The Colorado Rockies get some respect in MLB odds as they have a talented pitching staff and a solid young lineup. Their MLB lines took a hit recently though as starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa was put on the disabled list. Not many people are familiar with De La Rosa but he has been the best pitcher in baseball over his last 26 starts. MLB odds still list Colorado as a contender in the National League but in the short time they are going to miss De La Rosa. “He will be DL’ed. He’s going to be out for a while. We have to be cautious. We don’t want to lose him for the season,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. De La Rosa is 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA this season. He will be replaced on the roster by Jhoulys Chacin. Replacing De La Rosa will be next to impossible. He is 19-4 over his last 26 starts. “We have to find a way to get through it. Rarely are you going to get through a season using just 25 bullets. Luckily for us, we have great ammo in Colorado Springs,” starter Aaron Cook said.
The news doesn’t get any better for Colorado in MLB lines as pitcher Jason Hammel is also going on the DL. Esmil Rogers could be a candidate to make some starts for Colorado. He allowed just one run in 10 innings in the minor leagues.
Just how much respect does Colorado get in MLB odds? Their odds are lower than the Dodgers to win the National League West. The Rockies are right with the Giants as the favorites to win the division. In the National League the two favorites are Philadelphia and St. Louis but Colorado is right in the mix. The Rockies made the playoffs a year ago and they look just as good this season. They can’t afford to lose a pitcher like De La Rosa for long though. He has simply been dominant for Colorado recently. The Rockies can survive for a while but to keep pace with San Francisco they will need to get healthy. What has helped the Rockies early in the season is that no one in the National League West has played that great. San Diego was actually leading the division for a while and not many people considered them any kind of threat this season.