Morning Stock Report: April 9, 2019
Good morning Hilltopper fans, and welcome to the first edition of the Morning Stock Report.
Good morning Hilltopper fans, and welcome to the first edition of the Morning Stock Report.
Long time readers of The Towel Rack know that this is not our first attempt at a regular, daily piece of content. We attempted Topper Today as well as our Offered series, both of which I’d like to bring back in some capacity at some time, but today we are launching something else because I have a problem when it comes to having too many balls in the air.
Get your mind out of the gutter.
Regardless, here’s what you’ll find in each stock report: Something, or somethings, to buy (that are doing well) as well as something(s) to sell (that aren’t doing well).
It’s quite simple and I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it sooner rather than later.
Some days there’ll be lots, some days there’ll be not so much. Hope you enjoy!
If you ever have a stock to report to us, do so on Twitter or Facebook.
Buy
WKU Basketball
The college basketball season isn’t even cold yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to be thinking about it.
In the middle of last night’s game between UVA and Texas Tech, Joe Lunardi graced us all with a way-too-early bracketology and it featured a familiar face.
That’s right — the first official bracketology for 2020 has featured the Hilltoppers and predicts them in a Bluegrass battle if either/both teams can escape into the second round.
Aside from point guard Lamonte Bearden and with the assumption that Charles Bassey one-and-dones for the NBA (though, he has yet to declare), the Hilltoppers return everyone else plus get an eligible Carson Williams (not to mention a, hopefully, Jeremiah Gambrell) and will produce the most productive returning team in the conference (along with UTSA).
While expectations next year will certainly be tempered, the Tops are far from out of the conversation for a tournament run.
Sell
WKU’s Pitching Staff
Through the first 22 games of the 2019 campaign, WKU’s pitching staff was holding their own. Sure, there were some bumps — allowing nine runs in the first game of a doubleheader against Eastern Illinois and eight runs in the series finale, a 15–0 loss to Kentucky and allowing 12 to Memphis — but outside of that the pitching was containable, at least enough so to where the Tops’ offense would be able to score.
But, that appears to be going by the wayside, and fast.
Since March 26 (eight games), the Hilltoppers have allowed:
Nine runs (12–9 win at EKU)
13 runs (13–13 tie vs. Charlotte)
13 runs (13–4 loss at MTSU)
13 runs (13–10 loss at MTSU)
11 runs (11–4 loss at MTSU)
The Hilltoppers have not allowed less than five runs since March 29 in a 5–4 win against Charlotte.
WKU’s 6.12 ERA is the worst in Conference USA (UAB is the next worst, with a 5.46 staff ERA) while having played the second fewest games in the conference (the Tops have turned in 30 outings — only Southern Miss, who leads the league in ERA, has played fewer).
The Tops also own the conference’s worst opponents batting average (.296), second most wild pitches (39), third-most hit batters (43) and second-most earned runs allowed.