Washington @ Los Angeles Picks & Props

This game is expected to have the 4th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Out of every team today, the 5th-strongest infield defense belongs to the Los Angeles Angels. CJ Abrams will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today. CJ Abrams's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this year (9.5°) is significantly lower than his 13.7° figure last year. Over the past 7 days, CJ Abrams's 5.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 17.1%.

Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Kevin Newman will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects James Wood as the best hitter in the game when estimating his BABIP talent. James Wood is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Kyle Hendricks throws from, James Wood will have the upper hand today. Extreme flyball bats like James Wood tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Kyle Hendricks. James Wood has made substantial strides with his Barrel%, bettering his 10.7% rate last year to 19.7% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Young in the 85th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Hitters such as Jacob Young with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Kyle Hendricks who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Jacob Young has seen a big gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 88.3-mph average to last season's 84.9-mph mark. Based on Statcast metrics, Jacob Young ranks in the 78th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .274. As it relates to plate discipline, Jacob Young's ability is quite strong, putting up a 1.72 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 79th percentile.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Taylor Ward ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Taylor Ward is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this game. Extreme groundball hitters like Taylor Ward are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Mike Soroka. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and Taylor Ward will hold that advantage today. Taylor Ward's launch angle this season (20.4°) is significantly better than his 17.3° angle last year.

Christian Moore's BABIP talent is projected in the 88th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Christian Moore will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Christian Moore has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 96.8-mph average over the last week to his seasonal average of 90.7-mph. In the last week's worth of games, Christian Moore has displayed impressive power, recording a a 22.2% Barrel% (a reliable stat to study power). Over the last 7 days, Christian Moore's swing has been well optimized for base hits, notching a 66.7% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of -4° to 26°.

Josh Bell is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Extreme groundball batters like Josh Bell usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Kyle Hendricks. Josh Bell has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 95-mph average to last year's 92.8-mph average. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.232) suggests that Josh Bell has had bad variance on his side this year with his .194 actual batting average.

Riley Adams has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 93.7-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 91.4-mph average. Despite posting a .186 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Riley Adams has experienced some negative variance given the .099 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .285.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brady House in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Brady House has been honed in on the ideal launch angle for base hits in recent games, angling balls between -4° and 26° 54.8% of the time over the last 14 days.

Daylen Lile's batting average skill is projected to be in the 78th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Hitting from the opposite that Kyle Hendricks throws from, Daylen Lile will have an edge in today's matchup. Daylen Lile's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, rising from 49% on the season to 61.5% in the last 7 days. Compiling a 93.1-mph average exit velocity over the past two weeks, Daylen Lile has been in great form lately. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Daylen Lile has suffered from bad luck this year. His .256 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .318.

Batting from the opposite that Mike Soroka throws from, LaMonte Wade Jr. will have the upper hand in today's matchup. LaMonte Wade Jr. may have an edge against every reliever throughout the game, since the bullpen of the Washington Nationals only has 1 same-handed RP. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and LaMonte Wade Jr. will hold that advantage today. There has been a significant improvement in LaMonte Wade Jr.'s launch angle from last season's 12.8° to 21.4° this year. LaMonte Wade Jr.'s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, going from 47.7% on the season to 56.3% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Jo Adell ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jo Adell has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (97% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Jo Adell will hold that advantage today. Jo Adell has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% recently, upping his 15.3% seasonal rate to 20.7% over the past two weeks. This season, Jo Adell has experienced a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 99.6 mph compared to last year's 94.1 mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Schanuel in the 91st percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Nolan Schanuel is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today. Nolan Schanuel will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Mike Soroka in today's matchup. The Washington Nationals have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Nolan Schanuel can likely count on holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Nolan Schanuel will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 79th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Nathaniel Lowe is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Nathaniel Lowe will hold the platoon advantage over Kyle Hendricks in today's game. Nathaniel Lowe has made substantial strides with his Barrel% recently, upping his 7.5% seasonal rate to 26.7% over the last 7 days. Nathaniel Lowe has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 98.4-mph average over the last week to his seasonal average of 93.8-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Logan O'Hoppe in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Logan O'Hoppe will hold that advantage today. In the past week's worth of games, Logan O'Hoppe's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 18.6% up to 33.3%. Logan O'Hoppe has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 102.8-mph average in the last 14 days to his seasonal figure of 98-mph. Last year, Logan O'Hoppe had an average launch angle of 16° on his hardest-hit balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 22.1°.

Mike Trout projects as the 10th-best batter in Major League Baseball, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Mike Trout is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today. Extreme groundball batters like Mike Trout usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Mike Soroka. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Mike Trout will hold that advantage in today's matchup. This season, Mike Trout has experienced a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 98.3 mph compared to last year's 96.2 mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Rengifo in the 77th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Luis Rengifo has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (72% of the time), but he is projected to hit 1st in the batting order today. Luis Rengifo will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Luis Rengifo has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 97.3-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal EV of 91.5-mph. Over the past week, Luis Rengifo's 33.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 12.8%.

Drew Millas has gone over 0.5 in 7 of his last 10 games.

Luis Garcia has gone over 1.5 in 0 of his last 10 games.