Chad Hartsock

Consultant

Chad is a teacher and minister by training, and a fantasy sports enthusiast and sports bettor by hobby. Chad lives in the Great Smoky Mountains, and he especially loves NCAAF, NFL, NCAAB, and MLB. Chad has been handicapping for Pickswise since 2022.

Live Picks 2

Live Parlays 0

Weekly News Articles 0

Location

Tennessee

Favorite Sports

Favorite Teams

Greatest Betting Win

I have two favorite betting memories. My favorite bet, and my biggest single win, was the 2022 Super Bowl exact result–Rams over Bengals. I placed the futures bet at the beginning of the playoffs when both teams were the #4 seed, and it carried something like +1500 odds. Those playoffs were fun.

Greatest Achievements

As a proud Baylor alum, it would have to be betting on Baylor basketball to win the 2021 national championship. I do not blindly back my team, but Baylor was an underdog to Gonzaga and I saw that win coming, so I emptied my account on it.

Education

Chad has a bachelor’s degree from Carson-Newman University, a masters of divinity from Baylor University, and an Ph.D. in biblical studies from Baylor University. He taught at the college level for 11 years (thus earning the nickname “the Professor” in some betting circles). Chad has published two books and numerous academic articles, but sports writing came along later, first as a hobby and now as a daily activity.

Experience

Chad has been playing fantasy sports since 2003, and betting for as long as it has been legal in Tennessee. Chad also loves casino sportsbooks and table games, and he frequently turns up at Harrah’s in Cherokee NC or the Hard Rock Casino in Bristol VA. He began his handicapping career with friends on a small website and podcast in 2021 (the now-archived ScoopAndScoreSports.com, a venture that fizzled out because none of them knew how to run a website properly.) He joined the Pickswise team in 2022, and he writes college football, college basketball, and MLB. Chad has been among the team’s best pickers in each of those sports, and he loves nothing more than getting a pick right for the Pickswise community, especially when the public is going the other way.

Favorite betting market / type

Same Game Parlays & Player Props.

Favorite bookmakers

Chad's Picks

Money Line Pick

PHI Phillies Win(+105)

Reasoning

The Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres play again on Tuesday following a 3-0 Phillies win on Memorial Day. The Phillies have now battled their way back to .500 after a terrible start to the season, and they are only a half game behind the Nationals for 2^nd place in the NL East now. The Padres trail only the Dodgers out west, and we probably aren’t paying enough attention to their success. They have been winning almost entirely with pitching, as the offense has been bad. Both Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill are hitting well under .200, and Tatis has still yet to hit a homer this season. I am not super interested in trusting Aaron Nola tonight, but I do think the Phillies are the right play. I’ll take Philadelphia on the Money Line.

If you are going to beat the Padres, you better be ahead after 6 innings, because you do not want to deal with the high-leverage arms coming out of that bullpen. The starters have been good too though, chief among them is Randy Vazquez. Vazquez has an ERA under 3.00 and has been a gem for this Padres team. Still, I think he is outperforming his metrics by quite a margin, and it feels like regression is coming. On the other side is Aaron Nola. The 32-yr old will hand in the occasional strong start, but for the most part, he is scuffling, giving up damage, and not going deep into games. But if he is going to limit someone, this struggling Padre offense could be it. I am going to back the Phillies in this one, especially at plus money, and trust that they can keep winning.

Phillies vs Padres Prediction: Phillies ML (+105) available at the time of publishing. Playable to +100.

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Chad Hartsock

Money Line Pick

TB Rays Win(-115)

Reasoning

The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles face off again on Tuesday after the Orioles slugged out a 9-7 victory on Monday. That game took 13 innings, and it was 2-2 at the end of 9. Both starters were nearly flawless, and it took ghost runners to finally kickstart these offenses. It is hard to say how that will carry forward into Tuesday, whether tired players, sluggish bats, or stressed bullpens, but both starters will likely be expected to go as deep as they can. These teams also played last week, a series that the Rays swept at home. In general, I would prefer not to bet against Tampa these days, so I am taking the Rays on the Money Line.

On the mound will be Griffin Jax for the Rays and Shane Baz for the Orioles. Baz is a former Ray who is making his way with the O’s now, and he has been good for them. Last week against his former team, Baz tossed 6 innings of 1-run baseball and allowed only 2 hits. As for Jax, he has worked out of the bullpen until 2 weeks ago, so his pitch count is still quite limited. But his 2 starts have been good, both going 5 innings and allowing only 1 run across those starts, including a start against Baltimore last week. There probably isn’t much advantage on the mound, but Tampa’s surprisingly strong offense and the way they constantly put pressure on the opponent is just fun to watch, and I think they win a lot of games they probably shouldn’t. There is a reason they have the best record in baseball, and I will keep backing them.

Rays vs Orioles Prediction: Rays ML (-115) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -130.

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Chad Hartsock