Detroit @ St. Louis Picks & Props

While Zach McKinstry has predominantly been placed in the latter half of the batting lineup this season (53% of the time), he is expected to assume the 1st position in the batting order for this particular matchup. Zach McKinstry hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.7% — 85th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. In the last 14 days, Zach McKinstry has shown considerable progress with his Barrel% by elevating it from his seasonal rate of 15.2% to 22.7%. Zach McKinstry's launch angle in recent games (23.2° in the last 14 days) is significantly better than his 14.4° seasonal mark. Improvement can be seen in Zach McKinstry's capacity to hit the ball within the base hit-maximizing launch angle range of -4° to 26°, increasing from 49.6% to 60.9% between last year and this year.

Assessing his ability in BABIP, THE BAT X ranks Riley Greene as the 8th-best batter in MLB. Riley Greene is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Riley Greene hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 89th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the game's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Comparing his mark of 94.9 mph this year to last season's mark of 97.5 mph, Riley Greene has exhibited a noteworthy increase in his exit velocity on flyballs. By posting a .359 BABIP since the start of last season, Riley Greene ranks in the 98th percentile.

In today's matchup, Matt Vierling will face a challenge due to the game's 2nd-deepest RF fences despite having a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate of 37.7% on his flyballs. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the best on the slate. Matt Vierling will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's game. Matt Vierling's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased this season; his 89.5-mph average last season has fallen off to 86.1-mph. Lately, Matt Vierling's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped from his seasonal average of 86.1 mph to 82.6 mph in the last 14 days.

Brendan Donovan's batting average talent is estimated to be in the 84th percentile by THE BAT X projects. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst. Brendan Donovan will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Brendan Donovan has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 97-mph average in the last week to his seasonal 87.6-mph average. A significant rise in Brendan Donovan's exit velocity on flyballs is averageident this season as his average of 90.4 mph is much lower than last season's 92.4 mph average.

Assessing his overall offensive capability, Lars Nootbaar scores in the 87th percentile in THE BAT X projects. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst. Lars Nootbaar will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. When it comes to his batting average since the start of last season, Lars Nootbaar hasn't had much luck as his figure of .234 is far below his Expected Batting Average of .258 (evaluated on the basis of Statcast data interpretation by THE BAT X).

Busch Stadium has the 5th-largest outfield in MLB — generally bad for dingers. Over the past seven days, Tommy Edman's figure exit velocity has dropped to 80.5 mph from his seasonal figure of 87.1 mph. The launch angle of Tommy Edman has been notably lower lately, with -5° in the past two weeks compared to his seasonal angle of 5.2°. Tommy Edman's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased from last year to this one, falling from 44% to 33.3%. Tommy Edman has had positive variance on his side thus far when it comes to with his wOBA this year; his .353 figure is inflated compared to his .304 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

Via THE BAT X, it is projected that Paul Goldschmidt will rank as the 10th-best batter in the league. Paul Goldschmidt is penciled in 2nd in the lineup today. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Paul Goldschmidt will have the handedness advantage over Matthew Boyd in today's game... and the cherry on top, Boyd has a huge platoon split. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst.

In terms of his overall offensive captalent, Willson Contreras ranks in the 96th percentile according to THE BAT X's projects. Willson Contreras is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order today. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Willson Contreras will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Matthew Boyd in today's matchup... and even more favorably, Boyd has a huge platoon split. Extreme groundball bats like Willson Contreras tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Matthew Boyd.

Dylan Carlson is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. The switch-hitting Dylan Carlson will get to bat from his strong side (0) today against Matthew Boyd... and even better, Boyd has a huge platoon split. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst. Dylan Carlson will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Spencer Torkelson is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Spencer Torkelson will hold the platoon advantage over Jordan Montgomery in today's matchup. Spencer Torkelson's launch angle recently (25.4° over the last two weeks) is considerably higher than his 16.8° seasonal figure. His wOBA this year has had some very poor luck as Spencer Torkelson's .252 mark is considerably lower compared to his .327 Expected wOBA (calculated by THE BAT X's analysis of Statcast data).

The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Andrew Knizner will hold the platoon advantage over Matthew Boyd in today's matchup... and even more favorably, Boyd has a huge platoon split. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst. Andrew Knizner will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

THE BAT X projects Javier Baez in the 83rd percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Javier Baez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Javier Baez will hold the platoon advantage against Jordan Montgomery today.

The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Jonathan Schoop will have the handedness advantage over Jordan Montgomery today. Jonathan Schoop hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.3% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Jonathan Schoop's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 37.3% to 50%. Despite having an Expected Batting Average of .228 based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data, Jonathan Schoop's batting average since the start of last season has been quite unlucky, currently standing at just .204.

The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Paul DeJong will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Matthew Boyd today... and moreover, Boyd has a huge platoon split. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst. Paul DeJong will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Lately, Paul DeJong's exit velocity stats have been impressive with an average of 98.6-mph on his flyballs withover the last two weeks.

The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Zack Short will hold the platoon advantage over Jordan Montgomery in today's matchup. Zack Short hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 84th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game.

For 65% of the time this season, Eric Haase has mainly batted in the back-half of the lineup, but for this matchup, he is listed in the 4th spot in the lineup. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Eric Haase will hold the platoon advantage over Jordan Montgomery in today's matchup. Over the last week's worth of games, Eric Haase has significantly increased his Barrel% from a seasonal rate of 6% to 28.6%, showcasing significant improvements in his performance. Comparing his seasonal 88.4-mph average to his 99.2-mph average in the past week's games, Eric Haase's exit velocity has significantly improvementd in recent times.

The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Jake Rogers will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jordan Montgomery in today's matchup.

Nolan Arenado is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this matchup. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Nolan Arenado will have the handedness advantage over Matthew Boyd in today's game... and even better, Boyd has a huge platoon split. Of all teams on the slate, the Detroit Tigers' infield defense is expected to be the 5th-worst. Nolan Arenado will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.

For 100% of the time this year, Andy Ibanez has mainly batted in the back-half of the batting order, but for this matchup, he is listed in the 2nd spot in the batting order. The weather report calls for the 5th-best hitting weather on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Andy Ibanez will hold the platoon advantage over Jordan Montgomery today. Andy Ibanez hits many of his flyballs to center field (41% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Having a 94.2-mph average exit velocity in the last week, Andy Ibanez has been on fire lately.

Tyler O'Neill has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.