Globe Life Field
Carlos Santana is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. Carlos Santana has displayed favorable plate discipline this year, grading out in the 83rd percentile with a 1.64 K/BB rate.
Brayan Rocchio has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 87.4-mph average to last season's 84.5-mph average. Brayan Rocchio's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls lately (21° in the past two weeks) is quite a bit higher than his 14.7° seasonal angle. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.256) suggests that Brayan Rocchio has had bad variance on his side this year with his .231 actual batting average.
Austin Hedges has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 93.1-mph average to last season's 88.4-mph average. Austin Hedges's 23.5° launch angle (a reliable standard to evaluate a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is among the highest in the game: 97th percentile.
Bo Naylor will have the handedness advantage against Jack Leiter in today's game. Compared to his seasonal average of 22.1°, Bo Naylor has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 25.1° mark in the last 14 days. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Bo Naylor has suffered from bad luck this year. His .278 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .319.
Kyle Manzardo is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. Kyle Manzardo will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jack Leiter in today's game. Kyle Manzardo has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 99.2-mph average in the past two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal mark of 94.4-mph.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Collin Kayfus in the 89th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Batting from the opposite that Jack Leiter throws from, Collin Kayfus will have an edge in today's matchup. Collin Kayfus has made notable gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 15.2% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the past 7 days. Collin Kayfus has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 88.2-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal EV of 85-mph. Collin Kayfus's launch angle lately (23.7° in the last week) is considerably better than his 13.8° seasonal mark.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gabriel Arias in the 78th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Over the last two weeks, Gabriel Arias's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 97.5-mph over the course of the season to 105.6-mph recently. Compared to his seasonal average of 6.5°, Gabriel Arias has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 29.7° angle over the past 7 days.
Daniel Schneemann is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 60% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Daniel Schneemann will hold the platoon advantage over Jack Leiter today. Daniel Schneemann has made substantial gains with his Barrel%, upping his 4.8% rate last season to 11.5% this year. Over the past 14 days, Daniel Schneemann has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 23.1° compared to his seasonal mark of 16.1°. Daniel Schneemann has experienced some negative variance in regards to his wOBA this year; his .308 figure is quite a bit lower than his .327 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 96th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Wyatt Langford is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Logan Allen throws from, Wyatt Langford will have an edge in today's game. Wyatt Langford will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Wyatt Langford has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 101.4-mph average over the past week to his seasonal mark of 93.9-mph.
David Fry is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. David Fry has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 93.6-mph average to last year's 90.6-mph average. David Fry's launch angle this season (24.1°) is quite a bit better than his 19.4° angle last season.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Ramirez in the 96th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Jose Ramirez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Jose Ramirez's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 38.6% to 43.7%. In notching a .368 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Jose Ramirez is ranked in the 93rd percentile. As it relates to plate discipline, Jose Ramirez's ability is quite impressive, sporting a 1.02 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 99th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 86th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Josh Jung is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Logan Allen throws from, Josh Jung will have an edge today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Josh Jung will hold that advantage in today's matchup. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Josh Jung's true offensive talent to be a .314, implying that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .028 disparity between that figure and his actual .286 wOBA.
According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Corey Seager ranks as the 7th-best hitter in Major League Baseball. Corey Seager is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Corey Seager will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. In the last 14 days, Corey Seager's 30% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16.7%. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Corey Seager's true offensive talent to be a .380, indicating that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .020 difference between that mark and his actual .360 wOBA.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 80th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Batting from the opposite that Logan Allen throws from, Adolis Garcia will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Adolis Garcia will hold that advantage today. Adolis Garcia's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 13.9% to 18.1%. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Adolis Garcia's true offensive talent to be a .325, suggesting that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .043 discrepancy between that figure and his actual .282 wOBA.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Steven Kwan in the 93rd percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Steven Kwan is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this game. Steven Kwan will have the handedness advantage against Jack Leiter in today's game. Over the last 7 days, Steven Kwan's 57.9% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 48.1%. Steven Kwan has notched a .291 Expected Batting Average this year, placing in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.
Kyle Higashioka has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (92% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that Logan Allen throws from, Kyle Higashioka will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats across the board, and Kyle Higashioka will hold that advantage in today's game.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ezequiel Duran in the 77th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Ezequiel Duran is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Hitting from the opposite that Logan Allen throws from, Ezequiel Duran will have an advantage in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Ezequiel Duran will hold that advantage today. Ezequiel Duran's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, rising from 34.6% to 41%.
As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the dish, Jonah Heim will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side against Logan Allen in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jonah Heim has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 7.3% seasonal rate to 15.8% over the last week. Jonah Heim's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, going from 11.1% to 16.1%. Over the last two weeks, Jonah Heim's 25.9% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16.1%.
Batting from the opposite that Logan Allen throws from, Cody Freeman will have an edge today. Cody Freeman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats.
Josh Smith has gone over 0.5 in 6 of his last 10 games.
Nolan Jones has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.
