Boston @ Los Angeles props

As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 8th-best pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Jarren Duran will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's matchup. Jarren Duran's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off in recent games, going from 44.4% on the season to 30.8% in the past two weeks. Jarren Duran has exhibited poor plate discipline this year, checking in at the 19th percentile with a 4.04 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Taylor Ward in the 94th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Taylor Ward is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game. Hitters such as Taylor Ward with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Walker Buehler who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Taylor Ward will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Taylor Ward's launch angle this season (21°) is significantly higher than his 17.3° figure last season.

Luis Rengifo's batting average skill is projected to be in the 77th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Home field advantage typically improves batter stats in all categories, and Luis Rengifo will hold that advantage in today's matchup. This season, Luis Rengifo has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 90.9 mph compared to last year's 87.5 mph mark. Luis Rengifo's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, going from 41.4% to 49.5%. As it relates to his batting average, Luis Rengifo has been unlucky this year. His .220 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .274.

Batting from the opposite that Walker Buehler throws from, LaMonte Wade Jr. will have an edge in today's matchup. LaMonte Wade Jr. will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. LaMonte Wade Jr.'s launch angle this year (21.9°) is significantly higher than his 12.8° figure last season. LaMonte Wade Jr.'s speed has gotten better this season. His 25.16 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 25.92 ft/sec now. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates LaMonte Wade Jr.'s true offensive skill to be a .324, implying that he has been unlucky this year given the .086 deviation between that mark and his actual .238 wOBA.

Travis d'Arnaud is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. Travis d'Arnaud will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. The Barrel% of Travis d'Arnaud has significantly improved, with an increase from 10.5% last year to 16.7% this year. Travis d'Arnaud has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 99.6-mph average over the last week to his seasonal EV of 96.6-mph. Travis d'Arnaud'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, going from 12.2% to 23.1%.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Zach Neto ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Zach Neto is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Zach Neto will hold that advantage in today's matchup. The Barrel% of Zach Neto has significantly improved, with an increase from 8.5% last year to 15.5% this season. Zach Neto's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 40.6% to 54.1%.

Abraham Toro has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (60% of the time), but he is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. Abraham Toro's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls recently (26.9° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is significantly higher than his 9.3° seasonal angle.

Roman Anthony is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. Batting from the opposite that Jack Kochanowicz throws from, Roman Anthony will have the upper hand in today's game. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. Over the past 7 days, Roman Anthony has displayed impressive power, recording a a 20% Barrel% (a reliable standard to evaluate power). Roman Anthony has hit one of the hardest balls in the majors over the past week — 112.3-mph — which is a favorable measure of recent form and raw power.

Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. Connor Wong has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .195 mark is a fair amount lower than his .277 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. In notching a .322 BABIP since the start of last season, Connor Wong is positioned in the 85th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ceddanne Rafaela in the 77th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. Ceddanne Rafaela has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.4-mph to 96.8-mph over the last week. Ceddanne Rafaela'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 16.5% to 19.8%. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.329) may lead us to conclude that Ceddanne Rafaela has had bad variance on his side this year with his .303 actual wOBA.

Batting from the opposite that Jack Kochanowicz throws from, David Hamilton will have an edge today. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. David Hamilton has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 95.6-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal 86.1-mph EV. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates David Hamilton's true offensive talent to be a .279, suggesting that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .055 gap between that mark and his actual .224 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Logan O'Hoppe in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Logan O'Hoppe is projected to hit 5th in the lineup today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Logan O'Hoppe will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Logan O'Hoppe has made significant gains with his Barrel%, improving his 12% rate last year to 17.9% this season. Logan O'Hoppe's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (22.3°) is significantly higher than his 16° angle last season.

Mike Trout projects as the 11th-best batter in the league, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Mike Trout is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Extreme groundball hitters like Mike Trout tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Walker Buehler. Mike Trout will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Mike Trout has made notable strides with his Barrel% lately, improving his 18% seasonal rate to 23.7% over the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jo Adell in the 78th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Jo Adell will hold that advantage in today's game. Jo Adell has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 15.1% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the last 14 days. Jo Adell has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 99.4-mph average to last season's 94.1-mph mark. In the last two weeks, Jo Adell has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 25.8° compared to his seasonal mark of 15.1°.

Trevor Story is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this game. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. Trevor Story's launch angle in recent games (28° over the last 7 days) is significantly better than his 14.1° seasonal angle. Despite posting a .281 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Trevor Story has had some very poor luck given the .027 discrepancy between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .308.

Nolan Schanuel's batting average skill is projected to be in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Nolan Schanuel is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Walker Buehler throws from, Nolan Schanuel will have an edge in today's game. Nolan Schanuel will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Compared to his seasonal average of 13.7°, Nolan Schanuel has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 27.3° mark in the last 7 days.

Marcelo Mayer will hold the platoon advantage over Jack Kochanowicz in today's matchup. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels. Marcelo Mayer has made big improvements with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 11.6% seasonal rate to 22.2% over the past 14 days. Marcelo Mayer has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.5-mph to 97.8-mph in the past week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Moore in the 88th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Christian Moore will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the last two weeks, Christian Moore's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 26.7% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wilyer Abreu in the 91st percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Wilyer Abreu is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Wilyer Abreu will hold the platoon advantage against Jack Kochanowicz today. Hitters such as Wilyer Abreu with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Jack Kochanowicz who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 15th-worst outfield defense is that of the Los Angeles Angels.