St. Louis @ Miami Picks & Props

Nathan Church will hold the platoon advantage over Edward Cabrera today.

LoanDepot Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which tends to lead to less offense. The LoanDepot Park roof figures to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -6° colder than the average outdoor game of the day — favorable for pitching. Xavier Edwards has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of MLB's 10th-deepest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball bats like Xavier Edwards are generally less successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Michael McGreevy. Xavier Edwards's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (5.1°) is significantly worse than his 10.8° angle last year.

Eric Wagaman hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 90th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards baseball's 6th-shallowest CF fences today. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Eric Wagaman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Eric Wagaman has made big gains with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 6.3% seasonal rate to 25% over the last two weeks. Eric Wagaman has seen a big increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 98.1-mph average in the past two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 90.8-mph average.

Pedro Pages has made significant improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 8.5% seasonal rate to 17.6% in the past two weeks. Pedro Pages's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, rising from 16.2% on the season to 29.4% over the last 14 days.

Nolan Gorman will have the handedness advantage against Edward Cabrera in today's matchup. Compared to his seasonal average of 21.7°, Nolan Gorman has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 33.8° mark in the past week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alec Burleson in the 92nd percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Alec Burleson is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Edward Cabrera throws from, Alec Burleson will have an advantage in today's game. Alec Burleson hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.4% — 93rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards baseball's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. With a .345 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Alec Burleson finds himself in the 75th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lars Nootbaar in the 90th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Lars Nootbaar is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Batting from the opposite that Edward Cabrera throws from, Lars Nootbaar will have an edge in today's game. Lars Nootbaar hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (41.2% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing MLB's 6th-shallowest CF fences today. Lars Nootbaar's average exit velocity has fallen off recently; his 91.9-mph seasonal average has lowered to 86.9-mph over the past week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Otto Lopez in the 95th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Otto Lopez is penciled in 5th in the lineup in today's game. Otto Lopez hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.9% — 97th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards MLB's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Otto Lopez will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.

Hitting from the opposite that Michael McGreevy throws from, Troy Johnston will have an advantage in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Troy Johnston will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Masyn Winn in the 79th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Masyn Winn is projected to hit 5th in the lineup today. The 5th-shallowest CF dimensions among all stadiums are found in LoanDepot Park. In the past 14 days, Masyn Winn's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 89.4-mph over the course of the season to 93.4-mph in recent games. Masyn Winn's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better of late, increasing from 43% on the season to 57.1% in the last week's worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Thomas Saggese in the 92nd percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. In the last 7 days, Thomas Saggese's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.1% up to 15.4%. Thomas Saggese has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.8-mph to 98.4-mph over the past 7 days. Thomas Saggese's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased of late, rising from 48.5% on the season to 53.8% in the last two weeks' worth of games. Thomas Saggese has compiled a .316 BABIP since the start of last season, checking in at the 81st percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willson Contreras in the 95th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Willson Contreras is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in today's game. The 5th-shallowest CF dimensions among all stadiums are found in LoanDepot Park. Willson Contreras's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off recently; his 95.6-mph seasonal EV has dropped off to 92.7-mph in the last 14 days. Willson Contreras's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 15.1% to 18.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ivan Herrera in the 86th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Ivan Herrera is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Ivan Herrera hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 82nd percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the game's 6th-shallowest CF fences today. Ivan Herrera has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 97.2-mph average to last year's 91.5-mph mark. Posting a .353 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Ivan Herrera has performed in the 84th percentile.

Liam Hicks has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (73% of the time), but he is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today. Batting from the opposite that Michael McGreevy throws from, Liam Hicks will have the upper hand in today's matchup. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Liam Hicks will possess the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Over the last week, Liam Hicks's 66.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 48.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Agustin Ramirez in the 75th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Agustin Ramirez is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. The 5th-shallowest CF dimensions among all stadiums are found in LoanDepot Park. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics across the board, and Agustin Ramirez will hold that advantage in today's game.

The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Heriberto Hernandez will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Grading out in the 82nd percentile, Heriberto Hernandez has put up a .339 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year. By putting up a .270 batting average this year, Heriberto Hernandez is positioned in the 83rd percentile.

Jakob Marsee has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (75% of the time), but he is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Jakob Marsee will have the handedness advantage against Michael McGreevy in today's matchup. The St. Louis Cardinals infield defense grades out as the 2nd-weakest out of every team playing today. Jakob Marsee will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Jakob Marsee has been hot of late, compiling a a 15.8% Barrel% (an advanced stat to measure power) over the past week.

Javier Sanoja has gone over 0.5 in 8 of his last 10 games.