Los Angeles @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

Harold Ramirez has been replaced by a pinch-hitter 28% of the time when starting against a southpaw this year. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Tropicana Field as the 2nd-worst venue in baseball for RHB batting average. In today's matchup, Harold Ramirez is at a disadvantage facing the league's 9th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 40% rate (98th percentile). In the past week, Harold Ramirez's exit velocity on flyballs has lowered from his seasonal mark of 89.5 mph to 87.3 mph. Compared to his seasonal angle of 6.2°, Harold Ramirez has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (0°) in the past two weeks.

Jared Walsh has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (65% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in today's game. Jared Walsh will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Aaron Civale in today's game. Jared Walsh pulls a lot of his flyballs (34% — 82nd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Jared Walsh has made substantial gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 6.7% seasonal rate to 40% over the last week.

The shallowest RF fences in Major League Baseball are found in Tropicana Field. Brett Phillips will have the handedness advantage against Aaron Civale in today's matchup. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Over the past week, Brett Phillips's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.7% up to 14.3%. Brett Phillips has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 101.1-mph average over the past week to his seasonal average of 89.6-mph.

Zach Neto has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (68% of the time), but he is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Zach Neto has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.8%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.335) implies that Zach Neto has suffered from bad luck this year with his .304 actual wOBA.

Jo Adell pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 79th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Placing in the 98th percentile, the hardest ball Jo Adell has hit since the start of last season reached a maximum exit velocity of 117.2 mph -- an advanced indication of underlying power ability. Grading out in the 88th percentile, Jo Adell has notched a .344 BABIP since the start of last season.

Eduardo Escobar pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.1% — 95th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Eduardo Escobar is an extreme flyball batter and faces the weak outfield defense of Tampa Bay (#2-worst of all teams on the slate today). Eduardo Escobar's launch angle lately (40.7° in the last week) is a considerable increase over his 15.5° seasonal mark. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Eduardo Escobar's true offensive talent to be a .281, providing some evidence that he has suffered from bad luck this year given the .012 discrepancy between that figure and his actual .269 wOBA.

Curtis Mead is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 83% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this year. Among all major league stadiums, Tropicana Field's LF fences are the 5th-shallowest. Curtis Mead will hold the platoon advantage over Reid Detmers in today's game. Curtis Mead will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.

Logan O'Hoppe is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. Logan O'Hoppe pulls many of his flyballs (33.7% — 80th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Over the past week, Logan O'Hoppe's 66.7% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 43.4%. Logan O'Hoppe has recorded a .341 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, grading out in the 76th percentile for offensive skills according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Brandon Lowe ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brandon Lowe pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.2% — 88th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Brandon Lowe will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Brandon Lowe has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 95.2-mph average to last season's 93.2-mph average. Brandon Lowe's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 13.2% to 17.8%.