⚾️ Shohei Time
Happy Friday and summer. It's Eric.
It’s also National Hydration Day, created in honor of the late youth and high school football coach Victor Hawkins, who invented a special hydrating mouthguard to keep his players healthy. Drink some water to celebrate Hawkins, and stay hydrated.
This newsletter is 1,325 words — a 7-minute read.
💪 QUICK HITS
🎯 Everyone loves Shohei Ohtani, but he isn't tipping his free-agent hand.
🔥 LSU has momentum for the NCAA baseball national championship.
🚪The Cleveland Cavaliers opened an NBA door for Emoni Bates.
🍿 💎 Diamond Cut
Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023 MLB season, and the rumor mill is already heating up.
😇 Halo effect: The Angels say they won't trade him as long as they stay in contention, but should they?
✅ The Japanese designated hitter-pitcher is the best two-way player in the major leagues since Babe Ruth and one of the most must-see athletes in pro sports today.
✅ Ohtani, who’s making $30 million in salary this year and is the highest-paid player in baseball (counting endorsements), leads the American League in home runs (24) and RBI (58) and is 6-3 in 15 starts on the mound with a 3.13 ERA and 117 strikeouts.
✅ When he becomes a free agent, the MLB superstar could be the first $50 million per year player in baseball history and command a $500 million or $600 million contract.
🧢 Thinking blue: It won't be easy for the Angels to keep him. Besides the cost, Ohtani's heart might be on the other side of Southern California. He isn't tipping his hand, but the Los Angeles Dodgers wanted Ohtani as an 18-year-old out of Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan, and they still are big fans.
🤔 No easy decision: If the Angels keep Ohtani, they could make the playoffs, but their odds of winning the whole thing aren't great.
Texas Rangers -165
Houston Astros +170
Los Angeles Angels +1100
Seattle Mariners +2400
Oakland Athletics +25000
Tampa Bay Rays +200
Texas Rangers +440
Houston Astros +500
New York Yankees +750
Minnesota Twins +1200
Toronto Blue Jays +1200
Baltimore Orioles +1600
Los Angeles Angels +2000
Atlanta Braves +370
Tampa Bay Rays +450
Los Angeles Dodgers +470
Houston Astros +950
Texas Rangers +1000
New York Yankees +1600
San Diego Padres +2000
Toronto Blue Jays +2500
San Francisco Giants +3000
Minnesota Twins +3000
Philadelphia Phillies +3200
Arizona Diamondbacks +3200
Baltimore Orioles +3500
Los Angeles Angels +3500
🙏 A lot or a little: If the Angels let Ohtani walk in free agency, they would only get a draft pick in return for his departure. If the Angels trade him, they could get a massive haul for the American League MVP favorite.
Shohei Ohtani -500
Aaron Judge +2500
Marcus Semien +4500
Wander Franco +4500
Corey Seager +4500
Bo Bichette +5500
Ohtani won the AL MVP in 2021 — just the third Angel to win the award after Don Baylor (1979) and Vladimir Guerrero (2004) — but Ohtani lost the 2022 AL MVP to Aaron Judge and wasn't happy about finishing second.
🌎 Show him the ring: Ohtani wants to win a World Series title more than anything. His best bet might be with a team other than the Angels.
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🏆 Quote du Jour: Prepare Like a Champion
“I tell them this 365 days a year, every year, that we are working off a mindset that we expect to be here, that we expect to be playing important baseball in June. When we are playing on a Tuesday in March against McNeese State, that is a playoff game for us. And the thought process behind that is if you do that all year long, then you can stay in character when you get to the postseason."
—LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson, on treating every game the same, after beating No. 1 seed Wake Forest 5-2 to stay alive in the 2023 Men's College World Series. The next night, LSU outlasted Wake Forest 2-0 in 11 innings, winning on a Tommy White walk-off home run against Camden Minacci to advance to the MCWS finals and become the first team to hand Wake Forest consecutive losses this season.
👀 Omaha Production
The SEC isn't just good in football. The Men's College World Series is down to Florida (-110) and LSU (-110) for all the marbles. Florida went 3-0 to get to the championship series in Omaha. LSU had to fight, claw, and go long to beat Wake Forest twice and advance. Take the Tigers.
RELATED COLLEGE BASEBALL STORIES ON STADIUM TALK
🎧 Listen Up
💰Future value: Betting Predators MLB analyst Dalton Brown looks at the MLB futures market, identifies value bets, and explains how to approach sportsbook promos.
⛳️ Traveling men: Betting Predators podcast host SleepyJ and Uncle Dave Essler talk Travelers Championship and give their picks. Chris Dell shares all his intel as well.
📈 Number of the Day: 8 feet (96 inches)
That is Victor Wembanyama's wingspan. The San Antonio Spurs took the 7-foot-5 Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Wembanyama is the second-tallest player to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft (Yao Ming, 7-6, in 2002). He also is the first player drafted No. 1 overall without a college background since Andrea Bargnani in 2006 and the second top-10 draft pick from France, joining Frank Ntilikina (8th in 2017).
🧠 Sports Betting Tip
Bet golf with strokes gained data.
While betting outright winners and long shots for Top 5s and Top 10s is fun to do, we are looking to gain an edge after Round 1 is played. We're talking about Rounds 2, 3 and 4, where we can get a true glimpse of how a golfer is performing (or not performing) on a given round/day. Using strokes gained statistics from round to round, we can target highly advantageous matchups based on our strong buys and our strong fades. —Chris Dell, Golf, Betting Predators
🔽 From No. 1 to No. 49
Emoni Bates went from top high school recruit to second-round pick (No. 49 overall) of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2023 NBA draft. "I was ranked No. 1 in the country starting in sixth grade all the way up to my senior year in high school. It was a lot at times," Bates told Yahoo Sports of his journey. "But for me, it was just all about getting better each and every year and obviously the opinions and narratives changed from that time. … I’m just trying to get through the door and get a chance at this point. I just want to go into my rookie year and show that I belong. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life, so for me, I’m just going to continue to stay in the gym and work and not worry about any noise or expectations people have for me anymore."
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👉 Thanks for reading: Now, go have yourself a day.
If you have any questions or issues, please email us at bettingpredators@gmail.com.