Toronto @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Tropicana Field as the 3rd-worst stadium in MLB for RHB batting average. Taj Bradley will hold the platoon advantage over Bo Bichette in today's game. Bo Bichette will be at a disadvantage playing on the road today. Bo Bichette's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined in recent games, decreasing from 14% on the season to 8.6% over the past 14 days. Bo Bichette has shown poor plate discipline this year, placing in the 13th percentile with a 4.34 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Tropicana Field as the 3rd-worst stadium in MLB for RHB batting average. The Toronto Blue Jays outfield defense projects as the 3rd-best out of every team in action today. Yandy Diaz has struggled with his Barrel% of late; his 9.2% seasonal rate has fallen off to 0% over the last week. Yandy Diaz's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased recently; his 91.6-mph seasonal average has lowered to 84.9-mph over the last week. Yandy Diaz's launch angle of late (0.7° in the last week's worth of games) is significantly lower than his 5.5° seasonal mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Junior Caminero in the 87th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Junior Caminero is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. In the majors, Tropicana Field's LF dimensions are the 6th-shallowest. Junior Caminero will have the handedness advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's game... and even better, Kikuchi has a large platoon split. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Junior Caminero will hold that advantage today.

Cavan Biggio has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (73% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Tropicana Field has the 3rd-shallowest RF fences in MLB. Cavan Biggio will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Taj Bradley in today's game. Among all the teams in action today, the 3rd-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Tampa Bay Rays.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kevin Kiermaier in the 80th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Kevin Kiermaier will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Taj Bradley in today's game. Kevin Kiermaier has a 77th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.3%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Among all the teams in action today, the 3rd-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Tampa Bay Rays. Checking in at the 85th percentile, Kevin Kiermaier has put up a .331 BABIP this year.

Rene Pinto will hold the platoon advantage over Yusei Kikuchi today... and even more favorably, Kikuchi has a large platoon split. Rene Pinto has a 78th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Rene Pinto will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the past 14 days, Rene Pinto's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.6-mph over the course of the season to 98.3-mph recently. Rene Pinto has been hot in recent games, notching a a 16.7% Barrel% (a reliable standard to assess power) over the past 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects George Springer in the 90th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. George Springer is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this game. In the majors, Tropicana Field's LF dimensions are the 6th-shallowest. Among all the teams in action today, the 3rd-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Tampa Bay Rays. George Springer's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased lately; his 91.8-mph seasonal mark has lowered to 89.1-mph in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alejandro Kirk in the 89th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Alejandro Kirk has an 87th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Among all the teams in action today, the 3rd-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite posting a .308 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Alejandro Kirk has had bad variance on his side given the .027 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .335. When it comes to plate discipline, Alejandro Kirk's ability is quite impressive, putting up a 1.13 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 97th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Manuel Margot in the 88th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Manuel Margot will have the handedness advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's game... and moreover, Kikuchi has a large platoon split. Manuel Margot will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Over the past 14 days, Manuel Margot's 60% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 41.1%. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Manuel Margot's true offensive skill to be a .320, providing some evidence that he has been unlucky this year given the .028 discrepancy between that figure and his actual .292 wOBA.

The switch-hitting Taylor Walls will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Yusei Kikuchi... and even better, Kikuchi has a large platoon split. Taylor Walls will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Taylor Walls's launch angle this season (19.4°) is significantly higher than his 16.4° angle last year. Compared to his seasonal average of 19.4°, Taylor Walls has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 25.8° figure in the past 14 days.

Tyler Heineman has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.

Osleivis Basabe has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.