Washington @ St. Louis Picks & Props

When it comes to his BABIP ability, James Wood is projected as the 19th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). James Wood is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Hitting from the opposite that Sonny Gray throws from, James Wood will have an edge in today's game. James Wood hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.7% — 88th percentile) and is fortunate to face the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences today.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Jesse Winker ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jesse Winker is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Batting from the opposite that Sonny Gray throws from, Jesse Winker will have the upper hand in today's game. Jesse Winker has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.2-mph to 93-mph in the last two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Garcia in the 95th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Luis Garcia will have the handedness advantage against Sonny Gray in today's matchup. Luis Garcia has seen a big gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 93.5-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal 89-mph average. Luis Garcia's launch angle this season (8.4°) is considerably higher than his 4.5° angle last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brendan Donovan in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Brendan Donovan will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Brendan Donovan has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 94.6-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal mark of 91.7-mph. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Brendan Donovan has had some very poor luck this year. His .322 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .344.

In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. As a switch-hitter who performs better from the 0 side of the plate, Keibert Ruiz will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side against Sonny Gray in today's matchup. There has been a significant improvement in Keibert Ruiz's launch angle from last season's 15.1° to 19.8° this year. Keibert Ruiz's launch angle of late (23.1° in the last 14 days) is quite a bit better than his 19.8° seasonal figure. Despite posting a .254 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Keibert Ruiz has experienced some negative variance given the .040 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .294.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Young in the 89th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Jacob Young has had some very poor luck with his batting average this year; his .248 mark is quite a bit lower than his .269 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects CJ Abrams in the 77th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. CJ Abrams is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. CJ Abrams will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Sonny Gray today. Utilizing Statcast metrics, CJ Abrams grades out in the 79th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .337.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Lars Nootbaar ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Lars Nootbaar hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.2% — 99th percentile) and is fortunate to face the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Lars Nootbaar will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Lars Nootbaar has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 91.5-mph average to last year's 89.1-mph mark.

In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. LaVictor Lipscomb has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 86.4-mph to 93.4-mph over the last 7 days. LaVictor Lipscomb's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased recently, going from 8.5% on the season to 16.7% over the last 7 days.

Nolan Arenado is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this game. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Hitting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Nolan Arenado will have the upper hand in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Nolan Arenado will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Nolan Arenado's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (15.4°) is quite a bit better than his 12.2° figure last season.

Juan Yepez is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this game. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. In the last week, Juan Yepez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.1% up to 20%. Juan Yepez has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 88.7-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal figure of 86.1-mph.

Alec Burleson's batting average ability is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Alec Burleson is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Alec Burleson hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.2% — 80th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing MLB's 7th-shallowest CF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Alec Burleson will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Masyn Winn is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Batting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Masyn Winn will have an advantage in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Masyn Winn will hold that advantage in today's game. Placing in the 87th percentile, Masyn Winn has posted a .335 BABIP this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willson Contreras in the 96th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Willson Contreras is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Willson Contreras will have the handedness advantage against MacKenzie Gore today. Willson Contreras hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.7% — 88th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences today.

In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Batting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Pedro Pages will have an advantage today. Pedro Pages hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.1% — 78th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the game's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Pedro Pages will hold that advantage today.

In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. As a switch-hitter who performs better from the 0 side of the plate, Dylan Carlson will get to bat from his better side against MacKenzie Gore in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Dylan Carlson will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Last season, Dylan Carlson had an average launch angle of 15° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 25.1°. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.241) provides evidence that Dylan Carlson has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .215 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lane Thomas in the 81st percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Lane Thomas is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup today. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Over the past 7 days, Lane Thomas's 28.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 14.9%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Paul Goldschmidt in the 89th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Paul Goldschmidt is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather forecast projects for the 2nd-best hitting conditions of all games today. Paul Goldschmidt will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against MacKenzie Gore in today's matchup. Paul Goldschmidt will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.