Athletics vs Rays match player stats | 2026 Series Game 2 Wednesday, September 16th

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ATH @ TB

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Athletics @ Rays Series Game 2 Matchup Details

Teams : Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays
Series Game 2
Date : Todays Game is on Wednesday, September 16th
Time : 16/09/26 18:40:00 PM EST First Pitch

Positives for the Athletics Series Game 2 Game Today

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yandy Diaz as the 8th-best hitter in the game when it comes to his batting average talent.

,Yandy Diaz is penciled in 1st in the lineup today.

,Hitting from the opposite that Brady Basso throws from, Yandy Diaz will have an advantage in today’s game.

,Yandy Diaz has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43.3%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of baseball’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

,The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the weakest among every team on the slate today.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Henry Bolte as the best batter in the majors as it relates to his BABIP talent.

,Henry Bolte is penciled in 1st in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 55% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year.

,The #1 stadium in the game for boosting home runs to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Tropicana Field.

,Henry Bolte has made substantial gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 7.6% seasonal rate to 14.8% in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

,Henry Bolte has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 103.5-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal EV of 94.8-mph.

,Tropicana Field has the shallowest right field fences among all parks.

,Batting from the opposite that Nick Martinez throws from, Donovan Walton will have an edge today.

,In the past two weeks’ worth of games, Donovan Walton’s 26.9% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 18.8%.

,Donovan Walton has recorded a .361 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 92nd percentile.

,With a 1.37 K/BB rate this year, Donovan Walton has shown impressive plate discipline, placing in the 94th percentile.

,Lawrence Butler has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (61% of the time), but he is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this game.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Tropicana Field as the best ballpark in MLB for LHB home runs.

,Hitting from the opposite that Nick Martinez throws from, Lawrence Butler will have the upper hand in today’s game.

,Lawrence Butler has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.5%) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them in the direction of MLB’s 6th-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

,In the last week’s worth of games, Lawrence Butler’s Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.4% up to 17.6%.

,The #6 ballpark in Major League Baseball for boosting strikeouts, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Tropicana Field.

,Home field advantage typically boosts pitcher stats in all categories, and Nick Martinez will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

,Nick Martinez has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his strikeouts this year, posting a 5.30 K/9 despite the leading projection system (THE BAT) estimating his true talent level to be 6.12 — a 0.81 K/9 disparity.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nick Madrigal in the 89th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability.

,Nick Madrigal will hold the platoon advantage against Brady Basso today.

,Nick Madrigal has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.9%) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them out towards the league’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

,Nick Madrigal will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

,Jonny DeLuca has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (54% of the time), but he is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game.

,Among all parks, Tropicana Field’s left field dimensions are the 5th-shallowest.

,Jonny DeLuca will have the handedness advantage over Brady Basso in today’s matchup.

,Jonny DeLuca will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

,Alika Williams has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% of late, improving his 1.4% seasonal rate to 8.3% in the past week.

,Alika Williams has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 89.9-mph average over the past two weeks to his seasonal EV of 85.8-mph.

,The Tampa Bay Rays have 6 bats in the projected batting order that will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Brady Basso today.

,Brady Basso will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s game.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zack Gelof in the 83rd percentile as it relates to his home run talent.

,Zack Gelof is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today.

,Zack Gelof has big-time power (83rd percentile) if he makes contact, but that’s usually a big “IF” (27.8% K%). Today, however, opposing pitcher Nick Martinez is a pitch-to-contact type (16th percentile K%) — great news for Gelof.

,Zack Gelof has made substantial strides with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 9.8% seasonal rate to 21.2% in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

,Ryan Vilade is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.

,Ryan Vilade will hold the platoon advantage against Brady Basso in today’s matchup.

,Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Ryan Vilade will hold that advantage in today’s game.

,Ryan Vilade has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last season’s 27.54 ft/sec to 28.55 ft/sec now (according to Statcast’s Sprint Speed metric).

,Jeff McNeil has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (71% of the time), but he is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today’s game.

,Hitting from the opposite that Nick Martinez throws from, Jeff McNeil will have the upper hand in today’s matchup.

,Jeff McNeil pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.5% — 84th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s game.

,Over the past two weeks, Jeff McNeil’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 87.7-mph over the course of the season to 90-mph in recent games.

,According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Junior Caminero ranks as the 17th-best hitter in baseball.

,Junior Caminero is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today.

,Junior Caminero will have the handedness advantage against Brady Basso today.

,Junior Caminero pulls a lot of his flyballs (39.1% — 96th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 6th-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

,Cedric Mullins pulls many of his flyballs (39.3% — 96th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

,Cedric Mullins is an extreme flyball hitter and matches up with the weak outfield defense of Sacramento (#1-worst of all teams on the slate today).

,Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Cedric Mullins will hold that advantage today.

,When estimating his overall offensive ability, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

,Shea Langeliers is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today.

,Shea Langeliers’s launch angle this season (19.4°) is significantly better than his 16.3° angle last season.

,Shea Langeliers has notched a .348 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, ranking in the 82nd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

,Hitting from the opposite that Brady Basso throws from, Jorge Mateo will have the upper hand in today’s matchup.

,Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Jorge Mateo will hold that advantage in today’s game.

,Compared to his seasonal average of 14.3°, Jorge Mateo has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 41° figure over the last 7 days.

,Carlos Cortes will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Nick Martinez in today’s matchup.

,In the past week, Carlos Cortes’s 26.7% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.4%.

,Sporting a .293 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) since the start of last season , Carlos Cortes grades out in the 96th percentile.

,Ryan Vilade’s maximum exit velocity (an advanced stat to evaluate power) has been 113.6 mph this year, ranking in the 92nd percentile.

,In the last 14 days, Zack Gelof’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.5-mph over the course of the season to 97.3-mph lately.

,Over the past two weeks, Zack Gelof’s 35.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 14.5%.

,The worst projected offense of all teams on the slate today in terms of overall offensive ability is that of the Athletics.

,It may be smart to expect worse numbers for the Athletics offense going forward, considering that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) sees them as the 8th-luckiest offense in the game this year.

,In the past 14 days, Lawrence Butler’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.6-mph over the course of the season to 99-mph in recent games.

,Nick Martinez has recorded a .264 BABIP this year, making him one of the luckiest mound aces in the game on balls in play and regression likely forthcoming.

,When estimating his overall offensive skill, Yandy Diaz ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Cedric Mullins’s true offensive ability to be a .313, providing some evidence that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .035 discrepancy between that figure and his actual .278 wOBA.

,Chandler Simpson is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today’s game.

,Chandler Simpson has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (42.2%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball’s 6th-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

,Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Chandler Simpson will hold that advantage today.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeff McNeil in the 81st percentile as it relates to his batting average skill.

,Ranking in the 99th percentile, Henry Bolte has posted a .366 BABIP this year.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cedric Mullins in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his home run ability.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chandler Simpson as the 7th-best batter in the league as it relates to his batting average ability.

,Shea Langeliers has compiled a .271 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, checking in at the 77th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

,Henry Bolte’s launch angle in recent games (6.7° in the last week) is significantly higher than his 0.5° seasonal mark.

Negatives with the Tampa Bay Rays Series Game 2 Game Today

The Tropicana Field roof projects to be closed today, making conditions in this game -6,° colder than the average outdoor game of all games today — favorable for pitching.

,Compared to his seasonal angle of 6.2°, Yandy Diaz has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (-7°) in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

,From last year to this one, Yandy Diaz’s ability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes BABIP (-4° to 26°) has decreased substantially, plummeting from 46.8% to 41.4%.

,Batting from the same side that Nick Martinez throws from, Henry Bolte encounters a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

,Henry Bolte hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (40% — 97th percentile) and will be challenged by baseball’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

,Among all the teams today, the 2nd-best infield defense belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays.

,Playing on the road typically lessens batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Henry Bolte today.

,Donovan Walton’s BABIP ability is projected in the 14th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

,Donovan Walton is penciled in 6th in the lineup today.

,When starting against a northpaw this year, Donovan Walton has been lifted for a pinch-hitter 20% of the time.

,Lawrence Butler will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s game.

,Grading out in the 24th percentile, Lawrence Butler sports a .368 Slugging Percentage (SLG) this year.

,Lawrence Butler has posted a .224 batting average this year, placing in the 18th percentile.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Nick Martinez in the 4th percentile as it relates to his strikeout ability.

,Taking into account both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Nick Martinez is projected to throw 83 pitches in this matchup by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 10th-least of all pitchers on the slate today.

,It is anticipated that we will see a Hitters Umpire (Alan Porter) calling pitches in today’s game.

,Nick Martinez has utilized his sinker 14.4% more often this year (31.2%) than he did last year (16.8%).

,Nick Martinez has recorded an 8.2% Swinging Strike rate this year, ranking in the 7th percentile.

,Nick Madrigal is penciled in 6th in the batting order in today’s game.

,Over the last two weeks, Jonny DeLuca’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped from his seasonal EV of 86 mph to 82.6 mph.

,Over the past 7 days, Jonny DeLuca’s 25% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 35.8%.

,Over the past 14 days, Jonny DeLuca has recorded a mere a 0% Barrel%, indicating a decline in power ability.

,Jonny DeLuca has been lucky this year, notching a .307 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .289 — a .018 deviation.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alika Williams in the 17th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.

,Alika Williams is penciled in 9th on the lineup card today.

,Hitting from the same side that Nick Martinez throws from, Alika Williams will not have the upper hand today.

,Today, Alika Williams is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 38.8% rate (90th percentile).

,The Tampa Bay Rays projected lineup grades out as the 2nd-weakest of all teams today in terms of overall offensive skill.

,It may be smart to expect worse numbers for the Tampa Bay Rays offense the rest of the season, given that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) sees them as the 4th-luckiest offense in the game this year.

,In his previous game started, Brady Basso was firing on all cylinders and gave up 0 ER.

,With a 3.31 FIP this year (Fielding Independent Pitching, an ERA estimator that focuses on the things a pitcher has the most control over), Brady Basso checks in at the 88th percentile.

,Batting from the same side that Nick Martinez throws from, Zack Gelof will have a disadvantage today.

,Zack Gelof hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 88th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of baseball’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s game.

,Zack Gelof will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s matchup.

,Zack Gelof has been lucky this year, posting a .337 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .312 — a .025 discrepancy.

,Ryan Vilade hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40.7% — 99th percentile) and will be challenged by the game’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

,Ryan Vilade has been lucky this year, notching a .340 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .303 — a .037 deviation.

,Using Statcast metrics, Ryan Vilade ranks in the 16th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .187.

,Ryan Vilade and his -5° launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls rank in 2nd percentile, among the lowest in the majors since the start of last season.

,As it relates to his home run talent, Jeff McNeil ranks in the 12th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

,Jeff McNeil will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s matchup.

,Compared to his seasonal figure of 14.4°, Jeff McNeil has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (-1°) over the last 14 days.

,Junior Caminero’s average exit velocity has declined recently; his 92.8-mph seasonal EV has dropped off to 90.2-mph over the last two weeks.

,Junior Caminero’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last season to this one, falling from 14.3% to 10.3%.

,Junior Caminero’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off lately, going from 39.8% on the season to 33.3% over the past week.

,Junior Caminero has been lucky this year, putting up a .377 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .363 — a .014 deviation.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cedric Mullins in the 1st percentile when estimating his BABIP talent.

,Cedric Mullins is penciled in 9th in the batting order in this matchup.

,Hitting from the same side that Brady Basso throws from, Cedric Mullins meets a tough challenge today.

,Cedric Mullins’s average exit velocity has dropped off of late; his 87.8-mph seasonal mark has decreased to 85.1-mph over the last 7 days.

,Batting from the same side that Nick Martinez throws from, Shea Langeliers will have a tough challenge today.

,Today, Shea Langeliers is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 38.2% rate (81st percentile).

,Tampa Bay’s #2-ranked outfield defense on the slate today poses a formidable challenge for Shea Langeliers, who tends to hit a lot of flyballs.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jorge Mateo in the 18th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill.

,Jorge Mateo is penciled in 7th in the batting order in this matchup.

,Jorge Mateo hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 94th percentile) but may find it hard to clear MLB’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s game.

,Over the past 14 days, Jorge Mateo’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 8% down to 0%.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jonah Heim in the 24th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability.

,Jonah Heim has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this season (53% of the time), but he is projected to bat 8th in the lineup today.

,As a switch-hitter who bats worse from the 0 side of the dish, Jonah Heim will be less advantaged while batting from his weak side against Nick Martinez in this game.

,Today, Jonah Heim is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 39.8% rate (97th percentile).

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Cortes in the 17th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability.

,Carlos Cortes has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this season (61% of the time), but he is projected to bat 7th in the batting order in this matchup.

,When starting against a righty on the mound this year, Carlos Cortes has been pulled from the game early 34% of the time.

,Today, Carlos Cortes is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 38.4% rate (86th percentile).

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nick Madrigal in the 1st percentile when assessing his home run talent.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jonah Heim in the 1st percentile when assessing his BABIP ability.

,Nick Martinez has been lucky this year, compiling a 2.92 ERA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT) estimating his true talent level to be 4.38 — a 1.46 discrepancy.

,Carlos Cortes will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s game.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Donovan Walton in the 21st percentile when it comes to his home run ability.

,Donovan Walton will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s game.

,Taking into account both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Brady Basso is projected to throw 77 pitches in today’s matchup by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 4th-least of all pitchers on the slate today.

,Jeff McNeil has been cold lately, posting a 0% Barrel% (a reliable standard to measure power) in the last 7 days.

,Jonny DeLuca has put up a .244 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, checking in at the 16th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

,In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Yandy Diaz ranks in just the 5th percentile with a 6.2° launch angle, which is among the most groundball-inducing angles in the majors.

,The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chandler Simpson in the 0th percentile when assessing his home run skill.

,Batting from the same side that Brady Basso throws from, Chandler Simpson meets a tough challenge today.

,Chandler Simpson’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off of late; his 82.1-mph seasonal figure has fallen to 76.7-mph in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

,In the last week, Chandler Simpson’s 0% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 10.2%.

,As it relates to his strikeout ability, the leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Brady Basso in the 22nd percentile among all SPs in Major League Baseball.

,The Tampa Bay Rays (18.1 K% (according to the leading projection system, THE BAT X) are projected to have the 2nd-least strikeout-heavy team of hitters on the slate.

,Shea Langeliers will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today’s game.

,Cedric Mullins’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has dropped off from last season to this one, going from 17.4% to 13%.

,Chandler Simpson’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off from last year to this one, decreasing from 48.7% to 41.5%.

,Henry Bolte has been lucky this year, compiling a .336 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .313 — a .023 gap.

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