Oakland @ Texas Picks & Props

The #1 ballpark in Major League Baseball for suppressing base hits to lefties, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Globe Life Field. Globe Life Field has the 6th-deepest CF fences among all major league stadiums. The Globe Life Field roof figures to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -10° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Out of every team on the slate today, the 2nd-strongest infield defense is that of the Oakland Athletics. Corey Seager has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 92-mph dropping to 89.4-mph over the last two weeks.

Lawrence Butler is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 51% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Lawrence Butler stands a good chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Lawrence Butler has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 11.7% seasonal rate to 26.3% in the last week's worth of games. This season, Lawrence Butler has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 95 mph compared to last year's 90.4 mph mark. Over the past 7 days, Lawrence Butler's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95-mph over the course of the season to 100.1-mph in recent games.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Wyatt Langford ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Wyatt Langford will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last week, Wyatt Langford's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.5% up to 25%. Wyatt Langford has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.2-mph to 92.9-mph in the last week's worth of games. Wyatt Langford's launch angle lately (22.2° over the last 14 days) is a considerable increase over his 17.6° seasonal figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 87th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Nathaniel Lowe is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Joey Estes throws from, Nathaniel Lowe will have an edge today. Bats such as Nathaniel Lowe with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Joey Estes who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Nathaniel Lowe will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zack Gelof in the 90th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Zack Gelof will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cody Bradford in today's matchup. Zack Gelof has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 97.7-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal EV of 94.1-mph. Zack Gelof's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, increasing from 17.9% on the season to 23.3% in the past two weeks. Despite posting a .276 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Zack Gelof has had bad variance on his side given the .030 deviation between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .306.

Jacob Wilson's batting average ability is projected to be in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Batting from the opposite that Cody Bradford throws from, Jacob Wilson will have an advantage in today's game. Extreme groundball hitters like Jacob Wilson generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Cody Bradford.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. Adolis Garcia will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Adolis Garcia's true offensive talent to be a .323, providing some evidence that he has had some very poor luck this year given the .032 gap between that figure and his actual .291 wOBA.

Josh Smith is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Josh Smith will hold the platoon advantage against Joey Estes today. Josh Smith will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Josh Smith has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 20.4° compared to his seasonal mark of 13.8°. Sporting a .336 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Josh Smith grades out in the 76th percentile.

Leody Taveras will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Leody Taveras has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.2-mph to 93.9-mph in the past 7 days. When it comes to his batting average, Leody Taveras has been unlucky this year. His .224 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .265.

Carson Kelly will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 96th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Josh Jung will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Last season, Josh Jung had an average launch angle of 14.8° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 18.3°. Sporting a .266 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) since the start of last season , Josh Jung grades out in the 80th percentile. Ranking in the 93rd percentile, Josh Jung has put up a .340 BABIP since the start of last season.

Jonah Heim will possess the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Compared to his seasonal average of 14°, Jonah Heim has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 22.8° mark over the past two weeks. Despite posting a .270 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Jonah Heim has experienced some negative variance given the .022 deviation between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .292.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Marcus Semien ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Marcus Semien will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Marcus Semien's launch angle of late (23.3° over the past two weeks) is quite a bit higher than his 16.5° seasonal figure. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Marcus Semien has had some very poor luck this year. His .306 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .341.

Hitting from the opposite that Joey Estes throws from, Travis Jankowski will have an edge in today's matchup. Extreme flyball hitters like Travis Jankowski tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Joey Estes. Travis Jankowski will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Travis Jankowski's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this year (6.1°) is significantly higher than his 1.1° angle last year. Travis Jankowski has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average this year; his .200 rate is considerably lower than his .244 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Shea Langeliers is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Cody Bradford throws from, Shea Langeliers will have an edge in today's game. Shea Langeliers's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 13.4% to 18.6%. Shea Langeliers's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined lately, decreasing from 18.1% on the season to 8.3% over the last week.

J.J. Bleday is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. J.J. Bleday is apt to have an advantage against every reliever from start to finish, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP. J.J. Bleday has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 93-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal 88.6-mph EV. J.J. Bleday's launch angle this season (18.9°) is significantly higher than his 15.4° angle last year. J.J. Bleday's launch angle of late (23.9° in the past 14 days) is a significant increase over his 18.9° seasonal mark.

Tyler Nevin is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Cody Bradford throws from, Tyler Nevin will have the upper hand in today's game. 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 ranks in the 90th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs (21.1% rate this year). Placing in the 90th percentile of THE BAT X's Spray Score this year, Tyler Nevin demonstrated exceptional skill in hitting the ball to all fields - an important ability for achieving a high batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brent Rooker in the 97th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Brent Rooker is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this game. Batting from the opposite that Cody Bradford throws from, Brent Rooker will have an edge in today's matchup. This season, Brent Rooker has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 97.2 mph compared to last year's 94.9 mph mark. Compared to his seasonal angle of 18°, Brent Rooker has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (9.3°) over the past 14 days.

Hitting from the opposite that Cody Bradford throws from, Armando Alvarez will have the upper hand in today's matchup.

Daz Cameron will hold the platoon advantage over Cody Bradford today. Daz Cameron has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .195 mark is deflated compared to his .259 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.