Colorado Rockies talk with DraftKings: Early season trends and tips

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Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 08: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies hits a three-run double off of relief pitcher Joey Gerber #59 of the Seattle Mariners that scored Garrett Hampson #1 of the Colorado Rockies, Trevor Story #27 and Ryan McMahon #24 during the fifth inning of a game at T-Mobile Park on August, 8, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

With a third of the MLB season completed, we’ve finally got some gambling patterns and trends from the Colorado Rockies to evaluate.

It’s the first time many of us in Colorado have followed these gamblings trends closely for the Colorado Rockies, so we got on the phone with Fantasy Baseball Analyst Steve Buchanan of DraftKings (follow him on Twitter here) to discuss these Rockies trends.

What’s popping out now? What’s viable going forward? Which Rockie would he take for MVP right now? And what other betting tips can some of us newcomers benefit from?

As Underdogs, the Rockies are Money

The Rockies’ surprising start didn’t just catch all of us fans off-guard, but many bettors who play favorites as well. After Friday night’s game against the Rangers, the Rockies were officially 8-2 on the money line as underdogs, the best in the league.

“Coming into the season the Rockies’ win total was set at 27.5 and I was 100% on the under,” Buchanan said of the Rockies’ hot start and his preseason expectations when we spoke to him on Friday. “The hitting and the offense has been so good.”

That’s exemplified by a nearly double-digit increase in wRC+ from 86 in 2019 to 95 this year. Much has been fueled by Blackmon’s hot start to the season, hitting for a ridiculous 196 wRC+ entering Monday.

“It wasn’t even like he was making good contact, he was just getting the barrel on the ball but who cares?” Buchanan noted of Chuck Nazty’s crazy hot streak.

A great start from the pitching staff has also helped make the Rockies a profitable underdog pick, much improved from their record last year when they were 37-66, easily one of the worst records in the league.

Buchanan’s not sold that this will continue, though. “The problem for me is I don’t think the pitching is going to hold up,” he explained. “They’re giving up a ton of hard contact, that’s where the problem is.”

And if you caught my article last week, you’d see he’s onto something. Each of the Rockies’ starters is getting hit harder more often this year even though they’ve been getting very positive results early on.

“I just don’t see it as a sustainable thing.”

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