Athletics @ Texas Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Globe Life Field as the 2nd-worst stadium in Major League Baseball for right-handed batting average. Shea Langeliers hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.8% — 85th percentile) and will have to hit them out towards the game's 7th-deepest CF fences in today's matchup. Playing on the road typically weakens hitter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Shea Langeliers today. Compared to his seasonal mark of 9.1°, Shea Langeliers has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (4.1°) in the last two weeks' worth of games. Checking in at the 8th percentile, Shea Langeliers has notched a .251 BABIP since the start of last season.

The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Josh Smith will hold that advantage in today's game. Josh Smith has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 93.8-mph average to last year's 90-mph mark. Josh Smith has recorded a .322 BABIP since the start of last season, ranking in the 86th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Globe Life Field as the 2nd-worst stadium in Major League Baseball for right-handed batting average. In today's matchup, Brent Rooker is at a disadvantage facing the league's 7th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 39.9% rate (97th percentile). Brent Rooker will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today's game. Brent Rooker has struggled with his Barrel% in recent games; his 15.2% seasonal rate has decreased to 8.3% in the past week's worth of games. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.256) provides evidence that Brent Rooker has been very fortunate since the start of last season with his .285 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lawrence Butler in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. In the last week's worth of games, Lawrence Butler's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.5% up to 18.2%. With a .347 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) since the start of last season, Lawrence Butler has performed in the 87th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Soderstrom in the 88th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Tyler Soderstrom is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Tyler Soderstrom's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, going from 41.6% to 51.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Globe Life Field as the 2nd-worst stadium in Major League Baseball for right-handed batting average. Globe Life Field has the 7th-deepest centerfield fences in MLB. Typically, bats like Jacob Wilson who hit a lot of groundballs generally hit worse when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of groundballs such as Patrick Corbin. Jacob Wilson will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's matchup. Jacob Wilson's launch angle of late (0.4° in the last week's worth of games) is quite a bit lower than his 7.2° seasonal figure.

JJ Bleday is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Extreme groundball hitters like JJ Bleday tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Patrick Corbin. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Compared to his seasonal average of 18.2°, JJ Bleday has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 27.8° figure over the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Miguel Andujar in the 90th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Miguel Andujar is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Batting from the opposite that Patrick Corbin throws from, Miguel Andujar will have an advantage today. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers.

The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. In the last 7 days, Nicholas Kurtz's maximum exit velocity (a favorable measure of recent form and raw power) has been 112.2-mph, which qualifies as one of the hardest-hit balls in the majors.

Wyatt Langford projects as the 13th-best batter in baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Wyatt Langford is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Wyatt Langford will hold the platoon advantage against JP Sears in today's game. Wyatt Langford will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.

The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Batting from the opposite that Patrick Corbin throws from, Max Schuemann will have an advantage today. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.294) implies that Max Schuemann has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .281 actual wOBA. Max Schuemann is in the 95th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs (20.1% rate since the start of last season).

Josh Jung's batting average skill is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Josh Jung will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against JP Sears in today's matchup. Josh Jung will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Josh Jung has made significant gains with his Barrel%, improving his 9.9% rate last year to 15.6% this year.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Jake Burger ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Hitting from the opposite that JP Sears throws from, Jake Burger will have the upper hand in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jake Burger will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jake Burger has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 14.3% seasonal rate to 25% in the past week.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Marcus Semien ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this game. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Batting from the opposite that JP Sears throws from, Marcus Semien will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Marcus Semien will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Jonah Heim has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (100% of the time), but he is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. As a switch-hitter who performs better from the 0 side of the dish, Jonah Heim will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side against JP Sears in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats across the board, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage today. Jonah Heim has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 94.8-mph average to last season's 88.5-mph figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Adolis Garcia will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against JP Sears in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Adolis Garcia will hold that advantage in today's game. Adolis Garcia has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 93.4-mph average to last year's 91-mph EV.

Gio Urshela's batting average ability is projected to be in the 88th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Batting from the opposite that Patrick Corbin throws from, Gio Urshela will have the upper hand in today's game. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Gio Urshela's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 16.8% to 23.2%.

The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Hitting from the opposite that Patrick Corbin throws from, Luis Urias will have an edge in today's game. Among all the teams today, the 4th-weakest infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. In the last 14 days, Luis Urias has posted a 25.5° launch angle, lifting the ball well and indicating strong home run potential. Using Statcast metrics, Luis Urias is in the 79th percentile for offensive skills per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .326.

Kyle Higashioka is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Kyle Higashioka will hold the platoon advantage against JP Sears in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats in all categories, and Kyle Higashioka will hold that advantage in today's game.

Kevin Pillar is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Hitting from the opposite that JP Sears throws from, Kevin Pillar will have an advantage in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Kevin Pillar will hold that advantage today. Kevin Pillar has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 86.7-mph average to last season's 84.6-mph mark.

The weather forecast expects the 3rd-most favorable hitting weather of all games on the slate, as it relates to temperature and humidity. Hitting from the opposite that JP Sears throws from, Nick Ahmed will have the upper hand in today's game. Nick Ahmed will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats.