The Colorado Rockies are one of the most fascinating stories in Major League Baseball.
When you look at their season record of 40-51, it’s about what was expected for a team that gave away its best player in Nolan Arenado. But when you look at the season splits for the home and away record, that’s the story of the 2021 Rockies. Quick side note: How ironic would it be if they finish with a better record than the St. Louis Cardinals (44-46)? And it could absolutely happen.
Colorado is 31-17 at Coors Field. Only the Chicago White Sox match the 31 victories at home.
On the road, the Rockies are 9-34.
Colorado’s struggles on the road are no secret, but that is nuts. Even the Arizona Diamondbacks, owners of the worst record in baseball, have 11 wins on the road. Though to be fair, in the Rockies’ six road games prior to the All-Star break, they went a miraculous 3-3.
Will the Rockies buy or sell at the trade deadline?
Now that the All-Star Game festivities in Denver are completed, what’s in store for Colorado in the second part of the season? What should fans betting on the Rockies expect?
Colorado starts the second part of the season on Friday at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Unless there’s some magical fairy dust laying around Coors Field, the Rockies won’t contend this season. They’re 18 games back of the surprise San Francisco Giants (more on them later). That makes it far more likely Colorado are sellers at the trade deadline on July 31. And if you watched the Home Run Derby on Monday night, the talk of a Trevor Story trade will only heat up.
As Lenny Estrin, SportsBetting.com lines manager, said to PlayColorado on what lies ahead for the Rockies:
“Hopefully many more wins. But, of course, the Rockies will eventually have to make some difficult decisions regarding trade pieces and minor league call-ups. You never know, but in that division, it’s tough to see them doing anything but dealing and rebuilding.”
Rockies betting interest increases
Two months into the season, Estrin said that Colorado MLB betting interest was non-existent on this team.
In fact, he said nobody would touch the Rockies with a 10-foot pole. Not even the value players.
That’s no longer the case.
According to Estrin:
“The Rockies create some decent value in certain matchups, and the sharper players will back them on those occasions.”
In terms of the biggest surprises from the first half of the MLB season, there are two that stand out for Estrin. The first of which may get some celebration.
“I think the fact that the Yankees are tied for fourth in their division is quite surprising,” he said. “Also, the fact that the Giants started the season with 100/1 odds and now they’re in the top tier of World Series favorites.”
MLB betting advice post All-Star break
What’s always fascinating is the biggest liabilities for sportsbooks, and in this case, World Series betting. Estrin said that the two teams SportsBetting.com does not want to win the World Series are the Cardinals and Dodgers.
As it stands now, that’s highly unlikely to happen for Arenado and his new team.
Again, it would be quite ironic if the Rockies finish with a better record than St. Louis. And that’s entirely possible.
As for what to expect in the second part of the season, Estrin offered up some great betting advice.
“Bettors should always remember that this is a long season and overachieving teams and underachieving teams usually regress back to the mean.”
