Chicago @ Oakland Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Oakland Coliseum as the 8th-worst field in the league for righty batting average. Oakland Coliseum's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to lower offensive output. In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather report predicts the 2nd-most favorable pitching conditions of all games on the slate. Batting from the same side that Davis Martin throws from, Miguel Andujar meets a tough challenge today. In the past 7 days, Miguel Andujar's 0% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 7.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert in the 94th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Luis Robert is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this game. Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-smallest outfield among all parks — generally good for home runs. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Luis Robert has seen a big increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 94.3-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 90.9-mph figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 89th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Andrew Benintendi is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Andrew Benintendi will hold the platoon advantage over Joey Estes in today's matchup. Andrew Benintendi has made significant strides with his Barrel% of late, improving his 6.3% seasonal rate to 15.2% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the 2nd-most-favorable of the day for bats. Hitting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, Seth Brown will have an edge today. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats across the board, and Seth Brown will hold that advantage in today's game. Seth Brown has been unlucky this year, compiling a .284 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .314 — a .030 deviation.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Batting from the opposite that Joey Estes throws from, Nicky Lopez will have an edge in today's matchup. Extreme flyball bats like Nicky Lopez tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Joey Estes. Nicky Lopez's launch angle this season (5.9°) is quite a bit higher than his 0.2° angle last season. With a 1.84 K/BB rate this year, Nicky Lopez has displayed favorable plate discipline, grading out in the 84th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Miguel Vargas ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Miguel Vargas is penciled in 1st in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 70% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-smallest outfield among all parks — generally good for home runs. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Miguel Vargas's launch angle this season (21.7°) is considerably higher than his 16.6° figure last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zack Gelof in the 91st percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-smallest outfield among all parks — generally good for home runs. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Zack Gelof will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Over the last 14 days, Zack Gelof's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.6-mph over the course of the season to 101.6-mph in recent games.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the 2nd-most-favorable of the day for bats. Tyler Nevin will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Tyler Nevin has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last year's 25.72 ft/sec to 26.36 ft/sec now (according to Statcast's Sprint Speed metric). Tyler Nevin has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .206 BA is a good deal lower than his .232 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. This year, Tyler Nevin's flyball exit velocity (an advanced metric to measure power) grades out in the 83rd percentile at 94.6 mph.

Lawrence Butler has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (63% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Hitting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, Lawrence Butler will have the upper hand today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics across the board, and Lawrence Butler will hold that advantage in today's game. Lawrence Butler has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 95.1-mph average to last season's 90.4-mph EV.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Gavin Sheets will hold the platoon advantage against Joey Estes today. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Gavin Sheets's 59.1% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 44%. Gavin Sheets has had some very poor luck with his batting average this year; his .213 mark is a fair amount lower than his .241 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Andrew Vaughn ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Andrew Vaughn is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-smallest outfield among all parks — generally good for home runs. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. In the last 7 days, Andrew Vaughn's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 9.7% up to 23.1%.

Riley Baldwin has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (76% of the time), but he is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Riley Baldwin has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 96.4-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal EV of 92.5-mph.

Kyle McCann is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 87% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Hitting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, Kyle McCann will have the upper hand in today's game. Kyle McCann will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-smallest outfield among all parks — generally good for home runs. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the 2nd-most-favorable of the day for bats. Korey Lee has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .211 mark is significantly deflated relative to his .232 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Lenyn Sosa's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 46.3% to 51.7%. Lenyn Sosa's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved in recent games, increasing from 51.7% on the season to 63.6% in the last 7 days. Lenyn Sosa has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .223 mark is significantly deflated relative to his .287 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Abraham Toro will hold that advantage in today's game.

J.J. Bleday is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Hitting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, J.J. Bleday will have the upper hand today. J.J. Bleday will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Compared to last season, J.J. Bleday has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 15.2% to 18.4% this season.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Brent Rooker ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brent Rooker is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-smallest outfield among all parks — generally good for home runs. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Brent Rooker will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 9.2-mph in this contest, the most-favorable of the day for bats. Extreme flyball hitters like Chuckie Robinson usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Joey Estes.