Angel Stadium
Zach Neto has shown bad plate discipline this year, checking in at the 7th percentile with a 5.72 K/BB rate.
Hitting from the same side that Jose Soriano throws from, Jeremy Pena has a tough challenge in today's game. Typically, hitters like Jeremy Pena who hit a lot of flyballs are generally less successful when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Jose Soriano. Jeremy Pena will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's matchup. In the past week's worth of games, Jeremy Pena's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal EV of 88.9 mph to 77.4 mph. Jeremy Pena's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last year to this one, decreasing from 12.3% to 8.2%.
Hitting from the same side that Jose Soriano throws from, Yainer Diaz encounters a tough challenge in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz's average exit velocity has fallen off of late; his 91.2-mph seasonal EV has dropped off to 88-mph over the last 7 days. In the last week, Yainer Diaz's 24.1% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 45.4%. Yainer Diaz has displayed weak plate discipline this year, ranking in the 14th percentile with a 4.54 K/BB rate.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Taylor Ward in the 94th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Taylor Ward is penciled in 4th in the batting order today. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Batting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Taylor Ward will have an edge in today's game. Extreme flyball bats like Taylor Ward tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Brandon Walter.
Luis Rengifo's batting average skill is projected to be in the 77th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. The switch-hitting Luis Rengifo will get to bat from his strong side (0) today against Brandon Walter. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Luis Rengifo will hold that advantage today. Luis Rengifo has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 90.4-mph average to last season's 87.5-mph mark.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jo Adell in the 77th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Jo Adell will have the handedness advantage over Brandon Walter today. Jo Adell will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Jo Adell has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 99.7-mph average to last year's 94.1-mph average.
According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Mike Trout ranks as the 8th-best batter in MLB. Mike Trout is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Batting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Mike Trout will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Batters such as Mike Trout with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Brandon Walter who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 86th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Compared to last season, Jake Meyers 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 44.4% to 51.5% this season. With a .366 BABIP this year, Jake Meyers has performed in the 96th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Mauricio Dubon has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 98-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal figure of 86.5-mph. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.283) may lead us to conclude that Mauricio Dubon has had some very poor luck this year with his .257 actual batting average.
Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Extreme groundball bats like Isaac Paredes usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jose Soriano. Isaac Paredes has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 87.4-mph average to last season's 85-mph mark. Isaac Paredes's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls of late (25.6° in the past two weeks' worth of games) is quite a bit higher than his 19.8° seasonal figure.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Logan O'Hoppe in the 82nd percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Logan O'Hoppe is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today's game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Batting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Logan O'Hoppe will have the upper hand today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats across the board, and Logan O'Hoppe will hold that advantage in today's game.
Jose Altuve's batting average talent is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Jose Altuve has made notable gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 6.5% seasonal rate to 15.6% over the last week. In the past week's worth of games, Jose Altuve'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 16.2%.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Moore in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Batting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Christian Moore will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Christian Moore will hold that advantage in today's game. In the last week's worth of games, Christian Moore's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 30% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Schanuel in the 91st percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Nolan Schanuel is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Nolan Schanuel will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Compared to his seasonal average of 13.4°, Nolan Schanuel has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 24.8° figure in the past week.
The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Victor Caratini has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 93.5-mph average to last season's 89.9-mph average. Victor Caratini has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 98.4-mph average in the last week's worth of games to his seasonal average of 93.5-mph.
The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Christian Walker's true offensive skill to be a .330, suggesting that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .043 difference between that mark and his actual .287 wOBA.
The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Luis Guillorme will have the handedness advantage over Jose Soriano in today's game. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.227) suggests that Luis Guillorme has been unlucky since the start of last season with his .200 actual batting average. As it relates to plate discipline, Luis Guillorme's talent is quite good, putting up a 1.68 K/BB rate since the start of last season while checking in at in the 89th percentile.
The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for bats. Batting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Scott Kingery will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats across the board, and Scott Kingery will hold that advantage today. Scott Kingery is notably athletic, checking in at the 81st percentile in Sprint Speed at 28.42 ft/sec this year.
