Kansas City @ Washington Picks & Props

Michael Massey is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup today. Michael Massey pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38.5% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences today.

The #1 field in the majors for suppressing BABIP to RHB, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Nationals Park. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 4th-best pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Playing on the road generally lowers batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Bobby Witt Jr. in today's game. Despite posting a .412 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Bobby Witt Jr. has been very fortunate given the .032 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .380.

The 5th-shallowest RF fences in the league are found in Nationals Park. Kyle Isbel has seen a big gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 92.6-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 88.1-mph EV.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, MJ Melendez ranks in the 78th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). MJ Melendez pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.1% — 88th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.232) provides evidence that MJ Melendez has experienced some negative variance this year with his .209 actual batting average.

Joey Gallo is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Michael Lorenzen throws from, Joey Gallo will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Joey Gallo pulls a lot of his flyballs (41.6% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Joey Gallo will hold that advantage today. Over the past week, Joey Gallo's 37.5% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16.8%.

The 5th-shallowest RF fences in the league are found in Nationals Park. The switch-hitting Drew Millas will get to bat from his strong side (0) today against Michael Lorenzen. Drew Millas will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Drew Millas is quite toolsy, grading out in the 77th percentile in Sprint Speed at 28.34 ft/sec this year.

As it relates to his BABIP skill, James Wood is projected as the 6th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). James Wood is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this game. The 5th-shallowest RF fences in the league are found in Nationals Park. James Wood will hold the platoon advantage over Michael Lorenzen today. James Wood will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The 5th-shallowest RF fences in the league are found in Nationals Park. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Nasim Nunez will hold that advantage in today's game. Nasim Nunez is notably athletic, grading out in the 94th percentile in Sprint Speed at 29.27 ft/sec this year.

Dylan Crews is projected to bat 1st in the lineup today. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and Dylan Crews will hold that advantage in today's game. Dylan Crews has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 98.7-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal EV of 95.2-mph. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.330) may lead us to conclude that Dylan Crews has been unlucky this year with his .253 actual wOBA.

Juan Yepez is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Humid weather has a small but significant link with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report predicts the 3rd-most humidity on the schedule today at 91%. Juan Yepez will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Juan Yepez has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 5.8% seasonal rate to 12.5% in the last 14 days. Juan Yepez has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 89.7-mph average over the past week to his seasonal EV of 87-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Garcia in the 95th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Luis Garcia is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The 5th-shallowest RF fences in the league are found in Nationals Park. Luis Garcia will have the handedness advantage over Michael Lorenzen today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Luis Garcia will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Tena in the 96th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Jose Tena is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. The 5th-shallowest RF fences in the league are found in Nationals Park. Jose Tena will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael Lorenzen in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Jose Tena will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Jacob Young's BABIP talent is projected in the 90th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jacob Young has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (44.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Jacob Young will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Jacob Young has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 85.1-mph to 90.8-mph over the last 14 days. When it comes to his batting average, Jacob Young has experienced some negative variance this year. His .254 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .271.

As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the dish, Robbie Grossman will get to bat from his better side against DJ Herz in today's matchup. Robbie Grossman has exhibited good plate discipline this year, checking in at the 93rd percentile with a 1.54 K/BB rate.

Yuli Gurriel has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (77% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. Hitting from the opposite that DJ Herz throws from, Yuli Gurriel will have an edge in today's game. Yuli Gurriel's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 37.6% to 62.1%. Sporting a 1.71 K/BB rate since the start of last season, Yuli Gurriel has displayed good plate discipline, ranking in the 89th percentile.

Humid weather has a small but significant link with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report predicts the 3rd-most humidity on the schedule today at 91%. The switch-hitting Keibert Ruiz will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Michael Lorenzen. Keibert Ruiz pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41.1% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Keibert Ruiz will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. There has been a significant improvement in Keibert Ruiz's launch angle from last year's 15.1° to 20.1° this year.

Ildemaro Vargas pulls many of his flyballs (34.8% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Ildemaro Vargas will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. As it relates to plate discipline, Ildemaro Vargas's talent is quite strong, putting up a 1.9 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 82nd percentile.

Maikel Garcia's BABIP ability is projected in the 90th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Batting from the opposite that DJ Herz throws from, Maikel Garcia will have the upper hand in today's game. Maikel Garcia has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.5%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Maikel Garcia has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average this year; his .236 BA is quite a bit lower than his .276 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Salvador Perez ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Salvador Perez is penciled in 4th in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that DJ Herz throws from, Salvador Perez will have the upper hand in today's game. Salvador Perez's launch angle this year (18.6°) is a considerable increase over his 15.3° mark last season. Compared to his seasonal average of 18.6°, Salvador Perez has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 21.6° mark in the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tommy Pham in the 76th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Tommy Pham is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this game. Tommy Pham will have the handedness advantage against DJ Herz today. Tommy Pham has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.9%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Tommy Pham has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 97.6-mph average in the last week's worth of games to his seasonal mark of 92.2-mph.

Freddy Fermin has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (83% of the time), but he is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Humid weather has a small but significant link with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report predicts the most humidity on the schedule today at 93%. Freddy Fermin will hold the platoon advantage against DJ Herz in today's matchup. Among every team today, the 2nd-weakest outfield defense is that of the Washington Nationals. Posting a .318 BABIP this year, Freddy Fermin finds himself in the 81st percentile.

Humid weather has a small but significant link with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report predicts the 3rd-most humidity on the schedule today at 91%. Batting from the opposite that DJ Herz throws from, Hunter Renfroe will have the upper hand in today's game. Hunter Renfroe has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.5-mph to 95.7-mph in the past 7 days.

Humid weather has a small but significant link with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report predicts the 3rd-most humidity on the schedule today at 91%. Garrett Hampson will have the handedness advantage against DJ Herz in today's game. Garrett Hampson has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.9%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Ranking in the 99th percentile for Sprint Speed at 29.89 ft/sec this year, Garrett Hampson is quite athletic.