Nationals Park
Mickey Moniak pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.2% — 82nd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 10th-shallowest RF fences today.
Nationals Park projects as the #28 field in MLB for lefty BABIP, per the leading projection system (THE BAT). Typically, bats like Luis Garcia who hit a lot of groundballs tend to perform worse when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of groundballs such as Jack Kochanowicz. Luis Garcia's average exit velocity has declined of late; his 89-mph seasonal average has fallen off to 84-mph in the past week's worth of games.
The 9th-shallowest RF dimensions among all major league stadiums are found in Nationals Park. Last year, Matt Thaiss had an average launch angle of 11.1° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 18.2°.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Schanuel in the 85th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Nolan Schanuel is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Nolan Schanuel pulls many of his flyballs (33.5% — 77th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Nolan Schanuel's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 89.6-mph over the course of the season to 91.6-mph lately. Compared to his seasonal average of 9.3°, Nolan Schanuel has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 35.2° mark over the last week.
When estimating his overall offensive skill, Taylor Ward ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Taylor Ward is projected to bat 4th in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Taylor Ward will have an advantage in today's game. Taylor Ward has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.4%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Taylor Ward'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 17.8% to 23.8%.
Keibert Ruiz is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup. The switch-hitting Keibert Ruiz will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Jack Kochanowicz. Keibert Ruiz pulls many of his flyballs (39.4% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Extreme flyball bats like Keibert Ruiz tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Jack Kochanowicz. Keibert Ruiz will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects James Wood as the 8th-best hitter in Major League Baseball when estimating his BABIP talent. James Wood is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in today's game. The 9th-shallowest RF dimensions among all major league stadiums are found in Nationals Park. Batting from the opposite that Jack Kochanowicz throws from, James Wood will have an advantage in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and James Wood will hold that advantage in today's game.
Juan Yepez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Juan Yepez will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. In the last week, Juan Yepez's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 86.8-mph over the course of the season to 94.7-mph recently. Ranking in the 75th percentile, Juan Yepez sits with a .326 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) since the start of last season. Sporting a .276 batting average since the start of last season, Juan Yepez has performed in the 89th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Logan O'Hoppe in the 90th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Logan O'Hoppe is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Logan O'Hoppe will have an edge in today's matchup. Logan O'Hoppe has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 11.5% seasonal rate to 23.1% in the past two weeks' worth of games. Logan O'Hoppe's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved recently, rising from 16.5% on the season to 26.9% over the last 14 days.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Young in the 89th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Jacob Young has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43.2%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats across the board, and Jacob Young will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Using Statcast data, Jacob Young is in the 80th percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .271.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Anthony Rendon in the 85th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Hitting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Anthony Rendon will have an advantage today. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Anthony Rendon's true offensive skill to be a .326, suggesting that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .050 gap between that figure and his actual .276 wOBA. In terms of plate discipline, Anthony Rendon's talent is quite good, posting a 2.05 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 80th percentile.
The 9th-shallowest RF dimensions among all major league stadiums are found in Nationals Park. Nasim Nunez will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Ranking in the 92nd percentile for Sprint Speed at 29.06 ft/sec this year, Nasim Nunez is remarkably athletic.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zach Neto in the 88th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Zach Neto is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 90% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Hitting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Zach Neto will have an edge in today's matchup. Zach Neto has made notable strides with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 9% seasonal rate to 17.9% over the past 14 days. Zach Neto has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 94.7-mph average in the past two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 88.6-mph average.
The 9th-shallowest RF dimensions among all major league stadiums are found in Nationals Park. Travis Blankenhorn will hold the platoon advantage against Jack Kochanowicz in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Travis Blankenhorn will hold that advantage today. Over the last two weeks, Travis Blankenhorn has averaged an impressive 97.2-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced measure of home run potential.
Batting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Jo Adell will have the upper hand today. Jo Adell has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, improving his 12.1% seasonal rate to 23.1% in the past week's worth of games. In the past week, Jo Adell's exit velocity on flyballs has lowered from his seasonal figure of 94.3 mph to 89.8 mph. Compared to his seasonal average of 14.9°, Jo Adell has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 25.5° mark in the past two weeks.
Alex Call is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 75% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats in all categories, and Alex Call will hold that advantage in today's matchup. By putting up a 1.43 K/BB rate since the start of last season, Alex Call has displayed strong plate discipline, placing in the 95th percentile.
Brandon Drury is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this game. Batting from the opposite that MacKenzie Gore throws from, Brandon Drury will have the upper hand in today's game.
Kevin Pillar is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Kevin Pillar will have the handedness advantage against MacKenzie Gore in today's matchup. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Kevin Pillar's 48.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 40.9%. Grading out in the 76th percentile, Kevin Pillar sits with a .268 batting average this year.
When assessing his BABIP ability, Harold Ramirez is projected as the 20th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Harold Ramirez has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.6%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Harold Ramirez will hold that advantage today. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Harold Ramirez's true offensive skill to be a .305, suggesting that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .037 difference between that figure and his actual .268 wOBA.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael Stefanic in the 90th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Michael Stefanic will have the handedness advantage against MacKenzie Gore in today's game. Michael Stefanic has an 84th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.
Riley Adams has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.9%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards MLB's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Riley Adams will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Since the start of last season, Riley Adams has an average exit velocity of 89.7 mph, which ranks among the elite in baseball at the 75th percentile. Riley Adams ranks in the 88th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (47.1% rate since the start of last season). Placing in the 76th percentile of THE BAT X's Spray Score since the start of last season, Riley Adams demonstrated exceptional skill in hitting the ball to all fields - a key skill for achieving a high batting average.
