Chicago @ Athletics Picks & Props

Sutter Health Park grades out as the #22 stadium in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, per the leading projection system (THE BAT). Lawrence Butler has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.6%) but may find it hard to clear the league's 6th-deepest LF fences today. Last season, Lawrence Butler had a launch angle of 10.1° on his highest exit velocity balls, but this year he experienced a significant decline to just 6.6°. In the past week, Lawrence Butler's 20% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 35.7%. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Lawrence Butler has been very fortunate this year. His .361 rate has been a good deal higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .316.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Extreme flyball batters like Miguel Vargas usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Luis Severino. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Over the past week, Miguel Vargas's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94-mph over the course of the season to 96.5-mph recently. In terms of his batting average, Miguel Vargas has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season. His .154 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .182.

Edgar Quero's batting average talent is projected to be in the 85th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Edgar Quero is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Edgar Quero has been hot in recent games, tallying a .376 wOBA over the last 14 days.

Andrew Benintendi's batting average ability is projected to be in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Andrew Benintendi is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Andrew Benintendi will hold the platoon advantage over Luis Severino today. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics.

Nick Maton is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Nick Maton will have the handedness advantage over Luis Severino in today's game. Extreme groundball batters like Nick Maton tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Luis Severino. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Jacob Amaya has had some very poor luck with his wOBA since the start of last season; his .156 figure is a good deal lower than his .202 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

When estimating his batting average talent, Jacob Wilson is projected as the 12th-best batter in Major League Baseball by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Extreme flyball bats like Jacob Wilson generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Sean Burke. Jacob Wilson will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Jacob Wilson has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 89.4-mph average in the last week's worth of games to his seasonal 86.4-mph average.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Lenyn Sosa has been unlucky in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .256 rate is deflated compared to his .291 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert Jr. in the 88th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Luis Robert Jr. is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Luis Robert Jr. has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 10.9% seasonal rate to 16.7% over the past 7 days.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Brooks Baldwin has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 96.8-mph average to last season's 90.6-mph mark.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Batting from the opposite that Luis Severino throws from, Matt Thaiss will have an edge in today's matchup. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Matt Thaiss has displayed good plate discipline since the start of last season, checking in at the 85th percentile with a 1.8 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Vaughn in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Andrew Vaughn is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Andrew Vaughn has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 13.7% seasonal rate to 22.7% in the last week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Soderstrom in the 88th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Tyler Soderstrom is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Batting from the opposite that Sean Burke throws from, Tyler Soderstrom will have the upper hand in today's game. Tyler Soderstrom will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Luis Urias will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Luis Urias has been unlucky in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .208 figure is a fair amount lower than his .235 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, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Shea Langeliers is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Shea Langeliers will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. In the past week, Shea Langeliers's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.1-mph over the course of the season to 100.9-mph recently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gio Urshela in the 88th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Gio Urshela will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Gio Urshela has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average since the start of last season; his .248 rate is considerably lower than his .269 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Joshua Palacios is penciled in 1st in the lineup today. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Joshua Palacios will have the handedness advantage over Luis Severino in today's matchup. Out of all the teams today, the 9th-worst outfield defense is that of the Athletics. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.322) implies that Joshua Palacios has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .291 actual wOBA.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Brent Rooker ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brent Rooker is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Brent Rooker will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Brent Rooker has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 95-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 91.9-mph EV.

JJ Bleday is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in today's game. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. JJ Bleday will hold the platoon advantage against Sean Burke today. JJ Bleday will hold the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. JJ Bleday's launch angle of late (27.4° over the last two weeks) is a considerable increase over his 18.5° seasonal mark.

The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 10.4-mph in this contest, the 3rd-strongest of the day for batters. Batting from the opposite that Sean Burke throws from, Nicholas Kurtz will have the upper hand in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Nicholas Kurtz will hold that advantage in today's game.