Toronto @ Cincinnati props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Daulton Varsho will have the handedness advantage against Brett Kennedy today. Daulton Varsho pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38.1% — 97th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Daulton Varsho's launch angle this season (19.5°) is considerably higher than his 14.5° angle last year. Daulton Varsho's launch angle lately (25.1° over the last 14 days) is significantly better than his 19.5° seasonal angle.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Will Benson will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jose Berrios in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Will Benson will hold that advantage today. Over the last 7 days, Will Benson's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.3-mph over the course of the season to 102.8-mph of late. Will Benson's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls in recent games (22.5° in the past 14 days) is quite a bit higher than his 15.6° seasonal figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kevin Kiermaier in the 84th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Among all major league parks, Great American Ball Park's right field fences are the 3rd-shallowest. Kevin Kiermaier will have the handedness advantage against Brett Kennedy today. Kevin Kiermaier has notched a .272 Expected Batting Average this year, grading out in the 76th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Brett Kennedy will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against George Springer today. George Springer will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today's game. In the past 7 days, George Springer's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 8.1% down to 0%. George Springer's average exit velocity has declined in recent games; his 88.2-mph seasonal EV has decreased to 84.1-mph in the last week's worth of games. Last season, George Springer had a launch angle of 11.5° on his highest exit velocity balls, but this year he experienced a significant decline to just 7.6°.

Joey Votto is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 81% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Among all major league parks, Great American Ball Park's right field fences are the 3rd-shallowest. Joey Votto will have the handedness advantage against Jose Berrios in today's matchup. Joey Votto will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Brett Kennedy will hold the platoon advantage over Whit Merrifield in today's matchup. Playing on the road typically lowers hitter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Whit Merrifield in today's game. Whit Merrifield has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 85.3-mph dropping to 83.3-mph over the past week. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Whit Merrifield's true offensive skill to be a .317, indicating that he has been lucky this year given the .021 deviation between that mark and his actual .338 wOBA. Grading out in the 1st percentile, the hardest ball Whit Merrifield has hit this year reached a maximum exit velocity of 104.6 mph -- a reliable indication of underlying power ability.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Brandon Belt ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brandon Belt is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Brandon Belt will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Brett Kennedy in today's game. Brandon Belt pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 80th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.

Brett Kennedy will have the handedness advantage over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in today's matchup. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 91st percentile) and but may find it hard to clear MLB's 11th-deepest CF fences today. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has taken a step back with his Barrel% recently; his 12.1% seasonal rate has dropped off to 0% in the past week's worth of games. Over the past week, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off from his seasonal average of 95 mph to 68.2 mph.

As it relates to his BABIP skill, Elly De La Cruz is projected as the 5th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Elly De La Cruz is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Elly De La Cruz will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the past 7 days, Elly De La Cruz's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.6-mph over the course of the season to 103.8-mph lately.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Santiago Espinal in the 80th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Santiago Espinal has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.2%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards MLB's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Santiago Espinal's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, increasing from 43.1% on the season to 81.8% in the last 7 days. As it relates to his batting average, Santiago Espinal has had bad variance on his side this year. His .220 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .245.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alejandro Kirk in the 90th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Alejandro Kirk has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.9%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of MLB's 8th-shallowest RF fences today. Alejandro Kirk has been unlucky this year, posting a .304 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .339 — a .035 deviation. Alejandro Kirk has exhibited impressive plate discipline this year, placing in the 97th percentile with a 1.19 K/BB rate.

T.J. Friedl is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. T.J. Friedl will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jose Berrios in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics across the board, and T.J. Friedl will hold that advantage in today's matchup. T.J. Friedl has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 88.4-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal EV of 86.2-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt McLain in the 95th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Matt McLain is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Matt McLain has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.8%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 8th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Matt McLain will hold that advantage in today's game.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Matt Chapman ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Matt Chapman is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Over the past week, Matt Chapman's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96-mph over the course of the season to 99.5-mph recently. In the past two weeks, Matt Chapman has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 29.3° compared to his seasonal mark of 13.5°.

Cavan Biggio is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 90% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the 9th-best venue in the majors for LHB batting average. Among all major league parks, Great American Ball Park's right field fences are the 3rd-shallowest. Cavan Biggio will have the handedness advantage over Brett Kennedy in today's matchup. Compared to last season, Cavan Biggio 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 20.3% to 27.5% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Stephenson in the 96th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Tyler Stephenson has an 89th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.6%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards the game's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Tyler Stephenson will hold that advantage today.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Spencer Steer ranks in the 77th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Spencer Steer is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Spencer Steer pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.4% — 85th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 8th-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats across the board, and Spencer Steer will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the 92nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Great American Ball Park ranks as the #9 ballpark in baseball for RHB batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Christian Encarnacion-Strand has an 80th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.8%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 8th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand will hold that advantage in today's game.