Oddsmakers now say Rockies have shortest odds at making history
Apr 8, 2024, 5:43 PM
Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies have never been the worst team in Major League Baseball but that could change in 2024.
The Rockies are off to a 2-8 start, only the Miami Marlins have a worse record through Sunday. The Marlins had plenty of offseason turmoil but they did make the postseason and most still expect them to be better than the Rockies. Coming into the year plenty of folks thought Colorado would repeat their first 100-loss campaign with another disaster season and the start is just an indication of that. But because of the first 10 games, the projections for the next 152 are getting even more bleak.
According to a sportsbook, the Rockies are now the most likely team in Major League Baseball to finish as the worst team in the sport. Colorado, while often bad, has never been the worst. Right now oddsmakers have the Rockies at +210 to be the season’s worst team followed by the White Sox at +270, the Athletics at +280, the Nationals at +490 and the Marlins at +2700.
Odds to be MLB’s worst team in 2024:
Rockies +210
White Sox +270
Athletics +280
Nationals +490
Marlins +2700.
Why are the Rockies so bad?
The Rockies are so bad that almost everyone thinks the soon-to-be moving A’s will finish ahead of them. The A’s were nine games worse than the Rockies last year at 50-112 and they are more or less tanking in order to dismay fans so their relocation can go over more smoothly.
Most think Colorado is even worse than that and the club’s MLB-worst -34 run differential hints at why. The Rockies so far have allowed 11 more runs than the league’s scored worst defense (Miami, 65) and few are bullish on the team’s staff. Both German Marquez and Antonio Senzatelaa will miss major time coming back from Tommy John Surgery because of injuries last season. This has led a motley crew of starters led by Kyle Freeland to take the bump. The injuries to the few proven big league p9tchers combined with odd reclamation projections like Cal Quantrill plus some veterans from the bullpen that were traded away at the deadline and no replacements and Colorado’s staff is one of the worst in recent baseball history.
And on the other side, the Rockies offense has started the season about fourth-worst according to wRC+, an all-encompassing adjusted stat that they’ve finished bottom five in baseball in each of the last four seasons. While Nolan Jones and Ezequiel Tovar may be developing young stars in the lineup, the Rockies have the 11th oldest group of position players in the league hinting at no team-wide development jump coming.
Simply, the Rockies just do not have a ton of talent on their roster or a ton of prospects in the high minors likely to have a serious impact on the club right away.
And the oddsmakers aren’t alone. Fangraphs now has the Rockies win total projection bouncing around 60, which would rival the club’s worst record of 59 wins, just a season ago.
