San Diego @ Washington Picks & Props

THE BAT X projections rank Juan Soto as the 4th-best batter in Major League Baseball. Juan Soto is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this game. In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. The Washington Nationals don't have any same-handed relief pitchers in their bullpen, so Juan Soto is guaranteed to hold the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate.

Xander Bogaerts's batting average skill is estimated to be in the 96th percentile by THE BAT X projects. Xander Bogaerts is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Xander Bogaerts will have the handedness advantage over MacKenzie Gore today. Xander Bogaerts has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.9%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate.

THE BAT X projects Jake Cronenworth in the 84th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Jake Cronenworth is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. The Washington Nationals don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Jake Cronenworth is guaranteed to hold the advantage against every reliever the whole game. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate.

Nelson Cruz will have the handedness advantage over MacKenzie Gore in today's matchup. Nelson Cruz has a 77th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.3%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate. Comparing his current average of 93.5 mph to last year's figure of 90.9 mph, there has been a significant boost in Nelson Cruz's exit velocity this season. From last season to this one, Nelson Cruz has improved his capability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes his BABIP, which has increased from 44% to 50.8%.

Corey Dickerson is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this matchup. In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. Corey Dickerson will have the handedness advantage over Yu Darvish in today's game. Corey Dickerson will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. In the past 7 days, Corey Dickerson has been consistently hitting flyballs with an average speed of 99.6 mph, demonstrating impressive exit velocity benchmarks.

The switch-hitting Keibert Ruiz will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Yu Darvish. Keibert Ruiz pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.5% — 90th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Keibert Ruiz will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats. The recent increase in Keibert Ruiz's hitting performance can be attributed to his ability to hit the ball within the base hit-optimizing launch angle range of -4° to 26°, with his percentage rising from 43.8% on the season to 56.3% in the past week. Based on Statcast data, THE BAT X's version of Expected wOBA (.341) suggests that Keibert Ruiz has experienced some negative variance this year with his .301 actual wOBA.

In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. Dominic Smith will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yu Darvish today. Dominic Smith will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Dominic Smith has displayed favorable plate discipline this year, checking in at the 91st percentile with a 1.4 K/BB rate.

Alex Call will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Within the past two weeks of games, Alex Call has raised his percentage of hitting the ball at a launch angle that optimizes for base hits, from 42.2% on the season to 57.1%. Alex Call has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .280 mark is significantly deflated relative to his .320 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. The Washington Nationals don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Trent Grisham is guaranteed to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen all game. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate. Compared to his launch angle of 14.6° last season, Trent Grisham has significantly improved with a angle of 23.3° this year. In the last week's worth of games, Trent Grisham has had a launch angle of 33°, significantly higher than his seasonal mark of 23.3°.

Jeimer Candelario is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Jeimer Candelario pulls many of his flyballs (35% — 88th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Jeimer Candelario will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. In the past 7 days, Jeimer Candelario has remarkably improved his Barrel% by elevating his seasonal rate from 5.7% to 13.6%. From last year to this one, Jeimer Candelario has improved his capability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes his BABIP, which has increased from 37.3% to 44%.

In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. CJ Abrams will hold the platoon advantage against Yu Darvish in today's game. CJ Abrams will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. CJ Abrams's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 14.7% to 19.8%. During the last 14 days, CJ Abrams's capacity to achieve a HR-optimizing launch angle (ranging between -4° and 26°) through hitting the ball has advanced with his percentage rising from 19.8% on the season to 30.8%.

THE BAT X projects Luis Garcia in the 91st percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Luis Garcia is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today. In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. Luis Garcia will have the handedness advantage over Yu Darvish in today's game. Luis Garcia will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

THE BAT X projects Jose Azocar in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Jose Azocar will hold the platoon advantage against MacKenzie Gore today. Jose Azocar has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43.4%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Jose Azocar's speed has gotten better this year. His 29.46 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 30.05 ft/sec now. With a .322 BABIP since the start of last season, Jose Azocar has performed in the 77th percentile.

Estimating Joey Meneses's batting average ability, THE BAT X projects him in the 82nd percentile. Joey Meneses is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Joey Meneses has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.9%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Joey Meneses will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Ranking in the 95th percentile, Joey Meneses has posted a .375 BABIP this year.

Lane Thomas is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Lane Thomas will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Comparing his seasonal 87.4-mph mark to his 94.2-mph average in the past week's games, Lane Thomas's exit velocity has significantly gaind in recent times. Over the past two weeks, Lane Thomas's capability of hitting the ball at an ideal launch angle for a BABIP (ranging between -4° and 26°) has elevated to 58.8%, whereas it was 43.3% earlier in the season. With a .292 batting average this year, Lane Thomas finds himself in the 85th percentile.

In the majors, Nationals Park's RF dimensions are the 7th-shallowest. Ildemaro Vargas will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Ildemaro Vargas has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 103.5-mph average over the last week to his seasonal EV of 99-mph. During the past 7 days, Ildemaro Vargas's average launch figure on his highest exit velocity balls has been significantly reduced to -5.7°, in contrast to his seasonal figure of -2°. Ildemaro Vargas has put up a .271 batting average since the start of last season, ranking in the 87th percentile.

Austin Nola will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against MacKenzie Gore today. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate. Despite posting a .229 wOBA this year, THE BAT X believes Austin Nola has experienced some negative variance given the .071 discrepancy between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .300. Austin Nola has exhibited strong plate discipline since the start of last season, grading out in the 87th percentile with a 1.84 K/BB rate.

Brandon Dixon will hold the platoon advantage against MacKenzie Gore in today's matchup. The Washington Nationals outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst on the slate.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has gone over 1.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.