Rockies’ struggles attract bettors⁢ looking to fade them

Updated⁣ May 26,2025

The Colorado Rockies are threatening to eclipse the Chicago White Sox’s futility from last season. Through 50 games, Colorado has stumbled to a 8-42 record, a .160 winning percentage.That puts them on pace for a 26-136 record, which would break the modern MLB mark for ‍losses set just last year.

As with the 2024 White Sox, bettors are capitalizing on ⁢the Rockies’ woes, consistently betting against them.

ESPN BET reports that the ⁤Rockies have drawn the fewest moneyline bets in‍ MLB this season. Conversely, ⁢teams facing Colorado are among the most popular bets on any given day. In⁤ a recent series against⁣ the Philadelphia⁢ Phillies, the Phillies were⁣ the most-backed MLB ⁢team in⁤ three of the ⁢four games, and second-most in the other.

The Phillies ⁣swept the Rockies, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier. Colorado faces the‍ New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs ⁤and New York Mets in their⁢ next three series.

“We need‍ the Rockies on a daily basis,” Caesars Sportsbook lead‍ MLB⁣ trader Eric Biggio told ESPN. He added that the sportsbook⁢ has to push the price out to⁢ a good level to get⁣ any action ⁢on Colorado, especially if they’re in a ⁣standalone spot.

Since reaching⁣ -400 odds on May 4 against the⁢ San Francisco Giants, bookmakers have routinely handicapped the Rockies’ opponents around -300, but to little ‍avail.

According to Covers.com,a $100⁣ bettor would ‍be‍ down‍ $2,701 betting on ⁢the Rockies each night. Betting against them has become a viable strategy for bettors and a headache‍ for sportsbooks.

“This becomes a bookmaker’s⁢ nightmare if this continues for a complete year, as there’s nothing we can do about it,” DraftKings head of sportsbook Johnny Avello‍ said. “We can raise the price, but that’s not going to stop anyone if the teams are that bad.”

Even on the road, the Yankees are laying -300 on the moneyline and -3.5 on the run line friday night, according to ESPN BET lines. Avello noted that‍ his book is routinely rising above⁤ the standard -1.5 run line. By DraftKings spreads, Colorado is an MLB-worst ‍16-34 against the run line, even after being underdogs in every game.

Bettors ‍are also getting ⁢creative with how they fade the Rockies, focusing on the total runs scored. Coors Field is known as a hitter’s park, ⁢but with the Rockies struggling on both sides of the ball, bettors are looking at lots of runs ⁣for just the away⁢ team.

“The people recognize, ‘Hey, the Rockies aren’t scoring much, ⁣the ⁤opposing team is,’ so they’re betting the Rockies team total‍ under and the opponent over,” ⁤Biggio said.

On May 10,the San Diego Padres defeated Colorado 21-0. Biggio said that the next day, bettors flooded the ⁤market, backing the Padres on the moneyline, run line and team total.

Though, the Rockies won⁣ 9-3, their ‍seventh win of the season. Biggio said it was a huge ⁤win for the book, ‍equivalent to an “NFL Sunday kind of ‍decision.”

“Teams playing the Rockies are regularly among the most-bet MLB teams of the day on both the moneyline and run line, so the rare ⁣Rockies win is something of a luminous spot,” ESPN BET director ‍of North⁣ American sports trading Adrian Horton said. “However, those wins don’t outweigh the good days for bettors taking whoever is playing against Colorado.”

Before the⁤ season, sportsbooks set the ⁢rockies’ win total at 59.5. Caesars and DraftKings both report that a majority of money was on the over. Since then, books have been consistently dropping that total, and ⁣it currently stands at 39.5 headed into the weekend⁣ series with the Yankees. Biggio says it’s the lowest in-season win total he’s ever seen.

What’s next

Following their tough stretch against the Yankees, Cubs and Mets, Colorado gets the miami Marlins and then the White Sox for July 4th weekend.