Los Angeles @ New York picks

Freddie Freeman continues to tear the cover off the baseball. The slugger is one of the most consistent hitters in the big leagues, hitting .368 with nine homers and 34 RBI. The Dodgers can usually count on Freeman to produce offensively at the dish. L.A. begins a series with the Mets tonight, and they send Griffin Canning to the hill. He’s done well so far in his debut season in the Big Apple and while Freeman hasn’t faced him much before, I’m looking at this bet because his only hit in five at-bats was a long ball. 

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw continues his comeback attempt following surgeries on his knee and toe, but the outlook is not promising. In his debut, Kershaw allowed five runs on five hits through four innings. He struck out only two batters in that outing, and a quick improvement appears unlikely. His fastball velocity has significantly declined, diminishing the effectiveness of his slider and curveball. Father Time and injuries appear to have caught up to the future Hall of Famer, making him a fade candidate until further notice.

Shohei Ohtani is a total bases machine. He has averaged a ridiculous 2.6 total bases per game and cleared this line in 54% of his appearances, including 58% featuring a right-handed starting pitcher. His numbers are great on the surface and they’re even better when zooming in. Ohtani enters play scorching hot, recording multiple bases on 15 of his last 20 games while averaging 3.3 along the way.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Mookie Betts ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Mookie Betts is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Mookie Betts hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the league's shallowest CF fences in today's matchup.. Extreme flyball hitters like Mookie Betts generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Griffin Canning.. The New York Mets infield defense profiles as the 5th-worst among all the teams playing today.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Juan Soto ranks as the 4th-best hitter in Major League Baseball.. Juan Soto is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today.. Citi Field has the shallowest CF dimensions among all major league parks.. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today.. Juan Soto will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

When estimating his BABIP ability, Teoscar Hernandez is projected as the 17th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Teoscar Hernandez is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game.. Citi Field has the shallowest CF dimensions among all major league parks.. The New York Mets infield defense profiles as the 5th-worst among all the teams playing today.. Using Statcast data, Teoscar Hernandez ranks in the 94th percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .293.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Pete Alonso as MLB's 11th-best home run hitter.. Pete Alonso is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this game.. Pete Alonso will have the handedness advantage over Clayton Kershaw today.. Pete Alonso pulls many of his flyballs (33.3% — 76th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 4th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today.

When estimating his BABIP ability, Teoscar Hernandez is projected as the 17th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Teoscar Hernandez is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this game.. Citi Field has the shallowest CF dimensions among all major league parks.. The New York Mets infield defense profiles as the 3rd-worst among all the teams playing today.. Using Statcast data, Teoscar Hernandez ranks in the 93rd percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .293.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Mookie Betts ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Mookie Betts is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Mookie Betts hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the league's shallowest CF fences in today's matchup.. Extreme flyball hitters like Mookie Betts generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Griffin Canning.. The New York Mets infield defense profiles as the 5th-worst among all the teams playing today.

Tyrone Taylor is projected to hit 6th in the lineup in today's game.. 23% of the time that Tyrone Taylor has started against a left-handed starter this year, he has been pulled from the game early.. The #1 stadium in the majors for suppressing base hits to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Citi Field.. Citi Field's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in the majors, which tends to lead to lower offensive output.. Tyrone Taylor's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off this season; his 91.7-mph mark last season has lowered to 88.3-mph.

Brett Baty has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.6%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 4th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today.. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats across the board, and Brett Baty will hold that advantage in today's game.. The Barrel% of Brett Baty has significantly improved, with an increase from 5.5% last year to 16.9% this year.. In the past 14 days, Brett Baty'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 18.6%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Pete Alonso as MLB's 11th-best home run hitter.. Pete Alonso is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this game.. Pete Alonso will have the handedness advantage over Clayton Kershaw today.. Pete Alonso pulls many of his flyballs (33.3% — 76th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 4th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense profiles as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Mookie Betts ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Mookie Betts is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Mookie Betts hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the league's shallowest CF fences in today's matchup.. Extreme flyball hitters like Mookie Betts generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Griffin Canning.. The New York Mets infield defense profiles as the 5th-worst among all the teams playing today.