New York @ New York picks

Juan Soto returns to the Bronx to face his former team, and I'm willing to bank on a great effort from his team to get him the win. Tylor Megill has been solid this year and is a good bounce-back candidate, while Carlos Rodon is never to be trusted against a team with plenty of pop in their lineup. Give me the Mets here to pick up the win for Soto. 

The New York Mets hit the Yankees with a significant blow by signing star slugger Juan Soto away from their rivals. It was a bold move that shifted the city's baseball narrative. Even more striking, the Mets have asserted dominance in recent head-to-head matchups with four straight wins. These are all the key tentacles of the subplots making up this weekend's series. Why have the Mets had so much recent success? Well, mostly offense and being able to display a sizable advantage on the mound, even a few times against the Yankees' ace pitchers. Tonight, the narrative flips. It's the Yankees with a pitching advantage in this opener, and that's why I'm taking them to grab the win as my best bet. I made the New York Yankees a -157 favorite here and would play this down to -150.

Aaron Judge is already running away with the AL MVP award, and we haven’t even hit June. The Yankees slugger leads the big leagues in average (.412), hits (68), and RBIs (41). He’s also tied for the MLB lead in homers with 15. The reigning MVP winner just went deep in his last game against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. In fact, he has three home runs in his last five appearances. The outfielder is batting .314 lifetime against the Mets with 12 long balls in just 25 games.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Pete Alonso ranks as the 16th-best hitter in the league.. Pete Alonso is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in today's game.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Pete Alonso will hold the platoon advantage against Carlos Rodon in today's matchup.. Among all the teams in action today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the New York Yankees.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ben Rice in the 94th percentile when estimating his home run ability.. Ben Rice is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Hitting from the opposite that Tylor Megill throws from, Ben Rice will have an advantage in today's game.. Ben Rice may have an edge against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the New York Mets has just 1 same-handed RP.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Trent Grisham as the majors's 17th-best home run hitter.. Trent Grisham is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Trent Grisham will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Tylor Megill in today's game.. Trent Grisham has a good chance to have the upper hand against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the New York Mets has just 1 same-handed RP.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Nimmo in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.. Brandon Nimmo is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Among all the teams in action today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the New York Yankees.. Brandon Nimmo's launch angle recently (20.4° over the last two weeks) is significantly better than his 11.6° seasonal angle.

As it relates to his home run ability, Francisco Alvarez ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Hitting from the opposite that Carlos Rodon throws from, Francisco Alvarez will have the upper hand in today's matchup.. Among all the teams in action today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the New York Yankees.. Francisco Alvarez's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 37.5% to 52.9%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mark Vientos in the 89th percentile when estimating his home run talent.. Mark Vientos is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in today's game.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Batting from the opposite that Carlos Rodon throws from, Mark Vientos will have an advantage in today's game.. Among all the teams in action today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the New York Yankees.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Francisco Lindor in the 95th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.. Francisco Lindor is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this matchup.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. The switch-hitting Francisco Lindor will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Carlos Rodon.. Among all the teams in action today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the New York Yankees.

Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in today's game.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Cody Bellinger will hold the platoon advantage over Tylor Megill in today's game.. Cody Bellinger has a good chance to have an edge against every reliever from start to finish, since the bullpen of the New York Mets has just 1 same-handed RP.. Cody Bellinger pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.9% — 81st percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 7th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

Juan Soto projects as the 3rd-best batter in the league, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Juan Soto is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. Juan Soto may have an advantage against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the New York Yankees has just 1 same-handed RP.. Among all the teams in action today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the New York Yankees.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Paul Goldschmidt in the 87th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.. Paul Goldschmidt is penciled in 4th in the lineup today.. Yankee Stadium has the 8th-shortest fences in the league.. The New York Mets infield defense projects as the 5th-worst among every team in action today.. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats across the board, and Paul Goldschmidt will hold that advantage in today's game.