| Updated:2024-05-02 19:39 Views:194 |
The Chicago Cubs didn't get off to the best start this season, dropping a couple of games in Texas, but have since recovered to take their next three in short order.
Behind one of their brightest young talents, can Chicago make it four in a row and complete a sweep of the Colorado Rockies at home?
Let's get into how to bet Rockies vs Cubs on Wednesday.
Check out our MLB Betting Hub for more previews from today's slate.Colorado Rockies PredictionIt's a great time to be a baseball bettor, because Cal Quantrill is back in the league. After a horrid 2023 campaign saw him demoted to Triple-A and released soon after, the Rockies decided to pick up the once promising right arm at the age of 29 and see what he's got left.
Well, it wouldn't appear there's much hope to this point. Quantrill took his poor 5.24 ERA to the minors last year only to allow 15 runs in 22 2/3 innings, and with his new team he started off last week by allowing five on nine hits over five innings in a loss to the Diamondbacks. The big thing here for Quantrill is the two home runs and, of course, the collection of hits.
The right-hander had one of the worst expected batting averages in baseball last year at .291 and the season prior to that was near the top of the league with 21 homers allowed.
His strikeout rate, meanwhile, has gone from average just four years ago to one of the worst in baseball at 13.1% a season ago, and if you just use some logic here you'll see there are absolutely no redeeming qualities to Quantrill considering there are no easy ways for him to get outs.
Offensively, while it's early, things are once again looking bleak for the Rockies. While they're not dead-last in the league in runs scored, this team is dead-last in the league with a 46 wRC+ and has frankly been done in by a lack of walks and power.
Strikeouts were a huge concern a year ago, but so far things haven't been all that dire in that department. Of course, Kris Bryant is the main source of strikeouts in this lineup, and so far he's hitless in 16 at-bats. Things will have to improve on that front for Colorado to look competent, at the very least.
Reliever Luke Little will get things started here for the Cubs before handing the ball off to young Ben Brown, who will for all intents and purposes be making his first career start — or at the very least be given the ball for the first extended period of time in his big-league career.
An injury to Justin Steele forced Chicago's hand in calling up one of their top prospects, and the team decided to use him out of the bullpen on Saturday to keep him on his throwing schedule as he was slated to start that day down in Triple-A.
What started off as a solid debut with a ho-hum first inning quickly turned south for Brown. He watched a line drive pop out of Christopher Morel's glove at third, then painted a fastball at 98 on the black outside only to see it nubbed down the left-field line for a double.
From there, he was squeezed on a 3-2 call on a fastball which hit the inside corner, saw a ground ball hit off of his foot for another run, and eventually he allowed a home run to Josh Jung — who he'd struck out the inning prior — ending his night on a disastrous note.
Brown's track record in the minors has been nothing short of impressive, and it's pretty easy to blame Saturday's outing on one very weird inning which simply got away from him as the nerves eventually set in thanks to a series of unfortunate events.
Brown's got some excellent strikeout upside with a nasty fastball-slider combination and has only really been done in by walks, something that shouldn't be an issue against Colorado given what we've seen so far this season.
Rockies vs. CubsBetting Pick
When the Cubs have put the ball in play this season, good things have happened. They rank atop the league through the first week and change with a .383 xwOBA, thanks to the best xBA in the bigs at .289 and a spicy .479 xSLG. They're also striking out at the second-lowest clip in baseball and walking at the best rate in the league at 12.9%.
Some of these numbers are surely inflated due to the fact that they've been fortunate enough to play the Rockies twice, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a very disciplined and talented offense which made a huge push for the playoffs a year ago before time simply ran out.
Behind what should be a much cleaner outing from Brown against the worst offense in baseball, I expect Chicago to jump out to a big lead early against perhaps one of the worst starters in the game.
Rockies vs Cubs Prediction: Cubs First Five Innings -0.5 (-132)MLB Picks Today | Odds, Preview for Cardinals vs Padres, Tigers vs Mets, More (Wednesday, April 3)Read now
