Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin will throw a bullpen session on Thursday in front of coaches, as Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. If the session goes well, Chacin will likely begin a minor legue rehab assignment soon, bringing him one step closer to returning to the big leagues.

It's been a really rough year for Chacin, who was viewed as the Rockies' de facto ace coming into the season. After battling through five awful starts with the Rockies, the 24-year-old was demoted to Triple-A and ultimately placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.

Slowly but surely, Chacin has worked his way back into playing condition, as he already threw a successful bullpen session on Monday. Over the 2010-2011 seasons, Chacin posted a 3.48 ERA with 288 strikeouts and 148 walks in 331.1 innings pitched.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visitRockies blog Purple Row and Diamondbacks blog AZ Snake Pit. And for more news from around baseball, check out Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish.