Athletics @ Washington picks

After posting an inflated 6.04 ERA in four July starts, Nationals SP Mitchell Parker was lit on fire by the Brewers to kick off August, giving up 12 hits and eight earned runs in four innings in a 16-9 demolition. The A's offense will have similar results today, en route to a big win.

Jacob Lopez has been great of late, pitching to a 2.70 ERA over his last 10 games and allowing zero runs across his last two turns. The Nats are a bottom-five offense right now and the 10-mph crosswinds should knock some balls down. The biggest angle here is the travel. Washington has to travel to San Francisco for a Friday series opener so this could be a massive letdown spot and a game this afternoon offense might want to end quicker than usual. 

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Josh Bell ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Josh Bell is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this game.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. Josh Bell has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.. Extreme groundball batters like Josh Bell generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jacob Lopez.

JJ Bleday is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. JJ Bleday pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.1% — 83rd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.. The Washington Nationals infield defense projects as the 3rd-worst out of all the teams on the slate today.. Grading out in the 76th percentile, JJ Bleday has notched a .300 Isolated Power rate (ISO) this year.

Paul DeJong is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 81% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. Hitting from the opposite that Jacob Lopez throws from, Paul DeJong will have an advantage in today's game.. Paul DeJong pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.9% — 88th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 10th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the weakest out of all the teams today.

Nicholas Kurtz projects as the 13th-best home run batter in baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Nicholas Kurtz is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this game.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. Nicholas Kurtz has a ton of pop (98th percentile) if he makes contact, but that's usually a big "IF" (30.5% K%). Today, however, opposing pitcher Mitchell Parker struggles to strike batters out (9th percentile K%) — great news for Kurtz.. Nicholas Kurtz has an 87th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.3%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of baseball's 10th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

When assessing his BABIP skill, James Wood is projected as the best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. James Wood is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. James Wood has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.9%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of MLB's 10th-shallowest LF fences today.. Extreme groundball batters like James Wood tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jacob Lopez.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Urias in the 4th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill.. Luis Urias is penciled in 8th in the batting order in this game.. Luis Urias has been pulled from the game early 29% of the time when starting against a lefty hurler this year.. Nationals Park ranks as the #27 ballpark in MLB for overall RHB offense, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Built just 23 feet above sea level, Nationals Park has one of the lowest altitudes in Major League Baseball, which often leads to less offense.

Brady House is penciled in 6th on the lineup card in this matchup.. Nationals Park ranks as the #27 ballpark in MLB for overall RHB offense, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Built just 23 feet above sea level, Nationals Park has one of the lowest altitudes in Major League Baseball, which often leads to less offense.. The wind projects to be blowing in from RF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 2nd-best of the day for mound aces.. Brady House's average exit velocity has fallen off in recent games; his 88.4-mph seasonal average has fallen to 82.6-mph in the last 14 days.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Josh Bell ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Josh Bell is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this game.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. Josh Bell has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.. Extreme groundball batters like Josh Bell generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jacob Lopez.

JJ Bleday is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. JJ Bleday pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.1% — 83rd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.. The Washington Nationals infield defense projects as the 3rd-worst out of all the teams on the slate today.. Grading out in the 76th percentile, JJ Bleday has notched a .300 Isolated Power rate (ISO) this year.

When assessing his BABIP skill, James Wood is projected as the best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. James Wood is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup.. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 3rd-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this matchup.. James Wood has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.9%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of MLB's 10th-shallowest LF fences today.. Extreme groundball batters like James Wood tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jacob Lopez.