Target Field
Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Austin Martin will hold that advantage today.
Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Matt Wallner will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Zack Wheeler today. Matt Wallner will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Matt Wallner has averaged an impressive 103.9-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced proxy for home run potential. Matt Wallner has been lifting the ball well recently, compiling a 32.5° launch angle over the past two weeks.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Marsh as the 3rd-best hitter in the league as it relates to his BABIP ability. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Brandon Marsh will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Simeon Woods Richard in today's game. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today. Using Statcast data, Brandon Marsh is in the 78th percentile for offensive ability via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .336.
Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Brooks Lee will hold that advantage in today's game. Brooks Lee has been zeroed in on the ideal launch angle for home runs in recent games, lifting balls between 23° and 34° 33.3% of the time over the last two weeks.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Edouard Julien as the 13th-best hitter in MLB when it comes to his BABIP ability. Edouard Julien is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Hitting from the opposite that Zack Wheeler throws from, Edouard Julien will have an edge today. Edouard Julien will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.
The 10th-deepest centerfield fences in MLB are found in Target Field. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 6th-most favorable pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Simeon Woods Richard will hold the platoon advantage against Alec Bohm in today's matchup. Playing on the road typically diminishes batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Alec Bohm in today's game. Alec Bohm has negatively regressed with his Barrel% of late; his 8.2% seasonal rate has dropped off to 0% over the last two weeks.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nick Castellanos in the 86th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today. Nick Castellanos's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 15% to 19.2%.
Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Christian Vazquez will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Christian Vazquez has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 88.7-mph average to last season's 86.4-mph mark. Christian Vazquez's launch angle this year (17.6°) is a considerable increase over his 9.6° figure last season. Despite posting a .223 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Christian Vazquez has suffered from bad luck given the .042 deviation between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .265.
Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Ryan Jeffers will hold that advantage today. Ranking in the 76th percentile, Ryan Jeffers sits with a .336 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) this year.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects J.T. Realmuto in the 90th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. J.T. Realmuto is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, J.T. Realmuto has been unlucky this year. His .314 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .336.
Carlos Santana is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 73% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Carlos Santana will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Carlos Santana has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 95.9-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal average of 91.7-mph. There has been a significant improvement in Carlos Santana's launch angle from last season's 12.5° to 15.9° this year.
According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Bryce Harper ranks as the 8th-best batter in the league. Bryce Harper is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Hitting from the opposite that Simeon Woods Richard throws from, Bryce Harper will have the upper hand in today's matchup. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willi Castro in the 82nd percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Willi Castro is penciled in 1st in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 63% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Willi Castro will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Willi Castro's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, increasing from 41.9% to 48.6%.
Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today. Johan Rojas's quickness has increased this year. His 29.35 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 30.13 ft/sec now. Johan Rojas has been unlucky this year, posting a .251 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .276 — a .025 gap.
As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Byron Buxton ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Byron Buxton is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Byron Buxton will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Byron Buxton has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 93.9-mph average over the last two weeks to his seasonal 91.7-mph EV.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryson Stott in the 87th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Bryson Stott will have the handedness advantage over Simeon Woods Richard in today's matchup. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today. Bryson Stott's launch angle this year (14.4°) is a significant increase over his 9.9° angle last season.
Max Kepler is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Max Kepler will have the handedness advantage over Zack Wheeler in today's game. Max Kepler will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. In the past 14 days, Max Kepler has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 26.8° compared to his seasonal mark of 11.4°.
When assessing his overall offensive talent, Kyle Schwarber ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Kyle Schwarber is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Hitting from the opposite that Simeon Woods Richard throws from, Kyle Schwarber will have the upper hand in today's matchup. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among all the teams in action today.
As far as temperature and humidity go, the 6th-most favorable pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Hitting from the same side that Simeon Woods Richard throws from, Trea Turner will have a disadvantage in today's game. Trea Turner hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.2% — 80th percentile) and will be challenged by baseball's 10th-deepest CF fences today. Trea Turner will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's matchup. Trea Turner has had positive variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average this year; his .339 rate is inflated compared to his .272 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 Trevor Larnach in the 77th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Trevor Larnach is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Target Field sits at the 5th-highest elevation in the majors. High elevation generally leads to better offense. Trevor Larnach will have the handedness advantage over Zack Wheeler in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics across the board, and Trevor Larnach will hold that advantage in today's matchup.
