Tampa Bay @ Chicago Picks & Props

Homers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all stadiums. The Tampa Bay Rays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Will Robertson stands a good chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats across the board, and Will Robertson will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Edgar Quero in the 84th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Edgar Quero is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this game. The switch-hitting Edgar Quero will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side (0) today against Ian Seymour. Edgar Quero has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.6%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Edgar Quero will hold that advantage today.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Junior Caminero ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Junior Caminero is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. Junior Caminero pulls many of his flyballs (36.8% — 94th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Junior Caminero has made significant improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 13.5% seasonal rate to 21.6% in the past two weeks. Junior Caminero has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 92.4-mph average to last year's 89.5-mph EV.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yandy Diaz as the 8th-best batter in the league when assessing his batting average ability. Yandy Diaz is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Yandy Diaz has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43.3%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Last year, Yandy Diaz had an average launch angle of 1.3° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 5.7°. With a .293 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year , Yandy Diaz has performed in the 95th percentile.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Miguel Vargas ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Miguel Vargas is penciled in 5th in the lineup today. Miguel Vargas will hold the platoon advantage over Ian Seymour in today's matchup. Miguel Vargas pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.1% — 76th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Miguel Vargas will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

Chase Meidroth's batting average talent is projected to be in the 79th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Chase Meidroth is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Ian Seymour throws from, Chase Meidroth will have an advantage today. Chase Meidroth has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.7%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Chase Meidroth will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carson Williams in the 90th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Homers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all stadiums. Carson Williams has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 8% seasonal rate to 14.3% over the last 7 days. Compared to his seasonal average of -0.8°, Carson Williams has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 18.5° figure in the last 7 days.

Homers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all stadiums. Robert Seymour will hold the platoon advantage against Shane Smith in today's matchup.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Brandon Lowe ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brandon Lowe is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today. Brandon Lowe will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Shane Smith in today's matchup. Brandon Lowe pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.6% — 86th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. In the past 14 days, Brandon Lowe's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.6-mph over the course of the season to 101-mph lately.

Batting from the opposite that Shane Smith throws from, Hunter Feduccia will have the upper hand today. Hunter Feduccia has an 88th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.6%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of baseball's 5th-shallowest LF fences today. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.274) provides evidence that Hunter Feduccia has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .238 actual wOBA.

Josh Lowe's BABIP talent is projected in the 93rd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Josh Lowe is penciled in 4th in the lineup in today's game. Hitting from the opposite that Shane Smith throws from, Josh Lowe will have an advantage today. Josh Lowe has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.8%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of baseball's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Over the past 14 days, Josh Lowe's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.7-mph over the course of the season to 96-mph lately.

When it comes to his batting average skill, Chandler Simpson is projected as the 17th-best hitter in baseball by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Chandler Simpson is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in today's game. Chandler Simpson will have the handedness advantage against Shane Smith today. Chandler Simpson has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. In terms of his batting average, Chandler Simpson has been unlucky this year. His .287 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .305.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Mangum in the 95th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Jake Mangum is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Jake Mangum has a 98th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (40.5%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. In the last two weeks, Jake Mangum's 63% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 38.4%. Checking in at the 93rd percentile, Jake Mangum has posted a .291 batting average this year.

Colson Montgomery is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. The Tampa Bay Rays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Colson Montgomery has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Colson Montgomery pulls many of his flyballs (35.7% — 91st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Colson Montgomery will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Colson Montgomery has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 111.6-mph average over the last week to his seasonal EV of 97.9-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lenyn Sosa in the 76th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Lenyn Sosa is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 54% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Lenyn Sosa will hold the platoon advantage over Ian Seymour in today's game. Lenyn Sosa has a 77th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.9%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of baseball's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Lenyn Sosa will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Homers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all stadiums. Korey Lee will have the handedness advantage against Ian Seymour in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Korey Lee will hold that advantage today. Korey Lee has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average since the start of last season; his .215 figure is quite a bit lower than his .228 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Homers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all stadiums. Hitting from the opposite that Shane Smith throws from, Tristan Gray will have an advantage in today's matchup. Tristan Gray has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his wOBA since the start of last season; his .266 rate is a good deal lower than his .360 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Batting from the opposite that Shane Smith throws from, Richie Palacios will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Richie Palacios pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.5% — 79th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. In terms of plate discipline, Richie Palacios's skill is quite good, putting up a 1.47 K/BB rate since the start of last season while placing in in the 94th percentile.

Curtis Mead has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (58% of the time), but he is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Curtis Mead will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Ian Seymour in today's game. Curtis Mead has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Curtis Mead will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Curtis Mead has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 92.7-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal mark of 90.3-mph.

Mike Tauchman has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.