Kansas City @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

Drew Waters's BABIP skill is projected in the 92nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Drew Waters will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side against Drew Rasmussen today. Drew Waters pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.8% — 80th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Drew Waters has been optimizing his launch angle on his hardest hit balls quite well in recent games, putting up a 19.8° angle on such balls over the last 14 days.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Kameron Misner will hold that advantage in today's game.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Batting from the opposite that Noah Cameron throws from, Jose Caballero will have an advantage today. Jose Caballero will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Compared to his seasonal average of 20°, Jose Caballero has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 34.5° figure over the past 7 days. Jose Caballero has posted a .317 BABIP since the start of last season, grading out in the 82nd percentile.

Bats such as Yandy Diaz with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Noah Cameron who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.

Michael Massey is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Batting from the opposite that Drew Rasmussen throws from, Michael Massey will have an edge in today's game. Michael Massey pulls a lot of his flyballs (37% — 94th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Extreme flyball hitters like Michael Massey generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Drew Rasmussen.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Brandon Lowe ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brandon Lowe is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Brandon Lowe pulls many of his flyballs (36.5% — 94th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Brandon Lowe will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Hitting from the opposite that Drew Rasmussen throws from, Kyle Isbel will have an advantage today.

Drew Rasmussen will hold the platoon advantage over Bobby Witt Jr. in today's game. The Tampa Bay Rays infield defense projects as the 2nd-strongest out of every team on the slate today. Playing on the road generally weakens hitter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Bobby Witt Jr. today. Over the last 7 days, Bobby Witt Jr.'s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 9.4% down to 0%. Bobby Witt Jr. has been cold lately, with his seasonal exit velocity of 91.2-mph dropping to 85.2-mph over the last 7 days.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Danny Jansen will hold the platoon advantage against Noah Cameron in today's game. Extreme groundball bats like Danny Jansen usually hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Noah Cameron. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Danny Jansen will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Danny Jansen has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.4-mph to 93.7-mph in the last 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chandler Simpson in the 97th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Chandler Simpson is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Chandler Simpson will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. The switch-hitting Taylor Walls will get to bat from his better side (0) today against Noah Cameron. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Taylor Walls will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the past 14 days, Taylor Walls's 57.9% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 48.9%. Taylor Walls has experienced some negative variance in regards to his wOBA this year; his .222 figure is considerably lower than his .268 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Vinnie Pasquantino will have the handedness advantage over Drew Rasmussen in today's matchup. Vinnie Pasquantino pulls many of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. There has been a significant improvement in Vinnie Pasquantino's launch angle from last year's 14.4° to 22.2° this year.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Jonathan India ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jonathan India is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Jonathan India's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, rising from 16.4% to 24.3%. Over the last week, Jonathan India's 37.5% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 22.9%.

Salvador Perez is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Extreme groundball bats like Salvador Perez tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Drew Rasmussen. Salvador Perez has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .278 rate is quite a bit lower than his .334 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Junior Caminero in the 92nd percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Junior Caminero is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Junior Caminero will have the handedness advantage against Noah Cameron today. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats across the board, and Junior Caminero will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Hunter Renfroe has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.9-mph to 92.2-mph in the last week's worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christopher Morel in the 84th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Christopher Morel is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this game. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Hitting from the opposite that Noah Cameron throws from, Christopher Morel will have the upper hand in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Christopher Morel will hold that advantage 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 is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Maikel Garcia has a 94th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.1%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Maikel Garcia's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 42.5% to 50%.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Hitting from the opposite that Drew Rasmussen throws from, Cavan Biggio will have the upper hand in today's game. This season, Cavan Biggio has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 87.2 mph compared to last year's 84.7 mph mark. Cavan Biggio and his 24.5° launch angle on his hardest-hit balls rank in 97th percentile, among the highest in MLB since the start of last season.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report forecasts the highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 86°. Curtis Mead will hold the platoon advantage over Noah Cameron in today's matchup. Curtis Mead has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Curtis Mead will hold that advantage today. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Curtis Mead has had some very poor luck since the start of last season. His .242 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .306.

Jonathan Aranda has gone over 0.5 in 8 of his last 10 games.