Who will emerge strong for the 2022 Mountain West conference?
The Mountain West conference is always full of thrills, as well as twists and turns, and the 2022 conference has started in exactly that way. The top two teams as it stands are the two we might have expected, but not in that order. As we go deep into the tournament, could things still change? Will there be twists and turns in the conference and what are we expecting from the remainder of the matchups?
If you are the sort of person who follows the MLB odds and wants to know all about the regional baseball tournaments that may feed into the MLB one day, then this is a great way to start to build up your knowledge of the players and potential future MLB stars. If you’re the sort of person who likes to gamble, you may even find there to be some opportunities to bet on the Mountain West conference.
Either way, you can enjoy watching streams of some of the big games and many people are even turning to the Mountain West conference as an exciting alternative to big leagues.
UNLV, Fresno State and Nevada go head-to-head
The race for the conference is set to be played out by these three teams. In fact, with the way things have started, UNLV are going to take some catching, but this is baseball and who knows how things could shake out as the season continues.
Before the season got underway, Nevada was actually predicted to win the title. This was predicted by a vote between seven of the head coaches. Nevada received six first-place votes, which shows you just how many people thought they would move ahead of UNLV.
However, it is undeniable that UNLV has upset the standings so far. While they were seven points behind the Wolf Pack in the predicted standings, their record so far puts them well into the lead.
Another noticeable aspect of the early predictions is how high San Diego State was predicted to finish. The team has had a tumultuous start, and whether they emerge strongly or not remains to be seen. To say they are underachieving with a record of 4-14 at this point is a massive understatement.
Nevada’s relatively strong start under T.J. Bruce features a team packed with some of the Mountain West all-stars, including Tyler Bosetti, outfielder Dario Gomez and infielder Josh Zamora.
Standout players
The Mountain West conference is developing quite the reputation for players getting drafted onto the MLB rosters. Fresno State and San Diego have multiple former MW athletes for this season.
Check out some of the alumni on the active rosters:
Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
Jordan Luplow – Arizona Diamondbacks
Justin Wilson – Cincinnati Reds
Mitch Garver – Texas Rangers
Ty France – Seattle Mariners
Stephen Strasburg – Washington Nationals
Alan Trejo – Colorado Rockies
Erick Fedde – Washington Nationals
Kyle Isbel – Kansas City Royals
Dean Kremer – Baltimore Orioles
Bryson Stott – Philadelphia Phillies
Emerging strong for the rest of the 2022 Mountain West conference, we expect to see a lot more of the same from certain individuals. Paul Skenes… what can you say about his record? Skenes hit .410 in the spring last year including 11 home runs and paced the Mountain West with 131 total bases. He currently has the lowest ERA at 2.90.
Recent impressive performances have had Ben Baker throwing 3.2 innings in a week and allowing just a single run and five hits. He could be one to watch as the season plays out. He also struck out three of the opposition in an 11-10 win over Texas Tech.
Freshman Shaun Montoya from San Diego has also been in good form. In the week up to April 18th, he batted .647 with 11 hits in total. He scored seven runs and five RBIs. The same week led to a .882 slugging percentage and a .684 on-base percentage.
Conclusion
The season is most likely to reach a thrilling conclusion if we see some more competition for UNLV who have started to run away with things a little. However, things change quickly in baseball. Even with Paul Skenes, Air Force is unlikely to make any moves in the remainder of the spring, and the lowly form of San Diego State could be beyond any sort of rescue.
Whatever happens, the Mountain West conference continues to bring us plenty of entertainment and young talent, as we can see, and be proud of, in the current MLB.
