Washington @ San Diego Picks & Props

Petco Park grades out as the #23 venue in the majors for left-handed batting average, via THE BAT projection system. Petco Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in the majors, which tends to lead to worse offense. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable pitching conditions of all games on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. The wind projects to be blowing in from LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for pitchers. The San Diego Padres infield defense projects as the strongest among all the teams playing today.

Jeimer Candelario is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this game. Jeimer Candelario's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last season to this one, going from 37.3% to 43.5%. Jeimer Candelario's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, increasing from 43.5% on the season to 60% in the past week's worth of games.

THE BAT X projects Trent Grisham in the 79th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Petco Park has the 3rd-shallowest centerfield fences in Major League Baseball. The Washington Nationals have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Trent Grisham stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Trent Grisham will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Trent Grisham has made substantial improvements with his Barrel%, improving his 8.7% rate last year to 16.4% this season.

Petco Park grades out as the #23 stadium in Major League Baseball for righty batting average, according to THE BAT projection system. Petco Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in the majors, which tends to lead to worse offense. The weather forecast expects the 2nd-most favorable pitching conditions of all games on the slate today, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Manny Machado has taken a step back with his Barrel% recently; his 6.6% seasonal rate has dropped to 0% in the past week's worth of games. Manny Machado's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased lately; his 90.7-mph seasonal EV has fallen to 82.6-mph in the last week.

Juan Soto projects as the 4th-best hitter in the majors, per THE BAT X. Juan Soto is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game. The Washington Nationals have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Juan Soto has a strong chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Juan Soto hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.7% — 84th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest CF fences today. Juan Soto will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

Keibert Ruiz hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.3% — 91st percentile) and is fortunate to face baseball's 2nd-shallowest CF fences today. Keibert Ruiz has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 92.6-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 88.8-mph mark. Keibert Ruiz has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .307 rate is quite a bit lower than his .339 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Keibert Ruiz has exhibited strong plate discipline this year, grading out in the 90th percentile with a 1.48 K/BB rate.

CJ Abrams will have the handedness advantage over Joe Musgrove in today's matchup. CJ Abrams hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.8% — 85th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing baseball's 2nd-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. CJ Abrams has made substantial strides with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 5.8% seasonal rate to 16.7% in the last week.

THE BAT X projects Xander Bogaerts in the 95th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Xander Bogaerts is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in this game. Xander Bogaerts will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Patrick Corbin today... and moreover, Corbin has a large platoon split. Xander Bogaerts will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Xander Bogaerts has exhibited favorable plate discipline this year, grading out in the 87th percentile with a 1.61 K/BB rate.

THE BAT X projects Derek Hill in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Derek Hill has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his wOBA since the start of last season; his .249 rate is considerably lower than his .273 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Derek Hill is notably toolsy, ranking in the 98th percentile in Sprint Speed at 29.71 ft/sec since the start of last season.

THE BAT X projects Jake Cronenworth in the 83rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. The Washington Nationals have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jake Cronenworth stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Jake Cronenworth hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.4% — 78th percentile) and is fortunate to face MLB's 2nd-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Jake Cronenworth will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jake Cronenworth's launch angle in recent games (19.9° in the last 14 days) is considerably better than his 15° seasonal figure.

THE BAT X projects Lane Thomas in the 76th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Lane Thomas is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Lane Thomas hits many of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 91st percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the game's 2nd-shallowest CF fences today. Lane Thomas has made significant strides with his Barrel% of late, improving his 9.1% seasonal rate to 25% over the last 7 days. Lane Thomas has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 93.9-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 88.4-mph average.

Petco Park has the 3rd-shallowest centerfield fences in Major League Baseball. Gary Sanchez will hold the platoon advantage over Patrick Corbin in today's matchup... and moreover, Corbin has a large platoon split. Gary Sanchez will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Dominic Smith will hold the platoon advantage against Joe Musgrove in today's game. Dominic Smith hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.3% — 76th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the game's 2nd-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Dominic Smith has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 94.1-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal average of 89.5-mph. Dominic Smith's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better lately, rising from 16.1% on the season to 21.6% in the past two weeks' worth of games. Dominic Smith has shown good plate discipline this year, checking in at the 75th percentile with a 1.87 K/BB rate.

THE BAT X projects Corey Dickerson in the 77th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Corey Dickerson is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. Petco Park has the 3rd-shallowest centerfield fences in Major League Baseball. Corey Dickerson will have the handedness advantage over Joe Musgrove in today's matchup. Corey Dickerson's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off of late; his 91.2-mph seasonal figure has lowered to 88.6-mph in the past two weeks' worth of games.

Nelson Cruz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Patrick Corbin in today's matchup... and even better, Corbin has a large platoon split. Nelson Cruz will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Nelson Cruz's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 44% to 51.3%. Nelson Cruz has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average since the start of last season; his .235 figure is a fair amount lower than his .254 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Nelson Cruz's 91.1-mph average exit velocity ranks among the elite in Major League Baseball since the start of last season: 88th percentile.

THE BAT X projects Joey Meneses in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Joey Meneses is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. Joey Meneses has posted a .359 BABIP this year, grading out in the 93rd percentile.

Rougned Odor has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.

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