Texas @ Kansas City Picks & Props

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Bobby Witt Jr. ranks as the 19th-best batter in Major League Baseball. Bobby Witt Jr. is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. The #3 venue in MLB for boosting batting average to right-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Bobby Witt Jr. will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Josh Smith will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael Wacha in today's matchup. With a .347 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season, Josh Smith finds himself in the 87th percentile for offensive skills. Since the start of last season, Josh Smith's 10.7% Barrel%, a reliable metric for measuring power, places him in the 77th percentile among his peers.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Kyle Isbel will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Dane Dunning in today's matchup... and moreover, Dunning has a large platoon split. Kyle Isbel will probably have an advantage against every reliever from start to finish, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP. Kyle Isbel will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Salvador Perez in the 81st percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Salvador Perez is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today. The #3 venue in MLB for boosting batting average to right-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Salvador Perez will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Wyatt Langford's BABIP talent is projected in the 87th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The #3 venue in MLB for boosting batting average to right-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Wyatt Langford is very toolsy, ranking in the 98th percentile in Sprint Speed at 29.66 ft/sec this year.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, MJ Melendez ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. MJ Melendez will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Dane Dunning today... and the cherry on top, Dunning has a large platoon split. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so MJ Melendez stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game.

Michael Wacha will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Marcus Semien in today's game. Marcus Semien pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.6% — 95th percentile) and will have to hit them out towards MLB's 4th-deepest LF fences in today's matchup. Marcus Semien will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today's game. Since the start of last season, the hardest ball Marcus Semien has hit reached a maximum exit velocity of 108.6 mph (a reliable standard to study power), grading out in the 13th percentile. Hitting the ball to all fields is an important skill for batting average that Marcus Semien has struggled with since the start of last season, as evidenced by his checking in at the 12th percentile on THE BAT X's Spray Score.

Because of Dane Dunning's large platoon split, Maikel Garcia will be at a huge disadvantage hitting from the same side of the dish in today's game. In today's game, Maikel Garcia is at a disadvantage facing the league's deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 38.3% rate (95th percentile). Among every team in action today, the 4th-best infield defense is that of the Texas Rangers. Maikel Garcia has been unlucky in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .262 BA is a fair amount lower than his .289 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Maikel Garcia's 4.5% Barrel% (an advanced metric to assess power) ranks in the 15th percentile since the start of last season.

Kauffman Stadium has the 2nd-largest outfield among all stadiums — generally bad for dingers. Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Adolis Garcia meets a tough challenge in today's game. Playing on the road generally diminishes batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Adolis Garcia today. Despite posting a .379 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Adolis Garcia has had some very good luck given the .052 difference between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .327.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Vinnie Pasquantino in the 93rd percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Vinnie Pasquantino is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Vinnie Pasquantino will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Dane Dunning today... and even more favorably, Dunning has a large platoon split.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 92nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Nathaniel Lowe is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Nathaniel Lowe will have the handedness advantage against Michael Wacha in today's game.

Michael Massey is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Given Dane Dunning's large platoon split, Michael Massey will have a massive advantage batting from the opposite side of the plate today. Michael Massey will probably have the upper hand against every reliever for the game's entirety, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP.

The #3 venue in MLB for boosting batting average to right-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Nelson Velazquez will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Sporting a .346 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) since the start of last season, Nelson Velazquez finds himself in the 86th percentile for hitting ability. Nelson Velazquez's 21.1% Barrel% (a reliable stat to evaluate power) ranks in the 99th percentile since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Evan Carter in the 87th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Evan Carter is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Evan Carter will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael Wacha in today's matchup.

The deepest RF dimensions among all major league parks are found in Kauffman Stadium. Corey Seager will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today's game. This year, there has been a decline in Corey Seager's footspeed with his Statcast Sprint Speed dropping from 26.12 ft/sec last year to 24.85 ft/sec currently.

Leody Taveras's BABIP ability is projected in the 77th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.300) may lead us to conclude that Leody Taveras has had bad variance on his side since the start of last season with his .259 actual batting average. By putting up a .345 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) since the start of last season, Leody Taveras has performed in the 77th percentile for hitting ability.

The #3 venue in MLB for boosting batting average to right-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Hunter Renfroe will hold that advantage today. Hunter Renfroe has been unlucky this year, notching a .234 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .303 — a .069 difference. Hunter Renfroe's maximum exit velocity (an advanced standard to evaluate power) has been 113.2 mph since the start of last season, checking in at the 75th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Kauffman Stadium as the 3rd-best stadium in the game for LHB batting average. Kauffman Stadium sits at the 4th-highest altitude among all major league parks. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. When it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34° (the launch angle range that tends to optimize home runs), Jonah Heim and his 18.3% rank in the 85th percentile since the start of last season.

Garrett Hampson has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.

Travis Jankowski has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.