Why the 2025 Colorado Rockies are every bookmaker’s nightmare
During the 2024 season, the Chicago White Sox lost a modern MLB record 121 games — a masterpiece of baseball schadenfreude that no living person had ever seen before. Bettors delighted in regularly fading those White Sox and profited handsomely.
Yet, just one season later, another franchise is giving those White Sox (still near the bottom of the MLB barrel themselves) a run at history. Through 50 games, the Colorado Rockies are an astounding 8-42. That’s a .160 winning percentage that puts them on pace to win only 26 games and lose 136, breaking the modern MLB loss record set less than a year ago.
And as with the 2024 White Sox, bettors are fading the 2025 Rockies en masse and avoiding backing them at all costs.
ESPN BET reports that Colorado has attracted the least moneyline bets of any MLB team this season, while the team playing against the Rockies are a top-three most-bet team on almost any given day. For Colorado’s most recent series with the Philadelphia Phillies, the visiting Phillies were the sportsbook’s most-backed MLB team of the day in three of those four games and the second-most backed in the other.
The Phillies ended up handing the Rockies yet another series sweep, and things may not be getting better for the Denver-based squad anytime soon, as they’ll face a gauntlet of the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets over their next three series.
“We need the Rockies on a daily basis,” Caesars Sportsbook lead MLB trader Eric Biggio told ESPN. “Especially if they’re in a standalone spot where there’s not much other stuff going on, we have to really push the price out to a good level to get any kind of money on the Rockies.”
Since reaching a major-league-long odds of -400 on May 4 on the road against the San Francisco Giants, bookmakers have routinely handicapped the Rockies’ opponents in the -300 range, but to absolutely no avail.
The fades on Colorado keep flowing and for good reason. Even as the team draws big plus-odds each night, a $100 bettor would still be down $2,701, according to Covers.com. Thus, betting against them each night becomes a viable strategy for bettors and a terror for sportsbooks.
“This becomes a bookmaker’s nightmare if this continues to go on for a complete year, because 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 even a very rare -3.5 run line on Friday night, according to ESPN BET lines. Avello notes his book is routinely rising above the standard -1.5 run line given how poor this Rockies team has been. By DraftKings spreads, Colorado is an MLB-worst 16-34 against the run line, even after being underdogs in every single game.
Given the long moneylines, bettors are starting to get creative with how they fade the Rockies. Coors Field has long been a notorious hitter’s park due to Denver’s altitude, making it a clear target for overs on the total. However, with the 2025 Rockies being very lackluster 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,” said Biggio. “It’s not rocket science, but it is turning into a kind of big decision on top of the normal markets for baseball.”
This really came to a head on May 10, when the San Diego Padres came to town and defeated Colorado by a ridiculous score of 21-0. Biggio says that the next day, bettors flooded the market, backing the Padres on the moneyline, run line and team total.
However, then something remarkable happened: The Rockies won 9-3, their seventh win of the season. Biggio says 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 bright spot,” ESPN BET director of North American sports trading Adrian Horton said over email. “However, those wins don’t outweigh the good days for bettors taking whoever is playing against Colorado.”
Barring a huge turnaround for Colorado, the books are likely making some money back on season win total. Before the campaign, sportsbooks set the Rockies’ win total at a consensus 59.5. That’s low, but notably higher than the White Sox’ historically low 53.5. Caesars and DraftKings both report that a majority of money was on the over, citing preseason optimism and general bettor behavior that gravitates to the over.
Since then, books have been consistently dropping that total throughout the season, 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.
During the current monster stretch of the Rockies’ schedule, sportsbooks aren’t likely to get much respite from the beatings they’re taking on a daily basis. However, there is possibly some relief on the horizon. Following this tough section, Colorado gets the NL East bottom-dwelling Miami Marlins and, for July 4th weekend, the Rockies will take on the White Sox in what has to be one of the most strangely anticipated matchups of the season.
“These prices are already out of control as far as what you have to lay to win to win a dollar, so that won’t stop betters from either betting [their opponents] straight or parlaying them,” said Avello. “We have to just weather this storm, though. We can adjust prices, but we just have to wait for a time when maybe they get on track a little bit and win a few games.”
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Max Olson
FRISCO, Texas — A dynamic new quarterback, a new offensive system and two projected first-round picks up front have Utah coach Kyle Whittingham feeling enthusiastic about the Utes’ chances of bouncing back from a disastrous debut season in the Big 12.
Utah was voted No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll last year after joining from the Pac-12, but a brutal run of injuries and inconsistency resulted in a seven-game conference losing streak and a 5-7 finish — the program’s first losing season since 2013.
After weeks of contemplation about his future and what was best for the program, Whittingham, the third-longest-tenured head coach in FBS, decided in December to return for his 21st season with the Utes.
“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham told ESPN at Big 12 media days Wednesday. “It was too frustrating, too disappointing. As much as college football has changed with all the other factors that might pull you away, that was the overriding reason: That’s not us, that’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”
“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating, too disappointing. … That’s not us. That’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on going 5-7 in 2024
Whittingham and Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley conducted a national search for a new offensive coordinator and quickly zeroed in on New Mexico‘s Jason Beck. Then they managed to land Devon Dampier, Beck’s first-team All-Mountain West quarterback, via the transfer portal.
After finishing 11th nationally in total offense with 3,934 yards and 31 total touchdowns and putting up the fourth-most rushing yards (1,166) among all FBS starters, Dampier followed his coach to Salt Lake City and immediately asserted himself as a difference-maker for a program that had to start four different QBs in 2024.
“He’s a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that, if spring is any indication, he’s an exciting player, and we can’t wait to watch him this season. … He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s a leader. Needless to say, very excited to see what he does for us.”
They’ve surrounded Dampier with 21 more newcomers via the transfer portal and will protect him with two returning starters at tackle in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who are projected first-round NFL draft picks by ESPN’s Matt Miller.
“We feel they’re the best tandem in the country,” Whittingham said. “The offensive line in general, I feel, it’s the best since I’ve been there. And that’s quite a statement. We’ve had some really good offensive lines. We’ve got two first-rounders and three seniors inside that have played a lot of good football for us. That better be a strength of ours, and that’s what we’re counting on.”
Whittingham has previously said he did not want to coach past the age of 65. Now that he’s 65, he acknowledges that he might’ve arrived at a different decision about his future had the Utes ended up winning the Big 12 in 2024. He is reenergized about getting them back into contention, but he’s not ready to say whether this season might be his last.
“The best answer I can give you is, right now, I’m excited and passionate about going to work every single day,” Whittingham said. “As soon as that changes, I’ll know it’s time. I’m just counting on knowing when the time is right. I can’t tell you exactly what the circumstances will be other than losing the fire in the belly.”
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Jesse Rogers
The automated ball-strike system is coming to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
MLB officials added the feature to the annual exhibition game knowing it could be a precursor to becoming a permanent part of the major leagues as soon as next year.
The same process used this past spring training will be used for the Midsummer Classic: Each team will be given two challenges with the ability to retain them if successful. Only a pitcher, catcher or hitter can ask for a challenge and it has to happen almost immediately after the pitch. The player will tap his hat or helmet indicating to the umpire he wants to challenge while any help from the dugout or other players on the field is not allowed.
MLB officials say 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it part of the game moving forward. Just 10% expressed negativity toward it.
MLB’s competition committee will meet later this summer to determine if ABS will be instituted next season after the league tested the robotic system throughout the minor leagues and spring training in recent years. Like almost any rule change, there were mixed reviews from players about using ABS but nearly all parties agree on one point: They prefer a challenge system as opposed to the technology calling every pitch.
As was the case in spring training, once a review is initiated, an animated replay of the pitch will be shown on the scoreboard and the home plate umpire will either uphold the call or overturn it. ABS uses Hawk-Eye system technology which tracks the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone, providing an instant assessment which can be relayed to the home plate umpire.
The All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday.
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