MLB team owners are famous for putting a positive spin on the state of their franchises. Rockies futures at legal sportsbooks are greatly at odds with the sales pitch of Colorado owner Dick Monfort this season.
Monfort said he expects his team to win 94 games in 2020. The opinions of oddsmakers are quite different, however.
Where the Rockies futures currently sit at sportsbooks
Two of the future legal sportsbook operators in Colorado are DraftKings and FanDuel. Both could be available as soon as May 1 in the state.
While it will be early in the MLB season, fans should have some idea of the quality of Colorado’s squad this season at that point. Because the two opinions are so different, either Monfort or the sportsbooks will appear to be correct.
There’s no stronger example of how different those opinions are than the Rockies’ win expectancy for the season. DraftKings sets that at just 72.5, while FanDuel gives Colorado one more win.
That’s a far cry from 94 wins. Monfort could be right about one thing, however. That might be how many wins the Rockies need to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers as National League West champions.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel expect Los Angeles to win another division title. They differ greatly, however, on the lines for Colorado doing that instead.
FanDuel has its action on that bet sitting at +7000, while the same bet would pay out +3300 on DraftKings right now. Both of those books also favor the Dodgers to win the NL pennant.
FanDuel has the better line on the Rockies winning the NL pennant at +7500. DraftKings’ line on Colorado winning the World Series this year is superior, however, at +15000.
The New York Yankees are the odds-on favorite to win that title at both books. To get anywhere close to that distinction this season, the Rockies need everything to go right.
The path to 94 and more wins for Colorado this season
As Colorado has been quite inactive during the offseason, the Rockies’ hopes for making Monfort look smart simply rely upon everyone playing better. That may prove difficult if Colorado trades its best player, third baseman Nolan Arenado, this season.
Shortstop Trevor Story should continue to be dynamic when healthy, but beyond his contributions, there may not be much of a story. The Rockies posted a league-worst 5.87 team earned run average this season, partially thanks to its bullpen allowing more home runs than any other team in the NL.
While Colorado mostly stood pat, the team the Rockies will have to stare down in 2020 got better. The Dodgers acquired outfielder Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox and also added pitcher David Price in the same trade.
Because it was a salary dump move for Boston, Los Angeles didn’t have to part with any of its top four pitching prospects. Not only are the Dodgers the best team in the NL on paper, but they are the team that the Rockies will have to go through in order to make these futures bets pay off.
Because the Rockies have to face Los Angeles and an improved Arizona Diamondbacks team 38 times during the coming season, the under on the win expectancy looks like a good bet. Monfort’s optimism, while easy to understand because of his position, appears very misplaced.
