Kansas City @ New York Picks & Props

Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Cody Bellinger will have an edge today. Cody Bellinger pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.3% — 83rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest RF fences today. Extreme flyball batters like Cody Bellinger tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Seth Lugo. Cody Bellinger will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Trent Grisham will hold the platoon advantage over Seth Lugo today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Trent Grisham will hold that advantage in today's game. In the past 14 days, Trent Grisham's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 25% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°. Since the start of last season, Trent Grisham's 12.6% Barrel%, an advanced stat for measuring power, places him in the 88th percentile among his peers. Trent Grisham is in the 91st percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize home runs (21% rate since the start of last season).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the 87th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. Jazz Chisholm Jr. will hold the platoon advantage over Seth Lugo in today's game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.6% — 85th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Jazz Chisholm Jr. will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Ben Rice ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ben Rice is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Ben Rice will have the handedness advantage against Seth Lugo in today's game. Ben Rice will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Ben Rice has made substantial strides with his Barrel%, upping his 15.6% rate last season to 31% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Drew Waters in the 94th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. The switch-hitting Drew Waters will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side (0) today against Carlos Carrasco. Drew Waters pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 76th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest RF fences today. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today.

Austin Wells has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (83% of the time), but he is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Austin Wells will hold the platoon advantage over Seth Lugo in today's game. Bats such as Austin Wells with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Seth Lugo who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Austin Wells will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Austin Wells has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 96.6-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 91.9-mph average.

The #4 ballpark in the game for suppressing base hits to right-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Yankee Stadium. Built just 11 feet above sea level, Yankee Stadium has one of the lowest elevations in MLB, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to lower offensive output. Cold weather is strongly correlated with less offense (and more whiffs), and the weather report forecasts the 7th-coldest weather of all games today at 58°. Carlos Carrasco will have the handedness advantage over Bobby Witt Jr. in today's matchup. Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 90th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Maikel Garcia has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of MLB's 6th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today. Maikel Garcia has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 95.1-mph average to last year's 90.4-mph EV. Maikel Garcia's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, rising from 42.5% to 57.1%.

Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Carlos Carrasco throws from, Vinnie Pasquantino will have an advantage today. Vinnie Pasquantino pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest RF fences today. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today. There has been a significant improvement in Vinnie Pasquantino's launch angle from last year's 14.4° to 20.6° this season.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Jonathan India ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jonathan India is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in this game. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today. Jonathan India has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 93.4-mph average to last year's 90.4-mph EV. In the past week's worth of games, Jonathan India's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.7-mph over the course of the season to 96.4-mph recently.

The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today. Hunter Renfroe has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 94.7-mph average to last season's 92.1-mph average.

Aaron Judge projects as the best hitter in the league, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Aaron Judge is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Extreme groundball batters like Aaron Judge tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Seth Lugo. Aaron Judge will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Aaron Judge's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 21.3% to 25.6%.

Salvador Perez is projected to bat 4th in the batting order today. Hitters such as Salvador Perez with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Carlos Carrasco who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today.

Jasson Dominguez's BABIP talent is projected in the 83rd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the dish, Jasson Dominguez will get to bat from his good side against Seth Lugo in today's game. Jasson Dominguez will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

As a switch-hitter who performs better from the 0 side of the plate, Oswaldo Cabrera will have the advantage of batting from from his better side against Seth Lugo in this game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Oswaldo Cabrera will hold that advantage in today's game. Oswaldo Cabrera's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased lately, rising from 15.8% on the season to 40% over the last 7 days.

MJ Melendez will hold the platoon advantage over Carlos Carrasco in today's game. MJ Melendez pulls many of his flyballs (36.3% — 93rd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest RF fences today. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today. In the past week, MJ Melendez has displayed impressive power, recording a a 16.7% Barrel% (a reliable standard to assess power). MJ Melendez has been lifting the ball well of late, notching a 34.9° launch angle in the last two weeks.

Michael Massey is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Carlos Carrasco throws from, Michael Massey will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Michael Massey pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38.2% — 96th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Extreme groundball batters like Michael Massey are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Carlos Carrasco. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today.

Anthony Volpe will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Anthony Volpe has made notable gains with his Barrel%, improving his 4% rate last year to 16.7% this year. Anthony Volpe's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 13.2% to 25%. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.255) suggests that Anthony Volpe has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .242 actual batting average.

Batting from the opposite that Carlos Carrasco throws from, Kyle Isbel will have the upper hand today. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Paul Goldschmidt ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Paul Goldschmidt is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today. Paul Goldschmidt has a 78th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.6%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the league's 6th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Paul Goldschmidt will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Paul Goldschmidt's 95.7-mph exit velocity on flyballs (a reliable standard to assess power) grades out in the 94th percentile since the start of last season.

Batting from the opposite that Carlos Carrasco throws from, Cavan Biggio will have an edge in today's game. The New York Yankees outfield defense grades out as the 12th-worst out of every team in action today. Cavan Biggio and his 25.3° launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls rank in 98th percentile, among the highest in MLB since the start of last season.