Chicago @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

Ben Rortvedt will hold the platoon advantage over Mike Soroka in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Ben Rortvedt will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Ben Rortvedt has been hot recently, batting his way to a .380 wOBA over the last 14 days.

Richie Palacios is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game. Richie Palacios will have the handedness advantage against Mike Soroka in today's game. Richie Palacios pulls many of his flyballs (34.3% — 81st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. Richie Palacios will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. In the past 14 days, Richie Palacios has been performing exceptionally well at the plate with a wOBA of .379.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 90th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Andrew Benintendi is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that Zach Eflin throws from, Andrew Benintendi will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Tampa Bay Rays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Andrew Benintendi has a strong chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Andrew Benintendi's true offensive skill to be a .312, implying that he has suffered from bad luck this year given the .091 gap between that figure and his actual .221 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Vaughn in the 79th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Andrew Vaughn is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Andrew Vaughn's quickness has improved this season. His 25.53 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 26.34 ft/sec now. Andrew Vaughn has been unlucky this year, compiling a .222 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .316 — a .094 gap. Ranked in the 76th percentile, Andrew Vaughn has one of the highest average exit velocities in the majors since the start of last season (90.6-mph).

Gavin Sheets is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Gavin Sheets will hold the platoon advantage over Zach Eflin today. The Tampa Bay Rays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Gavin Sheets has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Eloy Jimenez in the 88th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Eloy Jimenez is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. Since the start of last season, Eloy Jimenez has an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph, which is among the best in the league at the 79th percentile. Eloy Jimenez has notched a .265 batting average since the start of last season, grading out in the 75th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yandy Diaz as the 13th-best batter in MLB when assessing his batting average ability. Yandy Diaz is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in this game. Yandy Diaz has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (42.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Yandy Diaz will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Yandy Diaz has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .268 rate is a good deal lower than his .340 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Jose Caballero pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.9% — 78th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Caballero will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Jose Caballero's 20.9° launch angle (a reliable metric to measure a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the highest in the league: 93rd percentile.

Hitting from the opposite that Zach Eflin throws from, Rafael Ortega will have the upper hand today. The Tampa Bay Rays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Rafael Ortega stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Rafael Ortega pulls a lot of his flyballs (35% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.

As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 4th-best pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Mike Soroka will have the handedness advantage against Amed Rosario in today's matchup. Amed Rosario hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40.8% — 99th percentile) but may find it hard to clear MLB's 9th-deepest CF fences today. Since the start of last season, Amed Rosario's 3.6% Barrel%, an advanced standard for measuring power, places him in the 11th percentile among his peers. Amed Rosario and his 5.4° launch angle on his hardest-hit balls rank in 6th percentile, among the lowest in Major League Baseball since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Randy Arozarena in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Randy Arozarena is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Randy Arozarena will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Randy Arozarena has been unlucky this year, compiling a .242 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .338 — a .096 discrepancy. By putting up a .356 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, Randy Arozarena is ranked in the 88th percentile for offensive skills.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Harold Ramirez as the 15th-best batter in the league as it relates to his batting average ability. Harold Ramirez has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of baseball's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Harold Ramirez will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Posting a .318 batting average since the start of last season, Harold Ramirez has performed in the 99th percentile.

Bryan Ramos has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.

Paul DeJong pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.8% — 86th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Paul DeJong's 16.9° launch angle (an advanced stat to study a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the most flyball-inducing in the game: 84th percentile.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today. Isaac Paredes pulls a lot of his flyballs (44.3% — 100th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Isaac Paredes will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Isaac Paredes ranks in the 99th percentile with a 22.1° launch angle, which is one of the most flyball-inducing angles in Major League Baseball. Isaac Paredes has put up a .370 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, grading out in the 95th percentile.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Tommy Pham ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Tommy Pham is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.294) provides evidence that Tommy Pham has had bad variance on his side since the start of last season with his .258 actual batting average. Ranked in the 94th percentile, Tommy Pham has one of the highest average exit velocities in Major League Baseball since the start of last season (92.3-mph).

Nicky Lopez has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (56% of the time), but he is projected to hit 1st in the batting order today. Nicky Lopez will have the handedness advantage against Zach Eflin today. The Tampa Bay Rays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Nicky Lopez stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Nicky Lopez has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (42.7%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards MLB's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Nicky Lopez has had some very poor luck with his batting average since the start of last season; his .225 BA is quite a bit lower than his .248 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Tropicana Field has the 4th-shallowest LF dimensions in MLB.

Martin Maldonado has gone over 0.5 in 6 of his last 10 games.

Josh Lowe has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.