San Diego @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

The #2 park in Major League Baseball for suppressing batting average to righties, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Tropicana Field. The Tropicana Field roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this match-up -8° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Hitting from the same side that Shane Baz throws from, Manny Machado faces a tough challenge in today's game. Manny Machado hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 87th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the game's 9th-deepest CF fences in today's game. Among every team in action today, the 3rd-strongest infield defense belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Siri in the 89th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Jose Siri pulls many of his flyballs (35% — 87th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Jose Siri will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Jose Siri has made notable improvements with his Barrel% of late, upping his 15.9% seasonal rate to 26.7% over the last 14 days. Jose Siri has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 96.6-mph average to last season's 94-mph average.

The #2 stadium in baseball for suppressing batting average to LHB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Tropicana Field. The Tropicana Field roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this match-up -8° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Among every team in action today, the 3rd-strongest infield defense belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays. Luis Arraez will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's matchup. Luis Arraez has been cold recently, with his seasonal exit velocity of 86.2-mph dropping to 83.8-mph in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Junior Caminero in the 92nd percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Junior Caminero is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Tropicana Field has the 5th-shallowest left field fences among all major league parks. Junior Caminero will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Over the past 7 days, Junior Caminero's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.4-mph over the course of the season to 107.8-mph recently.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Christopher Morel ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Christopher Morel is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Christopher Morel pulls many of his flyballs (38.2% — 96th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Christopher Morel will hold that advantage today. Christopher Morel's launch angle lately (32.5° in the past week's worth of games) is considerably higher than his 14.6° seasonal figure.

Xander Bogaerts's batting average skill is projected to be in the 95th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Xander Bogaerts is penciled in 5th in the lineup in today's game. Xander Bogaerts has been unlucky this year, compiling a .299 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .329 — a .030 discrepancy. Sporting a .266 batting average this year, Xander Bogaerts finds himself in the 76th percentile.

Kyle Higashioka pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.3% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Kyle Higashioka has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.1-mph to 91.9-mph over the last 14 days. Compared to last season, Kyle Higashioka 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 17.5% to 25.2% this season. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Kyle Higashioka's 54.5% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 43.9%. Kyle Higashioka has posted a .328 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 78th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Cronenworth in the 85th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Jake Cronenworth is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Shane Baz throws from, Jake Cronenworth will have an advantage today. Jake Cronenworth has an 85th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.2%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Jake Cronenworth's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 40% to 47.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jackson Merrill in the 96th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Jackson Merrill will have the handedness advantage against Shane Baz in today's game. Jackson Merrill has made significant gains with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 11.1% seasonal rate to 19.4% over the last two weeks. Jackson Merrill has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.2-mph to 93.3-mph in the last 14 days. Over the last 14 days, Jackson Merrill's 30.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 20.1%.

Batting from the opposite that Randy Vasquez throws from, Ben Rortvedt will have the upper hand in today's game. Ben Rortvedt has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.9%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Ben Rortvedt will hold that advantage in today's game. Ranking in the 83rd percentile of THE BAT X's Spray Score this year, Ben Rortvedt demonstrated exceptional skill in hitting the ball to all fields - an important skill for achieving a high batting average. In notching a .336 BABIP this year, Ben Rortvedt finds himself in the 86th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects David Peralta in the 81st percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Hitting from the opposite that Shane Baz throws from, David Peralta will have an advantage in today's game. David Peralta's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 46.8% to 52.6%. David Peralta has put up a .352 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, grading out in the 92nd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. David Peralta has compiled a .333 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 81st percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Jurickson Profar ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jurickson Profar is penciled in 2nd in the lineup today. Jurickson Profar pulls many of his flyballs (34.9% — 86th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Jurickson Profar has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 94.9-mph average over the last week to his seasonal 90.9-mph mark. Jurickson Profar's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 42% to 47%.

Jose Caballero has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (90% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Jose Caballero pulls many of his flyballs (40% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Jose Caballero will hold that advantage in today's game. This season, Jose Caballero has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 90.3 mph compared to last year's 87.7 mph mark. Over the past week, Jose Caballero's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 90.3-mph over the course of the season to 96.5-mph recently.

Luis Campusano pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34% — 82nd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

Among all parks, Tropicana Field's right field fences are the 4th-shallowest. Batting from the opposite that Randy Vasquez throws from, Jonathan Aranda will have an edge in today's game. Jonathan Aranda will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Brandon Lowe ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brandon Lowe is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Randy Vasquez throws from, Brandon Lowe will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Brandon Lowe will hold that advantage in today's game. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.257) provides evidence that Brandon Lowe has had some very poor luck this year with his .241 actual batting average.

Mason McCoy has been honed in on the ideal launch angle for base hits recently, hitting balls between -4° and 26° 66.7% of the time in the past 7 days.

Among all parks, Tropicana Field's right field fences are the 4th-shallowest. Taylor Walls will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Taylor Walls's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved recently, going from 14.4% on the season to 50% over the last 7 days. Taylor Walls has been unlucky this year, putting up a .242 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .282 — a .040 disparity. Taylor Walls has exhibited strong plate discipline this year, ranking in the 84th percentile with a 1.89 K/BB rate.

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