St. Louis @ Washington Picks & Props

Nationals Park projects as the #27 stadium in the majors for RHB BABIP, via THE BAT projection system. The wind projects to be blowing in from RF at 13-mph in this contest, the 2nd-strongest of the day for hurlers. Paul Goldschmidt will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today's game.

Nationals Park projects as the #27 stadium in the majors for RHB BABIP, via THE BAT projection system. The wind projects to be blowing in from RF at 13-mph in this contest, the 2nd-strongest of the day for hurlers. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense projects as the 3rd-best on the slate today. Joey Meneses has taken a step back with his Barrel% lately; his 5.6% seasonal rate has dropped to 0% in the past week's worth of games. Joey Meneses's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls lately (-0.8° in the past two weeks' worth of games) is considerably worse than his 5.1° seasonal angle.

Nationals Park projects as the #27 stadium in the majors for RHB BABIP, via THE BAT projection system. The wind projects to be blowing in from RF at 13-mph in this contest, the 2nd-strongest of the day for hurlers. Tommy Edman will be at a disadvantage playing away from home today. Tommy Edman has taken a step back with his Barrel% lately; his 5.3% seasonal rate has dropped off to 0% in the past two weeks' worth of games. Tommy Edman's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls recently (1.7° in the past two weeks' worth of games) is considerably lower than his 8° seasonal figure.

THE BAT X projects Brendan Donovan in the 91st percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Brendan Donovan is projected to hit 1st in the lineup today. Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest right field dimensions in the majors. The Washington Nationals don't have any same-handed relievers in their bullpen, so Brendan Donovan is guaranteed to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen the whole game. Brendan Donovan has seen a big gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 93.6-mph average in the last 14 days to his seasonal 89-mph average.

Keibert Ruiz is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this game. Keibert Ruiz will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Keibert Ruiz has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 97.1-mph average in the past week to his seasonal mark of 92-mph. Keibert Ruiz has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .310 rate is a fair amount lower than his .344 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Keibert Ruiz has displayed strong plate discipline this year, checking in at the 93rd percentile with a 1.29 K/BB rate.

Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest right field dimensions in the majors. CJ Abrams will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. CJ Abrams's launch angle this year (11.1°) is a considerable increase over his 6.6° mark last year. CJ Abrams has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .215 figure is considerably lower than his .237 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

Jeimer Candelario is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. The switch-hitting Jeimer Candelario will get to bat from his better side (0) today against Jordan Montgomery. Jeimer Candelario will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Jeimer Candelario has made big gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 6.6% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the past week. Jeimer Candelario's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased of late, rising from 43.4% on the season to 57.1% over the past week.

THE BAT X projects Dylan Carlson in the 76th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. The switch-hitting Dylan Carlson will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side (0) today against MacKenzie Gore. Dylan Carlson has seen a big gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 100.3-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal mark of 93.3-mph. Dylan Carlson has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .304 rate is significantly deflated relative to his .343 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

THE BAT X projects Willson Contreras in the 95th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Willson Contreras is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. Willson Contreras will have the handedness advantage against MacKenzie Gore in today's game. Willson Contreras has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.7%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Willson Contreras has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 103.1-mph average over the last week to his seasonal mark of 95.2-mph.

Oscar Mercado will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against MacKenzie Gore today. Oscar Mercado's 22.5° launch angle (a reliable standard to assess a hitter's ability to lift the ball for power) is among the steepest in MLB: 96th percentile.

Lane Thomas is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today. Lane Thomas will hold the platoon advantage against Jordan Montgomery in today's matchup. Lane Thomas will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Lane Thomas has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% lately, upping his 8.2% seasonal rate to 17.2% in the past two weeks' worth of games. Lane Thomas has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 92.6-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal 88-mph EV.

Stone Garrett will have the handedness advantage against Jordan Montgomery today. Stone Garrett will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Stone Garrett has negatively regressed with his Barrel% of late; his 5.4% seasonal rate has decreased to 0% in the last week. Stone Garrett has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 102.6-mph average over the past week to his seasonal mark of 92.3-mph. Stone Garrett's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls lately (24.8° in the past two weeks' worth of games) is quite a bit better than his 10.3° seasonal mark.

THE BAT X projects Jordan Walker in the 95th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Jordan Walker has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (91% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. Jordan Walker will hold the platoon advantage over MacKenzie Gore today. Jordan Walker has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 96.7-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 92.2-mph mark. Jordan Walker's launch angle recently (10.4° over the last week) is considerably higher than his 3.2° seasonal mark.

Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest right field dimensions in the majors. Dominic Smith will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Dominic Smith has made significant strides with his Barrel% lately, upping his 4.9% seasonal rate to 12.9% in the last 14 days. Dominic Smith's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased in recent games, going from 16.2% on the season to 31.3% in the past week's worth of games. Dominic Smith has exhibited favorable plate discipline this year, checking in at the 75th percentile with a 1.79 K/BB rate.

Victor Robles will hold the platoon advantage over Jordan Montgomery in today's game. Victor Robles will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

Nolan Arenado is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Nolan Arenado will have the handedness advantage over MacKenzie Gore in today's game. Nolan Arenado has compiled a .349 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, ranking in the 75th percentile. Nolan Arenado has put up a .275 batting average this year, grading out in the 81st percentile.

Riley Adams will hold the platoon advantage against Jordan Montgomery in today's matchup. Riley Adams will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Riley Adams's maximum exit velocity (an advanced metric to study power) has been 115 mph since the start of last season, ranking in the 96th percentile.

Paul DeJong will have the handedness advantage over MacKenzie Gore in today's matchup. Paul DeJong has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 99.5-mph average in the past week to his seasonal figure of 93.6-mph. Paul DeJong's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, increasing from 46.7% on the season to 63.6% over the last week.

Andrew Knizner will hold the platoon advantage over MacKenzie Gore in today's game. Andrew Knizner has an 88th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Andrew Knizner has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, upping his 3.5% rate last year to 13.6% this year. Andrew Knizner has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 95.4-mph average to last season's 87.5-mph figure.

Lars Nootbaar has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.

Luis Garcia has gone over 1.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.