Globe Life Field
Posting a 1 K/BB rate since the start of last season, Ildemaro Vargas has shown impressive plate discipline, ranking in the 98th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 87th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Wyatt Langford will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Mitchell Parker in today's matchup. Wyatt Langford will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats. Ranking in the 98th percentile for Sprint Speed at 29.61 ft/sec this year, Wyatt Langford is quite toolsy.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jesse Winker in the 83rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Jesse Winker is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this game. Jesse Winker will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Nathan Eovaldi in today's game. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jesse Winker stands a good chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Jesse Winker has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last season's 23.52 ft/sec to 26.06 ft/sec now (according to Statcast's Sprint Speed metric).
Nick Senzel has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (75% of the time), but he is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game.
As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Josh Smith ranks in the 75th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). The Washington Nationals don't have any same-handed relievers in their bullpen, so Josh Smith is assured to hold the advantage against every reliever the whole game. Josh Smith will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Sporting a .347 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season, Josh Smith finds himself in the 87th percentile for hitting ability. Since the start of last season, Josh Smith's 10.7% Barrel%, an advanced stat for measuring power, places him in the 77th percentile among his peers.
Joey Meneses's batting average skill is projected to be in the 81st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Joey Meneses is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in today's game. Joey Meneses has put up a .323 BABIP since the start of last season, ranking in the 81st percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Corey Seager as the 9th-best hitter in the majors when it comes to his batting average ability. Corey Seager is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today. The Washington Nationals don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Corey Seager is assured to hold the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Corey Seager will hold that advantage today. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Corey Seager's true offensive ability to be a .367, implying that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .093 difference between that figure and his actual .274 wOBA.
Eddie Rosario will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Nathan Eovaldi in today's matchup. Eddie Rosario has a good chance to have the upper hand against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers has just 1 same-handed RP. When it comes to his batting average, Eddie Rosario has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season. His .234 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .250. Eddie Rosario and his 18.6° launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls rank in 96th percentile, among the highest in the league since the start of last season.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Young in the 88th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Based on Statcast data, Jacob Young grades out in the 90th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .285. Jacob Young has compiled a .281 batting average since the start of last season, grading out in the 90th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Globe Life Field as the 3rd-worst park in baseball for right-handed batting average. The 6th-deepest CF dimensions among all major league parks are found in Globe Life Field. The Globe Life Field roof is expected to be closed today, making conditions in this contest -5° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Out of all the teams today, the 2nd-strongest infield defense is that of the Washington Nationals. Ranking in the 13th percentile, the hardest ball Marcus Semien has hit since the start of last season reached a maximum exit velocity of 108.6 mph -- a reliable indication of underlying power ability.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Evan Carter in the 87th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Evan Carter is certain to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen the entire game as none of the available options for the Washington Nationals share his handedness. Evan Carter will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Evan Carter has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .328 figure is significantly deflated relative to his .333 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Ranking in the 99th percentile for Sprint Speed at 29.7 ft/sec this year, Evan Carter is quite fast.
The switch-hitting Keibert Ruiz will get to bat from his better side (0) today against Nathan Eovaldi. Keibert Ruiz grades out in the 75th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (45.3% rate since the start of last season). Keibert Ruiz has displayed favorable plate discipline since the start of last season, grading out in the 77th percentile with a 1.93 K/BB rate.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Leody Taveras in the 76th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats in all categories, and Leody Taveras will hold that advantage today. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.300) may lead us to conclude that Leody Taveras has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .260 actual batting average. Using Statcast data, Leody Taveras is in the 77th percentile for offensive ability via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .345.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 91st percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Nathaniel Lowe is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Nathaniel Lowe is assured to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen the whole game since none of the available options for the Washington Nationals share his handedness. Nathaniel Lowe will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.280) suggests that Nathaniel Lowe has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .264 actual batting average.
Luis Garcia's batting average skill is projected to be in the 94th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Luis Garcia is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 50% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Luis Garcia will have the handedness advantage against Nathan Eovaldi in today's game. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Luis Garcia can likely count on holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Luis Garcia has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .271 figure is a good deal lower than his .294 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects CJ Abrams in the 78th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. CJ Abrams is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in today's game. Hitting from the opposite that Nathan Eovaldi throws from, CJ Abrams will have an edge in today's game. CJ Abrams will probably have the upper hand against every reliever from start to finish, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP. CJ Abrams has been hot of late, putting up a .396 wOBA in the past 14 days.
Jonah Heim is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 76% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The switch-hitting Jonah Heim will have the advantage of batting from from his better side (0) today against Mitchell Parker. Jonah Heim will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. When it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34° (the launch angle range that tends to optimize home runs), Jonah Heim and his 18.3% rank in the 85th percentile since the start of last season.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 87th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Adolis Garcia is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in today's game. Adolis Garcia will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Mitchell Parker in today's game. Adolis Garcia will possess the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Using Statcast data, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 88th percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .356.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ezequiel Duran in the 85th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Ezequiel Duran will hold the platoon advantage over Mitchell Parker today. Ezequiel Duran will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.342) implies that Ezequiel Duran has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .320 actual wOBA. Utilizing Statcast data, Ezequiel Duran grades out in the 83rd percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .280.
Davis Wendzel will hold the platoon advantage against Mitchell Parker in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Davis Wendzel will hold that advantage in today's game.
