Monday Matchup Preview/Picks - Week 9
Another weekend of college baseball has come and gone, and as always it did not disappoint. Here I will be choosing some of the top Monday midweek matchups across the board and previewing each one. Since it is a Monday the slate isn’t exactly filled to the brim but there are some certainly some good ones mixed in here. I will be providing a short preview of some of the top matchups this Monday and a quick prediction on how I think the game may go. Pregame odds will also be listed for any picks made.
3:00 PM: Portland (20-13, 6-6 WCC) @ Washington State (18-17, 7-5 Mountain West)
Portland is coming off a series sweep loss at Gonzaga and Washington State just swept Gardner-Webb at home. SS Cole Katayama-Stall has been swinging a hot bat for the Pilots, with a 1.081 OPS on the season. Logan Anderson (4.02 ERA) is the projected pitcher for Portland, as he has made 7 starts this season and did not pitch in the Gonzaga series. Pitcher for Washington State is TBD; Wazzu has started a mix of pitchers in their midweek games and have not been as consistent. Give me Portland to bounce back here in the stateside road matchup. [-175, Draftkings]
7:05 PM: BYU (18-16, 8-7 Big 12) @ Lamar (19-17, 11-7 Southland)
BYU is looking to carry momentum from a huge sweep over the Houston Cougars in Houston into the final set of their 8 game road trip against Lamar. Lamar on the other hand, is coming off a series loss at Nicholls State in which they could only take the last game. Projected pitchers are Nate Gray (5.13 ERA) for the boys from Provo and AJ Kostic (3.86 ERA) for the Cardinals. BYU has looked better recently but has been shaky since starting Big 12 play, I like the home spot and Kostic on the mound for Lamar, should be a great game but I’ve got Lamar here. [+114, Draftkings]
9:30 PM: Arizona (13-22, 5-10 Big 12) @ Arizona State (26-11, 9-6 Big 12)
Gotta love rivalry games! This one should be a packed house as the Wildcats take on the Sun Devils in Phoenix. Arizona State currently leads the season series 3-1 as both teams look to pick up a huge win heading into the home stretch of Big 12 play. Both squads took 2 of 3 in their weekend series’, Zona on the road against TCU and State at home against Utah. I project Collin McKinney to start for the Wildcats (5.56 ERA), while Arizona State spent many arms in their weekend series and their projected pitcher is TBD. Sun Devils outfielder and USA Baseball’s Week 7 Player of the Week Landon Hairston is the player to watch in this game, with a whopping 23 HR and a 1.590 OPS in 150 at bats. Give me the Sun Devils to take this one down [-330, Draftkings], but with there being very little value on this play I would watch for the over if/when that line is released. Games between these two have averaged 14 runs per game so far this season; With both pitching staffs being more spent from this past weekend and one of the best offensive players in the game on the field I absolutely love this play.
