Chicago @ Athletics props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Wilson as the 11th-best hitter in baseball when assessing his batting average skill. Jacob Wilson is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 81% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Jacob Wilson will hold that advantage today. Jacob Wilson has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 86.5-mph to 89.1-mph over the last two weeks. By putting up a .307 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) since the start of last season , Jacob Wilson has performed in the 98th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brent Rooker in the 97th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Brent Rooker is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Hitters such as Brent Rooker with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Davis Martin who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Brent Rooker will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Brent Rooker has seen a big gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 94.9-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal 92.2-mph EV.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Edgar Quero in the 87th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Edgar Quero is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in today's game. The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Edgar Quero has been hot lately, posting a .404 wOBA over the last two weeks.

The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Brooks Baldwin has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% lately, upping his 12.3% seasonal rate to 22.2% over the past 14 days. Brooks Baldwin has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 97.6-mph average to last season's 90.6-mph mark. Brooks Baldwin has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 102.8-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal mark of 97.6-mph.

The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Miguel Vargas is an extreme flyball batter and faces the weak outfield defense of Sacramento (#2-worst on the slate). Miguel Vargas has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 90.9-mph average to last year's 86.2-mph mark. Miguel Vargas's launch angle recently (22° over the last week) is quite a bit higher than his 17.6° seasonal mark. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.187) provides evidence that Miguel Vargas has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .163 actual batting average.

Luis Urias will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Over the past two weeks, Luis Urias has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 17.2° compared to his seasonal mark of 12.8°. Notching a 93.4-mph average exit velocity in the past week, Luis Urias has been in great form in recent games. Ranking in the 80th percentile, Luis Urias sits with a .330 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) since the start of last season.

Luis Robert Jr.'s BABIP skill is projected in the 88th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Luis Robert Jr. is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today. The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Luis Robert Jr.'s launch angle in recent games (23.5° in the last two weeks) is considerably better than his 20.5° seasonal mark. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Luis Robert Jr.'s true offensive ability to be a .317, providing some evidence that he has been unlucky this year given the .071 difference between that figure and his actual .246 wOBA.

Batting from the opposite that Osvaldo Bido throws from, Matt Thaiss will have an edge in today's game. The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. In terms of plate discipline, Matt Thaiss's skill is quite good, putting up a 1.76 K/BB rate since the start of last season while grading out in in the 86th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 81st percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Andrew Benintendi is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Andrew Benintendi will have the handedness advantage over Osvaldo Bido today. The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Andrew Benintendi has made substantial improvements with his Barrel%, bettering his 6.3% rate last year to 11.8% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Shea Langeliers in the 88th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Shea Langeliers is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Shea Langeliers will hold that advantage in today's game. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Shea Langeliers's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.7-mph over the course of the season to 96.8-mph lately. Compared to last season, Shea Langeliers has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 39.1% to 49.3% this season.

The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Lenyn Sosa has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.9-mph to 94-mph in the past week's worth of games. In the past week's worth of games, Lenyn Sosa's 72.2% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 50%. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.295) implies that Lenyn Sosa has had some very poor luck since the start of last season with his .257 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Soderstrom in the 88th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Tyler Soderstrom is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game. Batting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, Tyler Soderstrom will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Tyler Soderstrom will hold that advantage in today's game. Tyler Soderstrom's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 41.6% to 50%.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Lawrence Butler ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lawrence Butler is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Lawrence Butler will have the handedness advantage over Davis Martin in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Lawrence Butler will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last week, Lawrence Butler's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.9-mph over the course of the season to 96-mph of late.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Andrew Vaughn ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Andrew Vaughn is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. In the last 7 days, Andrew Vaughn's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.9% up to 19%. Andrew Vaughn has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 96.6-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 90.3-mph figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gio Urshela in the 89th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Gio Urshela will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Gio Urshela'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 16.8% to 23.1%. Over the last 14 days, Gio Urshela's 33.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 23.1%. Gio Urshela has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average since the start of last season; his .246 rate is quite a bit lower than his .271 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Max Schuemann will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.296) provides evidence that Max Schuemann has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .280 actual wOBA. When it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34° (the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs), Max Schuemann and his 20.1% rank in the 95th percentile since the start of last season. Max Schuemann has been very good at hitting the ball to all fields (a key talent for batting average), checking in at the 85th percentile in THE BAT X's Spray Score since the start of last season.

JJ Bleday will have the handedness advantage against Davis Martin today. Extreme groundball bats like JJ Bleday generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Davis Martin. JJ Bleday will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Compared to his seasonal average of 18.7°, JJ Bleday has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 29.7° angle in the last two weeks. Sporting a .333 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) since the start of last season, JJ Bleday is positioned in the 75th percentile.

Joshua Palacios is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today. Hitting from the opposite that Osvaldo Bido throws from, Joshua Palacios will have an advantage today. Extreme groundball batters like Joshua Palacios tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Osvaldo Bido. The Athletics outfield defense grades out as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. As it relates to his wOBA and overall offense, Joshua Palacios has had some very poor luck since the start of last season. His .284 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .323.

Nicholas Kurtz will hold the platoon advantage against Davis Martin today. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Nicholas Kurtz will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the last week, Nicholas Kurtz's maximum exit velocity (a favorable indicator of recent form and raw power) has been 112.2-mph, which qualifies as one of the hardest-hit balls in MLB.