Kansas City @ Texas Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Globe Life Field as the worst field in MLB for RHB base hits. Globe Life Field has the 6th-deepest centerfield dimensions in MLB. The Globe Life Field roof is expected to be closed today, making conditions in this match-up -15° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Jon Gray will have the handedness advantage against Bobby Witt Jr. today... and it's an even bigger mismatch considering Gray's large platoon split. Playing on the road generally weakens batter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Bobby Witt Jr. in today's game.

The #1 park in Major League Baseball for suppressing BABIP to left-handed batters, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Globe Life Field. Globe Life Field has the 6th-deepest centerfield dimensions in MLB. The Globe Life Field roof is expected to be closed today, making conditions in this match-up -15° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Corey Seager's average exit velocity has declined this year; his 93.3-mph mark last year has fallen off to 91-mph. Over the last week, Corey Seager's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off from his seasonal average of 93.9 mph to 86.6 mph.

Nelson Velazquez's launch angle this season (18.5°) is considerably higher than his 14.3° angle last season.

Extreme flyball bats like Dairon Blanco generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Max Scherzer. Checking in at the 79th percentile, Dairon Blanco has put up a .320 BABIP since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 89th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Nathaniel Lowe is penciled in 5th on the lineup card today. Hitting from the opposite that Alec Marsh throws from, Nathaniel Lowe will have an edge in today's game. Nathaniel Lowe will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Nathaniel Lowe has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.7-mph to 92.4-mph in the past 14 days.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Adolis Garcia will hold that advantage today. Despite posting a .286 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Adolis Garcia has experienced some negative variance given the .036 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .322.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Marcus Semien ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Marcus Semien will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Marcus Semien's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, going from 18.3% on the season to 24.3% over the past two weeks. Marcus Semien's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 41.9% to 47.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 81st percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Wyatt Langford will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Wyatt Langford has made big gains with his Barrel% of late, improving his 7% seasonal rate to 17.6% over the past week. Wyatt Langford has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 93.5-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 87.9-mph EV. Wyatt Langford has experienced some negative variance in regards to his wOBA this year; his .284 figure is quite a bit lower than his .309 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ezequiel Duran in the 84th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Ezequiel Duran will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. In notching a .341 BABIP this year, Ezequiel Duran is ranked in the 87th percentile.

Josh Smith is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Alec Marsh throws from, Josh Smith will have the upper hand today. Josh Smith will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Compared to last season, Josh Smith has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 39% to 48.8% this season. Posting a .364 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Josh Smith is positioned in the 90th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Vinnie Pasquantino in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Vinnie Pasquantino will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jon Gray in today's matchup... and moreover, Gray has a large platoon split. Vinnie Pasquantino has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 91.6-mph average to last year's 89.1-mph EV. Compared to his seasonal average of 15.7°, Vinnie Pasquantino has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 20.8° figure in the last two weeks.

Adam Frazier has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (85% of the time), but he is projected to hit 1st in the batting order today. Adam Frazier will hold the platoon advantage over Jon Gray in today's matchup... and the cherry on top, Gray has a large platoon split. Adam Frazier's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better in recent games, increasing from 22.1% on the season to 40% in the past week's worth of games. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.315) may lead us to conclude that Adam Frazier has suffered from bad luck this year with his .271 actual wOBA.

Nick Loftin has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (81% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this game. In the past week's worth of games, Nick Loftin's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 2.9% up to 25%. In the past week, Nick Loftin's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 83.8-mph over the course of the season to 86.1-mph in recent games. When it comes to plate discipline, Nick Loftin's skill is quite good, posting a 1.6 K/BB rate since the start of last season while grading out in in the 91st percentile. Nick Loftin has put up a .273 batting average since the start of last season, placing in the 88th percentile.

Hunter Renfroe has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Salvador Perez ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Salvador Perez is penciled in 4th on the lineup card today. Salvador Perez has made notable gains with his Barrel%, improving his 8.8% rate last season to 13.9% this season. Salvador Perez has made notable strides with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 13.9% seasonal rate to 27.3% over the past week. Over the past week, Salvador Perez's 33.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.6%.

The switch-hitting Leody Taveras will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Alec Marsh. Leody Taveras will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Leody Taveras has made big improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 6% seasonal rate to 28.6% in the past week's worth of games. Leody Taveras has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.9-mph to 93.1-mph over the past 14 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 13.9°, Leody Taveras has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 19.6° angle over the last two weeks.

Maikel Garcia's BABIP ability is projected in the 92nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Extreme groundball hitters like Maikel Garcia generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Max Scherzer. When it comes to his batting average, Maikel Garcia has had some very poor luck this year. His .239 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .264.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, MJ Melendez ranks in the 77th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). MJ Melendez is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today. MJ Melendez will hold the platoon advantage over Jon Gray today... and moreover, Gray has a large platoon split. MJ Melendez has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 98.4-mph average over the last week to his seasonal 90.7-mph figure. MJ Melendez has had some very poor luck with his wOBA this year; his .262 rate is a fair amount lower than his .308 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Andrew Knizner will hold that advantage today.

Freddy Fermin has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.

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