Athletics @ St. Louis Picks & Props

Hitting from the opposite that Luis Severino throws from, Nathan Church will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Nathan Church will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Nathan Church has seen a big increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 97.3-mph average in the last week to his seasonal 91.8-mph mark.

JJ Bleday will hold the platoon advantage over Miles Mikolas in today's game. JJ Bleday is likely to have the upper hand against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the St. Louis Cardinals has just 1 same-handed RP. JJ Bleday hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 90th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing MLB's 7th-shallowest CF fences today. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals.

Nolan Gorman is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 68% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Nolan Gorman will hold the platoon advantage over Luis Severino today. Sacramento's 3rd-worst outfield defense of all teams on the slate today creates a favorable matchup for Nolan Gorman, who tends to hit a lot of flyballs. Nolan Gorman will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Nolan Gorman has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.3-mph to 93.4-mph over the last two weeks.

James Crooks's BABIP ability is projected in the 87th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). This matchup is projected to have the 11th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Batting from the opposite that Luis Severino throws from, James Crooks will have an edge in today's game. James Crooks will possess the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.

Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Jose Fermin will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Darell Hernaiz in the 84th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Darell Hernaiz hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.8% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences today. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. Darell Hernaiz has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 94.8-mph average in the past two weeks to his seasonal EV of 92.1-mph. As it relates to his batting average, Darell Hernaiz has been unlucky since the start of last season. His .220 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .245.

Zack Gelof's BABIP ability is projected in the 82nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Zack Gelof hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.9% — 86th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. Zack Gelof has made significant gains with his Barrel% recently, upping his 13.6% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the last two weeks' worth of games. In the last 14 days, Zack Gelof's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.9-mph over the course of the season to 97.7-mph of late.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jordan Walker in the 78th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Jordan Walker hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.8% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards MLB's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Jordan Walker will hold the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Jordan Walker has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 100.4-mph average over the last week to his seasonal figure of 95.1-mph. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jordan Walker's true offensive ability to be a .309, implying that he has suffered from bad luck this year given the .048 deviation between that mark and his actual .261 wOBA.

Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. Colby Thomas has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.3-mph to 98.5-mph in the last two weeks' worth of games.

Victor Scott II will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Luis Severino today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Victor Scott II will hold that advantage in today's game. Victor Scott II has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .282 figure is a good deal lower than his .296 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Ranking in the 100th percentile for Sprint Speed at 30.22 ft/sec this year, Victor Scott II is remarkably athletic.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lawrence Butler in the 75th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Lawrence Butler will have the handedness advantage against Miles Mikolas today. Lawrence Butler may have the upper hand against every reliever for the game's entirety, since the bullpen of the St. Louis Cardinals has just 1 same-handed RP. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. Lawrence Butler has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 96.6-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal average of 93.6-mph.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Lars Nootbaar ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lars Nootbaar is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Luis Severino throws from, Lars Nootbaar will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Lars Nootbaar hits many of his flyballs to center field (41.7% — 100th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Lars Nootbaar will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Masyn Winn's batting average skill is projected to be in the 78th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Masyn Winn is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Masyn Winn will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Thomas Saggese in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Thomas Saggese will hold that advantage in today's game. Thomas Saggese is in the 93rd percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce home runs (22% rate this year). Thomas Saggese has notched a .351 BABIP this year, grading out in the 92nd percentile.

Brent Rooker projects as the 14th-best batter in the majors, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brent Rooker is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. In the past week, Brent Rooker's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.9-mph over the course of the season to 97.4-mph lately. Over the last week, Brent Rooker's 31.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.2%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Wilson as the 15th-best batter in MLB as it relates to his batting average ability. Jacob Wilson is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. With a 1.44 K/BB rate this year, Jacob Wilson has demonstrated good plate discipline, checking in at the 91st percentile. Jacob Wilson has put up a .317 batting average this year, checking in at the 100th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Tyler Soderstrom ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Tyler Soderstrom is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Miles Mikolas throws from, Tyler Soderstrom will have the upper hand in today's game. Tyler Soderstrom has a good chance to have the upper hand against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the St. Louis Cardinals has just 1 same-handed RP. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Shea Langeliers in the 91st percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Shea Langeliers is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today's game. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals. In the last two weeks, Shea Langeliers's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.2-mph over the course of the season to 95.4-mph in recent games. Using Statcast data, Shea Langeliers grades out in the 81st percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .274.

Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Pedro Pages will hold that advantage today. Pedro Pages has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% recently, improving his 8.7% seasonal rate to 22.2% over the last week. Pedro Pages's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better recently, rising from 16.7% on the season to 33.3% over the last week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willson Contreras in the 95th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Willson Contreras is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Willson Contreras will hold that advantage in today's game. Compared to last year, Willson Contreras has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 15.1% to 18.2% this season. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.366) implies that Willson Contreras has had bad variance on his side this year with his .338 actual wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ivan Herrera in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Ivan Herrera is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this game. Ivan Herrera will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Ivan Herrera has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 97.1-mph average to last season's 91.5-mph average. Ivan Herrera's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved of late, increasing from 11.4% on the season to 33.3% in the past week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nicholas Kurtz in the 95th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Nicholas Kurtz is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Miles Mikolas throws from, Nicholas Kurtz will have the upper hand in today's game. The St. Louis Cardinals have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Nicholas Kurtz has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Among all the teams today, the 3rd-weakest infield defense is that of the the St. Louis Cardinals.