ballcap to show a freshly shorn head of hair, his trademark reddish mop trimmed down to a more professional look, Rockies starting pitcher Eddie Butler reflected on his previous season in the big leagues.

Was there a point in 2015 when your confidence was broken?

“Oh, yeah,” Butler said with a laugh.

Coors Field will do that to a man who makes a living on the pitching mound. It is no place for the faint of heart or the weak of mind – emphasis on the latter.

At the risk of sounding like a scratchy, broken record, the biggest issue facing the Rockies is the one we love the most: Coors Field. Need proof their struggles to build and sustain quality pitching is largely due to their home ballpark? After 12 games at Coors Field and 12 games on the road, the numbers don’t lie:

-Home ERA: 7.22

-Road ERA: 3.45

-Home record: 4-8

-Road record: 8-4

Finding more comfort on the road than at home is an unusual place to be, but the Rockies always have been an unusual operation. After losing five straight at Coors to close a homestand, the Rockies hit the road for a three-game sweep in the friendly environs of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Ask around, and the Rockies’ pitching issues at Coors Field seem to be more mental than physical. Look no further than the two pitchers most closely associated to their future: Butler and Jon Gray.

Butler is scheduled to start Tuesday, and it will come on the road, at San Diego.

“The first game at home I gave up (to) the first four hitters groundball singles,” Butler said. “The guys behind me were saying, ‘Hey, look: Keep getting groundballs. They’re going to find us.'”

Gray has the “stuff” to succeed anywhere. His 10-strikeout performance against the Dodgers on April 22 included a slider that might be illegal in some states. It’s also fair to question whether the 24-year-old righty has the mental makeup to survive the onslaught of offense inherent with pitching at Coors. He rattles easy.

How does Gray’s composure now compare to his rookie season?

“I just think he’s more efficient in the way he thinks and the way he operates out on the mound,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss told me. “I think at times things got a little fast for him. He’s working on some things mechanically and trying to add another pitch this spring. I think there were a lot of things running through his head when he was out there competing.”

When the Rockies opened a series at San Diego on Monday they could look up in the NL West standings and see an unfamiliar sight: No one. Colorado stood in first place, alongside a pair of .500 ballclubs, the Dodgers and Giants. Their early season has included the storybook emergence of shortstop Trevor Story, the NL rookie of the month, and the continued climb of third baseman Nolan Arenado, who drops jaws far more often than he drops groundballs. But it’s pitching that will determine if the Rockies will hold the state’s attention until Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch and the rest of the Broncos take the stage in August.

I asked Butler for the toughest challenge in leaping from the minors to the big leagues.

“The quality of pitches it takes to get guys out. At AA you still get away with pitches in the middle of the zone. They’re not quite as refined hitters, whereas these guys have been around,” Butler said. “They make you pay when you miss. That’s the biggest thing is executing your pitches. It’s what we’re always talking about: ‘You can’t control the results. Control what you can.'”

By altering the dimensions of Coors Field to make it a more pitcher-friendly home park, the Rockies would earn greater control over their future.

Here’s another batch of fresh stats to illustrate the problem that is Coors Field, and the solution that is going on the road. Through 12 road games, the Rockies starting pitchers fashioned a 6-2 record and 3.11 ERA. During a six-game homestand last week, Colorado’s starters went 0-3 with a 9.72 ERA.

When this season is over it will be time to address the ballpark — beyond raising the fences in right-center field and hoping for good luck.

Twitter: @bypaulklee