Detroit @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

The #4 field in Major League Baseball for suppressing batting average to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is George M. Steinbrenner Field. In today's game, Jake Mangum is at a disadvantage facing the league's 7th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 35.8% rate (89th percentile). Typically, batters like Jake Mangum who hit a lot of flyballs are generally less successful when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Casey Mize. Jake Mangum's exit velocity on flyballs has declined in recent games; his 92.6-mph seasonal figure has dropped to 88.4-mph in the last two weeks. Jake Mangum's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased in recent games, going from 9.2% on the season to 5% in the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks George M. Steinbrenner Field as the 4th-worst ballpark in the majors for righty batting average. Casey Mize will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yandy Diaz in today's matchup. Extreme flyball bats like Yandy Diaz generally hit worse against extreme flyball pitchers like Casey Mize. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Yandy Diaz's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal figure of 94 mph to 89.4 mph.

Hitting from the opposite that Casey Mize throws from, Matt Thaiss will have the upper hand today. The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Matt Thaiss will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. When it comes to plate discipline, Matt Thaiss's talent is quite impressive, posting a 1.67 K/BB rate since the start of last season while ranking in in the 88th percentile. By putting up a .324 BABIP since the start of last season, Matt Thaiss is positioned in the 83rd percentile.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Christopher Morel ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Christopher Morel will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. In comparison to his 89.1-mph average last year, Christopher Morel's exit velocity has noticeably risen this season, now sitting at 91.1 mph. Christopher Morel's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 14.7% to 22.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Riley Greene as the 6th-best batter in the league as it relates to his BABIP skill. Riley Greene is penciled in 4th in the batting order today. Riley Greene will hold the platoon advantage over Zack Littell in today's game. Riley Greene's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, increasing from 17.9% to 22%. Riley Greene's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better of late, going from 22% on the season to 36.7% in the last two weeks.

The switch-hitting Wenceel Perez will get to bat from his strong side (0) today against Zack Littell. Wenceel Perez pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.5% — 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. Wenceel Perez has made significant improvements with his Barrel%, upping his 4.4% rate last year to 18% this season. Wenceel Perez has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 18% seasonal rate to 30.8% in the past 7 days. There has been a significant improvement in Wenceel Perez's launch angle from last season's 17.7° to 25.3° this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gleyber Torres in the 89th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Gleyber Torres is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this game. Gleyber Torres has an 89th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.7%) 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. Gleyber Torres's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 16.6% to 20.6%. Over the last 7 days, Gleyber Torres's 56.3% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 49.2%.

Dillon Dingler's launch angle recently (24.1° in the last two weeks) is considerably better than his 17.4° seasonal angle. Dillon Dingler's 17.4° launch angle (an advanced stat to evaluate a hitter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the highest in Major League Baseball: 82nd percentile. Placing in the 88th percentile, Dillon Dingler sits with a .344 BABIP this year.

Parker Meadows will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Zack Littell in today's matchup. Parker Meadows has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 91-mph average to last season's 87-mph EV. Parker Meadows's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved recently, increasing from 44.1% on the season to 70% over the past 7 days.

The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Jose Caballero will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the past two weeks, Jose Caballero's 25% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 19.6%. Jose Caballero's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 43.9% to 51.4%. By putting up a .315 BABIP since the start of last season, Jose Caballero finds himself in the 78th percentile.

Spencer Torkelson is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. The Barrel% of Spencer Torkelson has significantly improved, with an increase from 6.8% last year to 14% this year. This season, Spencer Torkelson has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 95.3 mph compared to last year's 90.5 mph mark. Compared to last season, Spencer Torkelson has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 17.6% to 25.8% this season. Based on Statcast data, Spencer Torkelson is in the 76th percentile for offensive skills per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .340.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Lowe in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Brandon Lowe is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Brandon Lowe will have the handedness advantage against Casey Mize today. Brandon Lowe pulls many of his flyballs (35.8% — 91st percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today.

Extreme groundball hitters like Javier Baez usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Zack Littell. Javier Baez's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 35% to 40.4%. With a .292 batting average this year, Javier Baez grades out in the 89th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kerry Carpenter in the 90th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Kerry Carpenter is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this game. Kerry Carpenter will have the handedness advantage against Zack Littell today. Kerry Carpenter pulls many of his flyballs (34.7% — 86th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

Colt Keith's batting average talent is projected to be in the 88th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Colt Keith is penciled in 1st in the lineup today. Hitting from the opposite that Zack Littell throws from, Colt Keith will have an advantage in today's matchup. In the last week's worth of games, Colt Keith's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.5% up to 33.3%. Colt Keith has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 98.1-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal 89.2-mph mark.

The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Taylor Walls will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Taylor Walls's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 15.8% to 19.7%. Taylor Walls's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased recently, increasing from 19.7% on the season to 45% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Junior Caminero in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Junior Caminero is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Junior Caminero will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Junior Caminero's average exit velocity has risen significantly from last season to this one, averaging 91.6-mph now compared to just 89.5-mph then.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jonathan Aranda in the 88th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Jonathan Aranda is penciled in 4th on the lineup card today. Jonathan Aranda will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Casey Mize in today's matchup. The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Jonathan Aranda will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Kameron Misner will hold the platoon advantage against Casey Mize today. The Detroit Tigers infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team on the slate today. Kameron Misner will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Kameron Misner has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 96.2-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal mark of 91.5-mph. Compared to his seasonal average of 15.2°, Kameron Misner has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 49.5° angle in the last week's worth of games.

Josh Lowe has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.