Texas @ Oakland props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 88th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Nathaniel Lowe is penciled in 5th on the lineup card today. Nathaniel Lowe will hold the platoon advantage against J.T. Ginn in today's game... and even better, Ginn has a large platoon split. Over the past 14 days, Nathaniel Lowe's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 90.4-mph over the course of the season to 98-mph of late. In the past two weeks, Nathaniel Lowe's 67.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 44.6%.

The switch-hitting Leody Taveras will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side (0) today against J.T. Ginn... and even better, Ginn has a large platoon split. Over the last 14 days, Leody Taveras has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 6.1% to 15.4%. In the last week's worth of games, Leody Taveras's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 89.5-mph over the course of the season to 96.3-mph in recent games. Compared to his seasonal average of 14.1°, Leody Taveras has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 24.6° mark in the past two weeks. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.254) may lead us to conclude that Leody Taveras has experienced some negative variance this year with his .230 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Wyatt Langford is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this game. HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Wyatt Langford has made big strides with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 9.3% seasonal rate to 17.2% over the last two weeks. Wyatt Langford has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.5-mph to 91.8-mph over the past week.

Jacob Wilson's batting average skill is projected to be in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Jacob Wilson will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. As it relates to his wOBA and overall offense, Jacob Wilson has experienced some negative variance this year. His .264 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .291.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Lawrence Butler ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lawrence Butler is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this game. Lawrence Butler will have the handedness advantage over Kumar Rocker in today's game. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Lawrence Butler has a strong chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Lawrence Butler will hold that advantage in today's game.

Josh H. Smith is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. Josh H. Smith will hold the platoon advantage against J.T. Ginn in today's game... and moreover, Ginn has a large platoon split. Josh H. Smith has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.8-mph to 91.9-mph over the last week. Josh H. Smith's launch angle of late (24.9° over the past two weeks) is a considerable increase over his 15.3° seasonal figure. Josh H. Smith has put up a .318 BABIP this year, placing in the 81st percentile.

HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Marcus Semien in the 90th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Marcus Semien is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Hitters such as Marcus Semien with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like J.T. Ginn who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Marcus Semien is an extreme flyball batter and squares off against the weak outfield defense of Oakland (#3-worst on the slate today).

Out of all the teams playing today, the 3rd-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Oakland Athletics. Jonah Heim has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.5-mph to 92.1-mph over the past 7 days. Jonah Heim's launch angle of late (23.4° in the past 14 days) is significantly better than his 14.6° seasonal angle. Jonah Heim has been unlucky this year, compiling a .263 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .289 — a .026 disparity.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zack Gelof in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Zack Gelof will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Zack Gelof has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.3-mph to 97.3-mph in the past week. In the last week, Zack Gelof's 42.9% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.2%.

Tyler Soderstrom is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Kumar Rocker throws from, Tyler Soderstrom will have an edge in today's matchup. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Tyler Soderstrom can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Tyler Soderstrom will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. In the last week, Tyler Soderstrom's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 14.5% up to 22.2%.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia is penciled in 4th in the batting order today. HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Adolis Garcia's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls of late (19.8° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is considerably better than his 13.3° seasonal angle. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Adolis Garcia's true offensive talent to be a .320, indicating that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .028 deviation between that mark and his actual .292 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seth Brown in the 75th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Batting from the opposite that Kumar Rocker throws from, Seth Brown will have an advantage today. Seth Brown is apt to have an edge against every reliever for the game's entirety, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Seth Brown will hold that advantage today. Seth Brown has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.8-mph to 94.9-mph in the past week.

Brent Rooker projects as the 19th-best hitter in baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brent Rooker is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in today's game. HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Brent Rooker will hold that advantage in today's matchup. This season, Brent Rooker has experienced a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 97 mph compared to last year's 94.9 mph mark.

Travis Jankowski will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against J.T. Ginn in today's matchup... and moreover, Ginn has a large platoon split. Last season, Travis Jankowski had an average launch angle of 1.1° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 6°. When it comes to his batting average, Travis Jankowski has suffered from bad luck this year. His .208 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .237.

Shea Langeliers is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today. HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks. Shea Langeliers will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Shea Langeliers has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.3-mph to 99.2-mph in the last week's worth of games. Shea Langeliers has notched a .334 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, checking in at the 76th percentile.

J.J. Bleday is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. J.J. Bleday will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Kumar Rocker in today's matchup. J.J. Bleday will probably have an advantage against every reliever throughout the game, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and J.J. Bleday will hold that advantage today. J.J. Bleday's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 15.2% to 18.9%.

HRs are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Oakland Coliseum has the 7th-shallowest among all parks.