Chicago @ Washington props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Tena in the 94th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Jose Tena is penciled in 5th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 80% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest RF dimensions in MLB. Jose Tena is guaranteed to hold the advantage against every reliever all game since none of the available options for the Chicago Cubs share his handedness. Extreme groundball hitters like Jose Tena tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Shota Imanaga.

When it comes to his BABIP talent, James Wood is projected as the 8th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). James Wood is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest RF dimensions in MLB. James Wood is assured to never face a bullpen mismatch all game considering none of the available options for the Chicago Cubs share his handedness. Extreme flyball bats like James Wood are generally more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Shota Imanaga.

Michael Busch is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest RF dimensions in MLB. Michael Busch will hold the platoon advantage over Jake Irvin today. Checking in at the 76th percentile, Michael Busch has put up a .334 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year. Grading out in the 92nd percentile, Michael Busch has put up a .339 BABIP this year.

The Chicago Cubs don't have any same-handed relief pitchers in their bullpen, so CJ Abrams is guaranteed to hold the advantage against every reliever the whole game. CJ Abrams pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.1% — 82nd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences today. CJ Abrams will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. CJ Abrams has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.1-mph to 92.6-mph over the last 7 days.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Ian Happ ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ian Happ is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest RF dimensions in MLB. As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the dish, Ian Happ will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side against Jake Irvin in this game. Ian Happ has made substantial gains with his Barrel% of late, improving his 13.5% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

Dylan Crews is penciled in 1st in the batting order in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Shota Imanaga throws from, Dylan Crews will have the upper hand today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Dylan Crews will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the last week, Dylan Crews has displayed impressive power, recording a a 25% Barrel% (a reliable stat to study power). In the last 7 days, Dylan Crews has averaged an impressive 101.1-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced proxy for home run potential.

Juan Yepez is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Batting from the opposite that Shota Imanaga throws from, Juan Yepez will have an edge today. Juan Yepez will possess the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. With a .336 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Juan Yepez is ranked in the 83rd percentile. Juan Yepez has recorded a .285 batting average this year, ranking in the 90th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 85th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Nationals Park has the 9th-shallowest RF dimensions in MLB. Batting from the opposite that Jake Irvin throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Over the last week, Pete Crow-Armstrong's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 7% up to 17.6%. Compared to his seasonal average of 17.1°, Pete Crow-Armstrong has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 24.1° mark over the past 14 days.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Dansby Swanson ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Dansby Swanson has made big improvements with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 9% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the past 14 days. Dansby Swanson's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off recently; his 95.4-mph seasonal average has fallen off to 91.4-mph over the past week. Despite posting a .292 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Dansby Swanson has had some very poor luck given the .036 deviation between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .328.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cody Bellinger in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Cody Bellinger is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this game. Cody Bellinger will have the handedness advantage against Jake Irvin today. Cody Bellinger pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.8% — 85th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Posting a 1.88 K/BB rate this year, Cody Bellinger has shown favorable plate discipline, grading out in the 81st percentile.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today's game. Last year, Isaac Paredes had an average launch angle of 18° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 21.2°. Isaac Paredes has shown strong plate discipline this year, placing in the 94th percentile with a 1.39 K/BB rate.

Keibert Ruiz will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Keibert Ruiz's launch angle this year (19.9°) is significantly higher than his 15.1° angle last year. Keibert Ruiz has been unlucky this year, posting a .262 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .292 — a .030 difference.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seiya Suzuki in the 96th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Seiya Suzuki is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. In the past 7 days, Seiya Suzuki's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.9% up to 18.2%. Over the last 7 days, Seiya Suzuki's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.2-mph over the course of the season to 97.4-mph lately. Seiya Suzuki's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 16.3% to 20%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nico Hoerner in the 96th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Nico Hoerner has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.6%) 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 in today's matchup. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.281) implies that Nico Hoerner has experienced some negative variance this year with his .255 actual batting average. As it relates to plate discipline, Nico Hoerner's ability is quite strong, sporting a 1.51 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 93rd percentile.

As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the plate, Ildemaro Vargas will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side against Shota Imanaga today. Extreme groundball batters like Ildemaro Vargas tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Shota Imanaga. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Ildemaro Vargas will hold that advantage today. Ildemaro Vargas has displayed impressive plate discipline this year, checking in at the 90th percentile with a 1.61 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Young in the 90th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Batting from the opposite that Shota Imanaga throws from, Jacob Young will have an edge today. Jacob Young has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43.3%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of baseball's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Extreme flyball batters like Jacob Young tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Shota Imanaga. Jacob Young will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.

Miguel Amaya has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.9%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 10th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Miguel Amaya has made significant improvements with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 5.2% seasonal rate to 15.6% over the past 14 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 9.4°, Miguel Amaya has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 19.5° figure in the past two weeks' worth of games.

Andres Chaparro is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Andres Chaparro will hold the platoon advantage against Shota Imanaga in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Andres Chaparro will hold that advantage today.