Little League World Series Picks And Preview
Gambling on the Little League World Series can be a twisting, wild roller coaster ride. It’s a bunch of 12-year-olds in Williamsport, PA, with the best youth baseball equipment known to man. Most kids don’t have a problem putting the bat on the ball, but when it comes to fielding it and making a clean throw: you may have a better chance at placing $10 on a roulette wheel and choosing the correct number than making Little League World Series picks.
Simpletons may ask, ‘Why do it’? When sports are on ESPN and ESPN2 at noon or 3:00 Eastern, there are definitely worse things to do with money. This article includes the Little League World Series betting odds and my analysis of them.
My name is Noah Bieniek, and I’m the host of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network’s The College Baseball Experience. Luckily, I have a track record of betting on amateur baseball at the college and LLWS levels. In 2021 Taylor North Little League from Taylor, Michigan, won the LLWS.
I reside just 40 minutes from Taylor and was very plugged into that team. Honolulu Little League won the LLWS in 2022, which was my pick to win in this article a year ago. Lastly, listeners/readers and I were up almost five units on one-unit bets during the 2023 College World Series alone.
Little League World Series Picks And Preview
Little League World Series Participants
Here are the 20 teams attending Williamsport this year and the Little League World Series.
United States
Great Lakes: New Albany Little League; New Albany, Ohio
Metro: Smithfield Little League; Smithfield, Rhode Island
Mid-Atlantic: Media Little League; Media Pennsylvania
Midwest: Fargo Little League; Fargo, North Dakota
Mountain: Henderson Little League; Henderson, Nevada
New England: Gray New Gloucester Little League; Gray, Maine
Northwest: Northeast Seattle Little League; Seattle, Washington
Southeast: Nolensville Little League; Nolensville, Tennessee
Southwest: Needville Little League; Needville, Texas
West: El Segundo Little League; El Segundo, California
International
Asia-Pacific: Kuei-Shan Little League; Taoyuan, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)
Australia: Hills Little League; Sydney, Australia
Canada: North Regina Little League; Regina Saskatchewan
Caribbean: Pabao Little League; Willemstad, Curacao
Cuba: Bayamo Little League; Bayamo, Cuba
Europe-Africa: South Czech Republic Little League; Brno, Czech Republic
Japan: Musashi Fuchu Little League; Tokyo, Japan
Latin America: San Francisco Little League; Maracaibo, Venezuela
Mexico: Municipal de Tijuana Little League; Tijuana, Mexico
Panama: Activo 20-30 Little League; Santiago de Veraguas, Panama
How To Watch and Bet on The 2023 Little League World Series
The games will be played at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Little League Volunteer Stadium from August 16th to August 27th. The games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC and will be streamed for free on the ESPN app, Hulu, and FuboTV. Currently, there are no available Little League World Series betting odds. Last year BetOnline, Bovada, and BetUS all offered LLWS betting markets, and rumors are that they will offer game-by-game odds again this year.
Wednesday, Aug. 17
Europe-Africa vs. Panama, 1 p.m., ESPN
Mountain vs. Metro, 3 p.m., ESPN
Japan vs. Cuba, 5 p.m., ESPN
Southwest vs. Mid-Atlantic, 7 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Aug. 18
Caribbean vs. Australia, 1 p.m., ESPN
Northwest vs. New England, 3 p.m., ESPN
Canada vs. Asia-Pacific, 5 p.m., ESPN
West vs. Great Lakes, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Little League World Series Betting Preview
*Disclaimer: It’s extremely hard to find film and player stats for international teams. Every year there is always a team that sticks out like men among boys. After watching a lot of the teams play in the United States Regionals, I can confidently say the U.S. doesn’t have this year’s team. Each team has a dude, but none of them have dudes plural. It’s not a bold take, but my favorite American team this year is Southern California (West).
El Segundo Little League has a few good pitchers that should help them string together some wins. The offense made consistent good contact but didn’t score many runs in the West Regional. A big issue is that they received a bad draw. Ohio has a stud player in Kevin Klingerman, who I expect to be on the mound vs. Southern Cal. Klingerman also has a big stick at the plate that El Segundo will need to be careful with.
As I said, the Honolulu, Hawai’i team last year were men among boys. The team that lost to Hawai’i in the Championship? Pabao Little League from Willemstad, Curacao. The Hawaiians returned to Williamsport in ’22 as runner-ups in ’21. I believe that the kids who have experienced playing in front of large crowds and also a bitter ending the season prior have an advantage over the others.
Curacao is one of two ’22 Williamsport returnees. The other is Nolensville, Tennessee, which is representing the Southeast for the third year in a row. Nolensville’s Stella Weaver is one of the biggest storylines this year. She can pitch and hit very well.
Little League World Series Picks
Caribbean To Win The Little League World Series
Pabao Little League dominated the Caribbean Regional tournament to a 47-4 run differential. Curacao played Puerto Rico three times, Aruba twice, and the Dominican Republic once in the Championship, going 6-0 with four shutouts. The Caribbean received a VERY good draw as they faced Australia in Game 1.
If you told me I could pick one International team to face in Game 1, it would be the Aussies. Curacao also dodges Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Mexico as they’re all on the opposite side of the winner’s bracket.
Caribbean: Pabao Little League; Willemstad, Curacao
Pabao Little League from Willemstad, Curacao, was a dynasty in the early 2000s. Pabao won the Caribbean Region tournament seven years in a row from ’03-’09. Representing Curacao and the Caribbean, Pabao won the Little League World Series in 2004. MLB 2nd baseman Jonathan Schoop (’03-’04) and MLB RHP Kenley Jansen (’03) are notable names that have played for Pabao.
As I mentioned above, Pabao was the runner-up in ’22, but they were also the runner-up in 2019. Reminder: the LLWS was canceled due to Covid-19 in 2020, and International teams couldn’t travel for 2021’s tournament. One could argue Covid hurt baseball in Curacao the most because Pabao’s Senior League (13-16-year-olds) team won the National Tournament this year too.
As I mentioned previously, Curacao is one of two returning teams to Williamsport this year, and Zaino Everett is once again Pabao’s Manager. He is a little ball of positive energy that ESPN cameras were very attracted to last year. Although star player Davey-Jay Rijke graduated, Everett brings back his coaching staff and five players from 2022’s team.
I expect big things from Jae-Dlynn Wiel in this year’s Little League World Series. Last year Wiel was excellent on the mound. Wiel tallied 10.2 innings pitched, with 13 strikeouts, one walk, one hit, and one run against. At the plate, Wiel batted cleanup, hitting .263 (5-19) with 2 RBI.
Everett’s other returning players are Joshua Acosta-Fernandez .333 (5-15), 3 RBI, 2 R; Shemar Sophia Jacobus .231 (3-13); Alexander Provacia-Roach .200 (2-10), and D’Shawn Winklaar .200 (1-5). Acosta and Jacobus also got experience pitching in the 2022 LLWS.
An International Team Wins The Little League World Series
Unfortunately, I’m fairly confident that a team from the United States doesn’t win the 2023 Little League World Series. I just wasn’t impressed by many of their performances in their Regionals. Especially when my notes from the International side include the following:
Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific): LLWS Record 17 Championships. 65-3 run differential in 5 Asia-Pacific Regional games. They faced China, Philippines, Guam, Indonesia, and South Korea.
Japan: 36-6 run differential in four Japan Regional games.
Venezuela (Latin America): 44-3 run differential in six Latin America Regional games.
Mexico: 53-6 run differential in eight Mexico Regional games. They lost their very first game, I assume their Ace pitched, but they finished 7-1.
Tips To Make Good Little League World Series Picks
When betting on amateur baseball, I live by three guidelines. First, the Aces win. A good pitcher can completely shut down the opposing offense. No-hitters and 10-strikeout games occur more often because the skill level between a pitcher and 9 of the 11 batters in the lineup can be drastic sometimes. Therefore rallies are hard to start. Second, especially for the LLWS, bet on teams that can consistently put the bat on the ball.
By not striking out, the offenses are putting a lot of pressure on the young ballplayers to make a defensive play in front of the largest crowd they have ever played in front of in their life. Third is that fundamentals win amateur baseball games. The teams that limit walks and errors are the teams that will advance the furthest.
Notable Little League World Series Pitchers
Here are a few U.S. Aces that you should bet on when they pitch:
Nolan Gifford, Mountain (Had a 16-strikeout game, struck out nine batters in a row. 11 strikeouts, and a 4-inning no-hitter in the Regional final.)
Connor Curtis, Metro (14 strikeouts vs. New York in Regional Final.)
Austin Clay, Mid-Atlantic (5 innings, 13 strikeouts, and 0 runs allowed in Regional Final.)
Kevin Klingerman, Great Lakes (1 run allowed in two games. Threw an eight-strikeout complete game in the Regional final.)
Reese Evenson, Midwest (An immaculate inning and 11 strikeouts in 5 IP vs. Kansas in Regional.)
Kayden Oliver, New England (10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings vs. Massachusetts in Regional.)
Trey Kirchoff, Northwest (9 strikeouts in a 50 pitch appearance.)
