Kansas City @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Drew Waters in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. The switch-hitting Drew Waters will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side (0) today against Shane Baz. Drew Waters pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.2% — 83rd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

Hitting from the same side that Shane Baz throws from, Bobby Witt Jr. will not have the upper hand in today's matchup. Extreme flyball batters like Bobby Witt Jr. are generally less successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Shane Baz. The Tampa Bay Rays outfield defense projects as the 3rd-best among all the teams playing today. Playing on the road generally lessens batter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Bobby Witt Jr. in today's matchup. This season, Bobby Witt Jr.'s Barrel% has decreased significantly, dropping from 14.3% last year to just 9% this year.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Kyle Isbel will hold the platoon advantage over Shane Baz in today's matchup.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Christopher Morel ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Christopher Morel is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Christopher Morel will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Christopher Morel has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 10.3% rate last year to 23.9% this year.

Hitting from the same side that Seth Lugo throws from, Yandy Diaz will not have the upper hand in today's matchup.

Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Vinnie Pasquantino will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Shane Baz today. Vinnie Pasquantino pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.6% — 94th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Vinnie Pasquantino's launch angle this year (21.2°) is a considerable increase over his 14.4° figure last year.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Danny Jansen will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Danny Jansen has made significant strides with his Barrel% recently, improving his 2.3% seasonal rate to 11.1% in the past 7 days. This season, Danny Jansen has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 92.7 mph compared to last year's 90.5 mph mark. Danny Jansen's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, going from 16.4% to 22.7%.

Chandler Simpson's batting average ability is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Chandler Simpson is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Chandler Simpson will have the handedness advantage over Seth Lugo in today's matchup. Chandler Simpson will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jonathan India in the 90th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Jonathan India is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. In the past week, Jonathan India's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 4% up to 9.1%. Jonathan India'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, rising from 16.4% to 23.7%.

Junior Caminero's batting average ability is projected to be in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Junior Caminero is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Junior Caminero will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Junior Caminero has seen a big gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 93.4-mph average to last year's 89.5-mph average.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Lowe in the 84th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Brandon Lowe is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Hitting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Brandon Lowe will have an advantage in today's game. Brandon Lowe pulls many of his flyballs (36.5% — 94th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

Maikel Garcia's batting average talent is projected to be in the 91st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Maikel Garcia is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Maikel Garcia has a 94th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.8%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. Extreme groundball bats like Maikel Garcia usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Shane Baz.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Jonathan Aranda ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jonathan Aranda is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in today's game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Jonathan Aranda will hold the platoon advantage over Seth Lugo in today's matchup. Jonathan Aranda will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Ben Rortvedt will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Seth Lugo in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Ben Rortvedt will hold that advantage today.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Jose Caballero will hold that advantage today. Jose Caballero's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, going from 43.9% to 54.8%. With a .316 BABIP since the start of last season, Jose Caballero finds himself in the 80th percentile.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Batting from the opposite that Shane Baz throws from, Michael Massey will have the upper hand in today's game. Michael Massey pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.1% — 94th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. There has been a significant improvement in Michael Massey's launch angle from last season's 16.7° to 21.8° this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Salvador Perez in the 81st percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Salvador Perez is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this game. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Compared to last year, Salvador Perez 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 44.5% to 50% this season. Salvador Perez's 12.8% Barrel% (a reliable stat to assess power) grades out in the 88th percentile since the start of last season.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. When it comes to plate discipline, Mark Canha's ability is quite good, posting a 1.93 K/BB rate since the start of last season while placing in in the 80th percentile.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Hitting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Travis Jankowski will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Travis Jankowski will hold that advantage in today's game. When it comes to his batting average, Travis Jankowski has had bad variance on his side since the start of last season. His .205 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .232.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast expects the highest temperatures of all games on the slate at 82°. Batting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Kameron Misner will have the upper hand in today's game. Kameron Misner will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Kameron Misner has been hot in recent games, tallying a .385 wOBA in the past two weeks. Ranking in the 83rd percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.3 ft/sec this year, Kameron Misner is remarkably fast.

Taylor Walls has gone over 0.5 in 7 of his last 10 games.