Toronto @ Tampa Bay props

This year, Brandon Belt has mainly batted in the back-half of the order (84% of the time), however, it's expected that he will bat 4th in the lineup for this game. Brandon Belt pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.5% — 79th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Josh Fleming, an extreme groundball pitcher, tends to be less effective against extreme flyball hitters such as Brandon Belt. Rising from 22.6% to 28.3%, Brandon Belt has shown an improvement in his capacity to strike the ball at a launch angle that maximizes home runs, ranging from -4° to 26°, compared to last year. By putting up a .328 BABIP since the start of last season, Brandon Belt has performed in the 80th percentile.

Kevin Kiermaier's BABIP ability is projected in the 82nd percentile by THE BAT X assessment. Lately, Kevin Kiermaier' exit velocity on flyballs has notably improvementd, as EVidenced by his average of 102.5-mph in the last 7 days, compared to his seasonal average of 87.9-mph. Kevin Kiermaier has posted a .312 batting average this year, ranking in the 95th percentile.

As per THE BAT projection system, Tropicana Field is placed at the 29nd position among the majors stadiums for right-handed batting average. Chris Bassitt will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yandy Diaz in today's matchup. On the slate, the best outfield defense is projected to be from the Toronto Blue Jays. Yandy Diaz's launch angle of late (4.1° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is a significant dropoff from his 8.7° seasonal mark. Despite posting a .444 wOBA this year, THE BAT X believes Yandy Diaz has been lucky given the .061 deviation between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .383.

As per THE BAT projection system, Tropicana Field is placed at the 29nd position among the majors stadiums for right-handed batting average. George Springer will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's matchup. George Springer has taken a step back with his Barrel% recently; his 9% seasonal rate has dropped to 3.2% in the last 14 days. A decline in George Springer's mark exit velocity has been noted this season, with his previous 86.4-mph mark reducing to 88.6-mph. By putting up a .290 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, George Springer is ranked in the 24th percentile.

When estimating his batting average talent, Alejandro Kirk is ranked in the 92nd percentile by THE BAT X projects. Alejandro Kirk will have the handedness advantage over Josh Fleming in today's matchup... and moreover, Fleming has a large platoon split. Alejandro Kirk has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.2%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards MLB's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Alejandro Kirk has been unlucky this year, compiling a .311 wOBA despite THE BAT X estimating his true talent level to be .345 — a .034 disparity. Alejandro Kirk has compiled a .282 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, grading out in the 89th percentile (according to THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Matt Chapman ranks in the 95th percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Matt Chapman is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Matt Chapman will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Josh Fleming in today's matchup... and even better, Fleming has a large platoon split. Extreme groundball hitters like Matt Chapman tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Josh Fleming. From last year's 12.9%, Matt Chapman has impressively increased his Barrel% to 23.9% this season.

When estimating his batting average skill, Whit Merrifield is ranked in the 89th percentile by THE BAT X projects. Whit Merrifield will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Josh Fleming in today's matchup... and the cherry on top, Fleming has a large platoon split. Whit Merrifield has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.7%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Whit Merrifield's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 42.5% to 49.1%. Based on Statcast metrics, THE BAT X's version of Expected wOBA (.329) suggests that Whit Merrifield has experienced some negative variance this year with his .298 actual wOBA.

THE BAT X projects Wander Franco as the 7th-best batter in the game as it relates to his batting average talent. Wander Franco is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today. In MLB, Tropicana Field's RF fences are the 2nd-shallowest. Wander Franco will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Utilizing Statcast metrics, Wander Franco grades out in the 87th percentile for offensive skills according to THE BAT X's version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .366.

THE BAT X projects Luke Raley in the 78th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Luke Raley will have the handedness advantage over Chris Bassitt today. The Toronto Blue Jays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Luke Raley can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Luke Raley will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Of late, Luke Raley' exit velocity on flyballs has noticeably improvementd, averageident from his 101.9-mph average in the last 7 days as compared to his seasonal average of 96.3-mph.

Daulton Varsho is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. Daulton Varsho pulls many of his flyballs (37.1% — 96th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. Daulton Varsho's launch angle in recent games (26.7° over the last 14 days) is quite a bit higher than his 17° seasonal angle. Based on Statcast data, THE BAT X's version of Expected Batting Average (.245) suggests that Daulton Varsho has had bad variance on his side this year with his .206 actual batting average.

Assessing his overall offensive captalent, Randy Arozarena scores in the 96th percentile in THE BAT X projects. Randy Arozarena is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game. Randy Arozarena will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Randy Arozarena has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 97-mph average to last year's 92.7-mph EV. Sporting a .396 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by THE BAT X utilizing Statcast data) this year, Randy Arozarena grades out in the 97th percentile for offensive ability.

Assessing his batting average skill, THE BAT X predicts Harold Ramirez to be the 14th-best hitter in MLB. Harold Ramirez is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. Harold Ramirez will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. There is a significant increase in Harold Ramirez's average launch figure on the balls he has hit hardest this season, which stands at 8.4°, compared to his figure of 2.3° in the previous season. By putting up a .348 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) since the start of last season, Harold Ramirez is positioned in the 87th percentile.

Danny Jansen will hold the platoon advantage against Josh Fleming in today's matchup... and even better, Fleming has a large platoon split. Danny Jansen pulls many of his flyballs (41.3% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Danny Jansen, who uses extreme groundball batters, typically has more success against pitchers like Josh Fleming, who tend to throw extreme flyballs. Comparing his seasonal 88.2-mph average to his 92-mph average in the past week's games, Danny Jansen's exit velocity has significantly improvementd in recent times. Danny Jansen's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this season (22.2°) is considerably better than his 15° figure last year.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this game. Isaac Paredes pulls many of his flyballs (39.5% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Isaac Paredes will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. In his recent games, Isaac Paredes's exit velocity on flyballs has significantly increased, evident by his 91.5-mph mark over the past fortnight, a notable increase from his seasonal mark of 89.5-mph. Compared to his launch angle of 15.5° last year, Isaac Paredes has significantly improved with a mark of 19.5° this year.

THE BAT X projects Jose Siri in the 85th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. In Major League Baseball, Tropicana Field's LF fences are the 4th-shallowest. Jose Siri will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Improving from a 6.3% rate last year, Jose Siri has made significant gains with his Barrel% by achieving a rate of 13.6.3% this year. Compared to last year's 11.7°, Jose Siri has shown a notable increase in his average launch figure of 18.4° on his hardest-contacted balls this year.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Brandon Lowe ranks in the 91st percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Brandon Lowe is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. Brandon Lowe will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Chris Bassitt in today's matchup. The Toronto Blue Jays have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Brandon Lowe can likely count on holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Brandon Lowe will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats.