Kansas City @ Tampa Bay props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Tropicana Field as the 5th-worst park in Major League Baseball for right-handed base hits. The weather report predicts the 5th-best pitching weather on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Seth Lugo will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yandy Diaz in today's matchup. This year, there has been a decline in Yandy Diaz's quickness with his Statcast Sprint Speed dropping from 26.61 ft/sec last year to 25.09 ft/sec currently. Yandy Diaz has done a poor job optimizing his launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls. His 5° mark is among the lowest in MLB since the start of last season (4th percentile).

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Tropicana Field as the 5th-worst park in Major League Baseball for right-handed base hits. The weather report predicts the 5th-best pitching weather on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Extreme groundball batters like Bobby Witt Jr. generally hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Shawn Armstrong. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 5th-best out of all the teams today. Playing on the road typically reduces batter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Bobby Witt Jr. in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Tropicana Field as the 5th-worst park in Major League Baseball for right-handed base hits. The weather report predicts the 5th-best pitching weather on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense profiles as the 5th-best out of all the teams today. Maikel Garcia will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today. Since the start of last season, Maikel Garcia's 4.5% Barrel%, a reliable metric for measuring power, places him in the 15th percentile among his peers.

Jose Caballero pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.8% — 77th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Jose Caballero will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jose Caballero's 20.9° launch angle (an advanced stat to study a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the highest in Major League Baseball: 93rd percentile. In notching a .322 BABIP since the start of last season, Jose Caballero is positioned in the 84th percentile.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Isaac Paredes pulls a lot of his flyballs (44.4% — 100th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Isaac Paredes will hold that advantage in today's game. Isaac Paredes's 22.1° launch angle (an advanced metric to measure a hitter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the most flyball-inducing in the majors: 99th percentile.

Batting from the opposite that Zach Eflin throws from, Dairon Blanco will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Extreme flyball batters like Dairon Blanco usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Zach Eflin. In notching a .273 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) since the start of last season , Dairon Blanco grades out in the 83rd percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Lowe in the 86th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Brandon Lowe is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup today. Hitting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Brandon Lowe will have an edge in today's matchup. Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Brandon Lowe will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Randy Arozarena ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Randy Arozarena will hold that advantage in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Randy Arozarena's true offensive talent to be a .338, suggesting that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .080 gap between that mark and his actual .258 wOBA. Utilizing Statcast data, Randy Arozarena is in the 88th percentile for offensive skills according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .356.

Tropicana Field has the 6th-shallowest LF dimensions in the majors. Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Alex Jackson will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Jose Siri pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.8% — 90th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Jose Siri will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.233) suggests that Jose Siri has been lucky this year with his .245 actual wOBA. Jose Siri's 12.7% Barrel% (a reliable metric to assess power) grades out in the 86th percentile since the start of last season.

Hitting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Richie Palacios will have an advantage in today's matchup. Richie Palacios pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.7% — 85th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Richie Palacios will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Richie Palacios has compiled a .336 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, placing in the 81st percentile. By putting up a 2.11 K/BB rate since the start of last season, Richie Palacios has demonstrated good plate discipline, grading out in the 77th percentile.

Freddy Fermin will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Shawn Armstrong in today's matchup. Freddy Fermin pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.2% — 92nd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Freddy Fermin has compiled a .342 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, placing in the 83rd percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Based on Statcast data, Freddy Fermin grades out in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .288. Freddy Fermin grades out in the 92nd percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (50% rate since the start of last season).

Jonathan Aranda is penciled in 5th in the lineup in today's game. The 3rd-shallowest RF dimensions in the majors are found in Tropicana Field. Jonathan Aranda will hold the platoon advantage against Seth Lugo in today's game. Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the Kansas City Royals. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats in all categories, and Jonathan Aranda will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Michael Massey is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Michael Massey pulls a lot of his flyballs (38.3% — 96th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Michael Massey ranks in the 93rd percentile with a 19.6° launch angle, which is among the most flyball-inducing angles in the league.

Ben Rortvedt will hold the platoon advantage over Seth Lugo today. Ben Rortvedt will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. As it relates to plate discipline, Ben Rortvedt's ability is quite strong, sporting a 1.75 K/BB rate since the start of last season while ranking in in the 86th percentile.

Tropicana Field has the 6th-shallowest LF dimensions in the majors. Nelson Velazquez will have the handedness advantage against Shawn Armstrong today. Nelson Velazquez has compiled a .346 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, checking in at the 86th percentile for offensive skills according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Nelson Velazquez's 21.1% Barrel% (an advanced metric to assess power) grades out in the 99th percentile since the start of last season. Since the start of last season, Nelson Velazquez's flyball exit velocity (an advanced standard to assess power) ranks in the 89th percentile at 95.8 mph.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Salvador Perez ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Salvador Perez is penciled in 4th in the lineup in today's game. Hitting from the opposite that Shawn Armstrong throws from, Salvador Perez will have an advantage today. Salvador Perez pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.7% — 90th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Over the last two weeks, Salvador Perez has been performing exceptionally well at the plate with a wOBA of .402.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Vinnie Pasquantino in the 90th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Vinnie Pasquantino pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.5% — 89th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Using Statcast data, Vinnie Pasquantino grades out in the 95th percentile for offensive skills per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .372. Vinnie Pasquantino has put up a .297 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, placing in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Shawn Armstrong will hold the platoon advantage against Hunter Renfroe in today's game. Hunter Renfroe pulls many of his flyballs (39.6% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Despite posting a .233 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Hunter Renfroe has had bad variance on his side given the .071 gap between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .304. Ranking in the 75th percentile, the hardest ball Hunter Renfroe has made contact with since the start of last season reached a maximum exit velocity of 113.2 mph -- an advanced indication of underlying power skill.

Hitting from the opposite that Shawn Armstrong throws from, Garrett Hampson will have the upper hand today. Garrett Hampson is in the 90th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce base hits (49.7% rate since the start of last season). Garrett Hampson has put up a .379 BABIP since the start of last season, grading out in the 97th percentile.