St. Louis @ Miami Picks & Props

Built just 6 feet above sea level, LoanDepot Park has one of the lowest altitudes in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The LoanDepot Park roof is expected to be closed today, making conditions in this match-up -8° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate — favorable for pitching. Xavier Edwards has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39%) and will have to hit them out towards baseball's 10th-deepest LF fences in today's matchup. Typically, batters like Xavier Edwards who hit a lot of groundballs tend to be less successful when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of groundballs such as Andre Pallante. Xavier Edwards's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this year (5.1°) is quite a bit lower than his 10.8° mark last season.

Built just 6 feet above sea level, LoanDepot Park has one of the lowest altitudes in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The LoanDepot Park roof is expected to be closed today, making conditions in this match-up -8° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate — favorable for pitching. Batting from the same side that Andre Pallante throws from, Otto Lopez has a tough challenge in today's game. Extreme groundball hitters like Otto Lopez generally hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Andre Pallante. Over the last 7 days, Otto Lopez's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 7.6% down to 0%.

Nathan Church will have the handedness advantage against Sandy Alcantara in today's matchup.

Masyn Winn's batting average talent is projected to be in the 79th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Masyn Winn is projected to hit 5th in the lineup today. LoanDepot Park has the 5th-shallowest centerfield dimensions in MLB. In the past two weeks' worth of games, 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 lately. Masyn Winn's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, increasing from 43% on the season to 57.1% in the past week's worth of games.

Eric Wagaman hits many of his flyballs to center field (39.3% — 92nd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the game's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Eric Wagaman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Eric Wagaman has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% recently, improving his 6.3% seasonal rate to 25% in the past 14 days. Eric Wagaman has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 98.1-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 90.8-mph figure.

Nolan Gorman is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 77% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Nolan Gorman will have the handedness advantage over Sandy Alcantara today. Compared to his seasonal average of 21.7°, Nolan Gorman has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 33.8° figure in the last week's worth of games.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Lars Nootbaar ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lars Nootbaar is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game. Lars Nootbaar will hold the platoon advantage against Sandy Alcantara today. Lars Nootbaar hits many of his flyballs to center field (41.1% — 99th percentile) and is fortunate to face MLB's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Lars Nootbaar has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 94.2-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 92-mph average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Javier Sanoja in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. LoanDepot Park has the 5th-shallowest centerfield dimensions in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Javier Sanoja will possess the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Over the last two weeks, Javier Sanoja's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 85.9-mph over the course of the season to 91.4-mph recently.

Joey Wiemer 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 MLB's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Joey Wiemer will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Joey Wiemer has done a good job optimizing his launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls. His 21.3° mark is among the highest in the majors since the start of last season (94th percentile).

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Agustin Ramirez ranks in the 75th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Agustin Ramirez is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. LoanDepot Park has the 5th-shallowest centerfield dimensions in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Agustin Ramirez will hold that advantage in today's game.

Thomas Saggese's BABIP ability is projected in the 93rd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Thomas Saggese has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, improving his 5.1% seasonal rate to 15.4% in the last week's worth of games. Thomas Saggese has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 98.4-mph average over the last week to his seasonal 90.8-mph average. Over the last two weeks, Thomas Saggese's 53.8% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 48.5%. Ranking in the 87th percentile, Thomas Saggese sits with a .329 BABIP since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jordan Walker in the 81st percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Jordan Walker hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (40.8% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards MLB's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Jordan Walker has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.3-mph to 97.7-mph over the past 7 days. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jordan Walker's true offensive ability to be a .308, indicating that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .037 difference between that mark and his actual .271 wOBA.

LoanDepot Park has the 5th-shallowest centerfield dimensions in MLB. Yohel Pozo has recorded a .263 batting average this year, ranking in the 79th percentile.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Willson Contreras ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Willson Contreras is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. LoanDepot Park has the 5th-shallowest centerfield dimensions in MLB. Over the last 14 days, Willson Contreras's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.6-mph over the course of the season to 100.6-mph in recent games. Willson Contreras's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 15.1% to 18.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alec Burleson in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Alec Burleson is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Alec Burleson will hold the platoon advantage against Sandy Alcantara in today's matchup. Alec Burleson hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.5% — 94th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing baseball's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Alec Burleson has recorded a .345 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, checking in at the 75th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ivan Herrera in the 87th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Ivan Herrera is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. This season, Ivan Herrera has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 97.2 mph compared to last year's 91.5 mph mark. By putting up a .353 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Ivan Herrera is positioned in the 84th percentile. Placing in the 93rd percentile, Ivan Herrera has notched a .341 BABIP this year.

Troy Johnston will hold the platoon advantage over Andre Pallante in today's matchup. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats in all categories, and Troy Johnston will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Liam Hicks is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 72% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Liam Hicks will have the handedness advantage against Andre Pallante today. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Liam Hicks will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Liam Hicks's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better of late, increasing from 48.3% on the season to 66.7% over the last week.

Heriberto Hernandez is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Heriberto Hernandez will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Heriberto Hernandez has posted a .339 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, checking in at the 82nd percentile. In notching a .270 batting average this year, Heriberto Hernandez grades out in the 83rd percentile.

Jakob Marsee is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 71% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Jakob Marsee will hold the platoon advantage against Andre Pallante in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst among every team in action today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jakob Marsee will hold that advantage in today's game. In the past 7 days, Jakob Marsee has displayed impressive power, recording a a 15.8% Barrel% (an advanced metric to evaluate power).