Los Angeles @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The switch-hitting Taylor Walls will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Clayton Kershaw. Taylor Walls has a 78th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.9%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today. Taylor Walls will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Shane Baz will have the handedness advantage over Mookie Betts today. Mookie Betts hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.7% — 96th percentile) and will have to hit them out towards the game's 5th-deepest CF fences in today's matchup. Playing on the road typically weakens batter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Mookie Betts today. Over the last 14 days, Mookie Betts's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 5.1% down to 0%. Over the past 7 days, Mookie Betts's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen from his seasonal mark of 90.4 mph to 83.7 mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Junior Caminero in the 89th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Junior Caminero is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Junior Caminero will have the handedness advantage over Clayton Kershaw in today's matchup. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Teoscar Hernandez in the 97th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Teoscar Hernandez is penciled in 5th in the batting order in today's game. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Teoscar Hernandez has an 81st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.4%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Teoscar Hernandez has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 97.4-mph average in the last week's worth of games to his seasonal mark of 93.3-mph.

Yandy Diaz's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls of late (0.6° over the last 14 days) is a considerable dropoff from his 6.2° seasonal figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Freddie Freeman in the 97th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Freddie Freeman is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Hitting from the opposite that Shane Baz throws from, Freddie Freeman will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Freddie Freeman's launch angle in recent games (20.8° in the last 14 days) is quite a bit higher than his 15.1° seasonal angle.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Mangum in the 91st percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Jake Mangum has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.1%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today. Jake Mangum will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Ha-seong Kim is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 60% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Ha-seong Kim will hold the platoon advantage over Clayton Kershaw in today's game. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Ha-seong Kim will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Lowe in the 87th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Brandon Lowe is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Brandon Lowe pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.6% — 90th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today.

The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). When it comes to his batting average, Tommy Edman has had bad variance on his side this year. His .226 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .270.

The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Hitting from the opposite that Shane Baz throws from, Michael Conforto will have an edge in today's matchup. Michael Conforto has made notable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 10.4% seasonal rate to 25% in the past week. Michael Conforto has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 96.2-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal 90.6-mph average. Michael Conforto's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased recently, increasing from 46.4% on the season to 58.3% in the past 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christopher Morel in the 86th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Christopher Morel is penciled in 5th in the batting order in today's game. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Hitting from the opposite that Clayton Kershaw throws from, Christopher Morel will have an edge in today's game. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Shohei Ohtani ranks as the 2nd-best hitter in Major League Baseball. Shohei Ohtani is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Hitting from the opposite that Shane Baz throws from, Shohei Ohtani will have the upper hand in today's game. Shohei Ohtani has made significant improvements with his Barrel% of late, upping his 22.9% seasonal rate to 31% in the past 14 days.

The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Nick Fortes will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Clayton Kershaw today. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Nick Fortes will hold that advantage in today's game. Nick Fortes has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 87-mph average to last season's 84.1-mph figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andy Pages in the 84th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Andy Pages has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 94-mph average in the past two weeks to his seasonal average of 91.8-mph. Andy Pages's launch angle of late (21.2° over the past two weeks) is quite a bit higher than his 16.8° seasonal mark. In notching a .280 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year , Andy Pages is positioned in the 87th percentile.

The weather report predicts temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 87°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). Jonny DeLuca will hold the platoon advantage over Clayton Kershaw today. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among every team on the slate today. Jonny DeLuca will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Alex Freeland has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.

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