Weekday College Ball

[Mr. Poon]

Updated Record: 15-17 for +1.45 units

One play today:

Cal State Fullerton +110 (@ Arizona State) for 2 units - #1 Titans travel to take on the #3 Sun Devils for 2 midweek games, don't get many good non-conference matchups like this at this point of the season. Kyle Witten is starting for the Titans. He has a 4.74 ERA in 24 2/3 IP. Witten carries a 1.34 WHIP, has 20 K's and opponents have hit .289 against him. Witten started the year as Fullerton's Saturday starter and made 5 starts in that spot. He wasn't terrible but wasn't great as shown by his stats. He was bumped from the weekend rotation for the first time this past weekend in part becuase of the emergence of Freshman pitcher Noe Ramirez. This is similar to the play I had last week of taking Ohio St.'s Friday starter against a mid-week starter for Miami. Keep in mind that though Witten didn't have great stats, Fullerton has the #1 SOS, so he's faced tough competition. ASU is a tough team, but I think he can handle them. The offense's of these two clubs are pretty comparable and there isn't a clear edge for either. The bullpen edge in whole goes to Fullerton and even more so when you consider ASU's main relief pitcher (Lambson) had a long outing on Sunday and likely won't appear until tomorrow.

GL guys.

 

[Mr. Poon]

Fullerton gets the win 7-5. Witten did decent but definitely not great. Fullerton's pen was pretty solid besides a 2 run homer given up in the 9th.

Updated record: 16-17 for +3.65 units

 

[Mr. Poon]

Two plays today:

Cal State Fullerton +115 (@ Arizona St.) for2 units ? going with the Titans again today. As stated yesterday, the offenses are pretty even in my mind. Kevin Rath will be the starter for Fullerton. In limited action this year (8 1/3 IP) he has a 6.48 ERA; a 1.80 WHIP and opponents have hit .222 against him. Rath is a power pitcher as he has 12 K?s, but has issues with his control as he has walked 9. Rath started a game last year against ASU and got beat up, but ASU was much more potent offensively last year and not many pitchers fared well against them. There isn?t a named starter for the Sun Devils, as the expected starter (Franzblau) pitched 4 1/3 innings last night. Whomever starts for Arizona State will be making their first start of the year and of their Sun Devil career. This play today has a lot to do with the bullpens and the fact Fullerton has more depth there. Add to that ASU?s pen worked 7 1/3 innings last night compared to Fullerton?s 6, and that the top 3 relievers for the Sun Devils saw action and it tips the scales even more in Fullerton?s favor.

Georgia +100 (@ Clemson) for 2 units ? #6 Georgia looks for the 2 game sweep after winning last night at home 6-5. Starting pitching matchup is pretty even, with a slight edge to Georgia. Clemson has Junior Justin Sarratt going (5.00 ERA; 1.06 WHIP; .232 opponents avg. in 18 IP). Georgia counters with Freshman Chase Hawkins (3.52 ERA; 1.37 WHIP; .274 opponents avg. in 15 1/3 IP). Neither are strike-out pitchers (8 and 7 K?s, respectfully), but that hurts Clemson more as you need a power pitcher to really attack Georgia?s bats in my mind. Sarratt has given up 5 HR?s this season which doesn?t bode well going against an offense that belts almost 2 per game. Hawkins has only allowed one extra base hit (a 2B) so far. Bullpens are pretty even in my mind, though Clemson did use more of their top relief guys last night compared to Georgia. Georgia has the distinct advantage offensively making this a play.

GL guys.

 

[Mr. Poon]

1-1 yesterday for nill. Georgia wins 4-2 and Fullerton loses 3-1. Arizona State threw me for a loop as they pitched two of their weekend starters to throttle the Titans. Would not have made it a play if I had known that, but oh well.

No games today, but I'm going to start looking into the weekend series as there are several intriguing ones.