World Series Game 3 Matchup Details

Positive Match Player Stats for Royals vs Guardians Series Game 3 Matchup Today

The #4 field in the league for boosting base hits to righties, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Progressive Field.

Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense.

The switch-hitting Angel Martinez will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side (0) today against Cole Ragans.

Angel Martinez pulls many of his flyballs (34.3% — 83rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

Angel Martinez will possess the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Angel Martinez and his 16.6° launch angle on his hardest-hit balls rank in 80th percentile, among the highest in the league since the start of last season.

Kyle Manzardo is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in today’s game.

Progressive Field profiles as the #4 stadium in MLB for lefty base hits, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Among all major league stadiums, Progressive Field’s right field fences are the 5th-shallowest.

Home field advantage typically improves batter stats in all categories, and Kyle Manzardo will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kyle Manzardo in the 90th percentile as it relates to his home run ability.

Kyle Manzardo has made notable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 9.5% rate last season to 20% this season.

Kyle Manzardo has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 97-mph average to last year’s 92-mph EV.

Carlos Santana is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today.

As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the dish, Carlos Santana will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side against Cole Ragans in today’s matchup.

Carlos Santana pulls many of his flyballs (38.7% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences today.

Carlos Santana will hold the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Ramirez in the 95th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent.

Jose Ramirez is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today’s game.

Jose Ramirez pulls many of his flyballs (41.7% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards the game’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Jose Ramirez will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

When assessing his home run skill, Salvador Perez ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Salvador Perez is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup.

Salvador Perez pulls many of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences today.

In the last 7 days, Salvador Perez’s swing has been well optimized for base hits, notching a 75% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of -4° to 26°.

Salvador Perez has been hot in recent games, posting a a 25% Barrel% (an advanced stat to measure power) over the last 7 days.

Hunter Renfroe pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (39.9% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards MLB’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Hunter Renfroe has hit one of the hardest balls in the majors in the last week’s worth of games — 109.9-mph — which is a favorable proxy for recent form and raw power.

Hunter Renfroe has been lifting the ball well in recent games, posting a 32.2° launch angle in the last week.

Gabriel Arias’s BABIP ability is projected in the 85th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Batting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Gabriel Arias will have the upper hand in today’s game.

Gabriel Arias has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.1%) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them in the direction of the league’s 5th-shallowest RF fences today.

Extreme groundball hitters like Gabriel Arias usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Cole Ragans.

Gabriel Arias will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Because of Ben Lively’s large platoon split, Kyle Isbel will have a tremendous advantage hitting from the opposite side of the dish in today’s game.

Over the past 7 days, Kyle Isbel has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 17.5° compared to his seasonal mark of 12.8°.

In the last 7 days, Kyle Isbel has averaged an impressive 99.7-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced proxy for home run potential.

MJ Melendez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Ben Lively in today’s matchup… and even more favorably, Lively has a large platoon split.

MJ Melendez pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.3% — 92nd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game’s 5th-shallowest RF fences today.

MJ Melendez has been optimizing his launch angle on his hardest hit balls quite well lately, posting a 38.1° angle on such balls over the last 14 days.

In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, MJ Melendez has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season. His .284 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .307.

When it comes to his home run skill, MJ Melendez ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

MJ Melendez has been hot lately, compiling a a 16.7% Barrel% (a reliable stat to evaluate power) over the past 7 days.

When it comes to his batting average skill, Bobby Witt Jr. is projected as the 3rd-best batter in the majors by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Bobby Witt Jr. is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.

Bobby Witt Jr. has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.5%) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them in the direction of the game’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Bobby Witt Jr.’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 43.7% to 51.5%.

Bobby Witt Jr. projects as the 8th-best batter in the league, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

As it relates to his home runs, Bobby Witt Jr. has been unlucky since the start of last season. His 25.7 HR per 600 plate appearances mark has been considerably lower than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected HR/600 at 31.6.

Cory Blaser projects as a Pitchers Umpire and is likely to be calling pitches in today’s game.

Austin Hedges, the Guardians’s expected catcher today, projects as an elite pitch framer according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Given that groundball hitters face a disadvantage against groundball pitchers, Ben Lively (36.6% GB% according to the leading projection system, THE BAT) is well-situated in this matchup with 3 GB hitters in the opposition’s projected offense.

Ben Lively will hold the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should improve all of his metrics in all categories.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Ben Lively in the 9th percentile as it relates to his overall pitching abilities.

It may be smart to expect stronger performance for the Kansas City Royals offense the rest of the season, given that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes they are the 5th-unluckiest offense in the league this year.

Progressive Field ranks as the #7 ballpark in Major League Baseball for walks, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Progressive Field.

Maikel Garcia’s batting average skill is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Maikel Garcia has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (100% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this game.

Maikel Garcia has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Batters such as Maikel Garcia with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Ben Lively who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.

Maikel Garcia has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 94.9-mph average to last year’s 90.4-mph average.

Brayan Rocchio will hold the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Brayan Rocchio has seen a big increase in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 86.6-mph average to last season’s 84.5-mph average.

In the past 7 days, Brayan Rocchio’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 88.2-mph over the course of the season to 101.3-mph lately.

Brayan Rocchio’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 37.7% to 50%.

Jhonkensy Noel is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup.

Jhonkensy Noel will have the handedness advantage over Cole Ragans in today’s matchup.

Jhonkensy Noel pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.8% — 79th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards MLB’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences today.

Jhonkensy Noel will possess the home field advantage in today’s game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jhonkensy Noel in the 87th percentile when it comes to his home run ability.

Steven Kwan is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card today.

Steven Kwan has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.3%) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards the game’s 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

Steven Kwan will hold the home field advantage in today’s game, which should boost all of his stats.

Steven Kwan has displayed impressive plate discipline since the start of last season, grading out in the 99th percentile with a 0.98 K/BB rate.

Steven Kwan has notched a .353 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, placing in the 88th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Steven Kwan in the 92nd percentile when assessing his batting average ability.

Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today.

Because of Ben Lively’s large platoon split, Vinnie Pasquantino will have a massive advantage batting from the opposite side of the dish in today’s matchup.

Vinnie Pasquantino pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.3% — 92nd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

There has been a significant improvement in Vinnie Pasquantino’s launch angle from last year’s 14.4° to 22.1° this season.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Vinnie Pasquantino ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Michael Massey is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this game.

Considering Ben Lively’s large platoon split, Michael Massey will have an enormous advantage batting from the opposite side of the plate in this game.

Michael Massey pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38% — 96th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball’s 5th-shallowest RF fences in today’s game.

There has been a significant improvement in Michael Massey’s launch angle from last season’s 16.7° to 22.2° this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Cole Ragans as the 10th-best starter in Major League Baseball right now.

Taking into account both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Cole Ragans is projected to throw 98 pitches in this outing by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 3rd-most of all pitchers on the slate today.

The 4th-worst projected batting order on the slate in terms of overall hitting skill is that of the Cleveland Guardians.

When assessing his strikeout ability, Cole Ragans projects as the 3rd-best pitcher in the majors right now, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The Cleveland Guardians have 3 batters in their projected lineup today with a high (i.e. over 27%) underlying K% (via the leading projection system, THE BAT X) (Austin Hedges, Gabriel Arias, Jhonkensy Noel).

Negative Match Player Stats with Royals vs Guardians Series Game 3

Angel Martinez is projected to hit 7th on the lineup card in today’s game.

The weather report predicts temperatures in this contest to drop to the 2nd-lowest level on the slate at 54°, which is highly linked to an decrease in offense (and an increase in strikeouts).

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.220) suggests that Angel Martinez has been lucky since the start of last season with his .247 actual batting average.

Since the start of last season, Angel Martinez’s 1.7% Barrel%, a reliable standard for measuring power, places him in the 16th percentile among his peers.

Since the start of last season, the hardest ball Angel Martinez has connected with reached a maximum exit velocity of 106.2 mph (a reliable stat to evaluate power), checking in at the 22nd percentile.

When assessing his home run talent, Angel Martinez ranks in the 24th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

The #1 park in MLB for suppressing home runs to right-handed hitters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Progressive Field.

In the majors, the 4th-highest average fence height are at Progressive Field.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kyle Manzardo in the 6th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability.

Cole Ragans will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Kyle Manzardo in today’s matchup.

Typically, bats like Kyle Manzardo who hit a lot of flyballs tend to be less successful when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Cole Ragans.

Kyle Manzardo’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has declined from last year to this one, going from 38.1% to 26.7%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Progressive Field as the worst venue in MLB for LHB home runs.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Santana in the 0th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill.

Carlos Santana’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls recently (-1.5° over the last week) is a significant dropoff from his 5.3° seasonal mark.

From last year to this one, Carlos Santana’s ability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes home runs (23° to 34°) has decreased substantially, plummeting from 15.3% to 10.8%.

Carlos Santana’s speed has dropped off this year. His 25.93 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 24.3 ft/sec now.

Typically, bats like Jose Ramirez who hit a lot of flyballs are generally less successful when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Cole Ragans.

Jose Ramirez’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off this year; his 91-mph mark last year has dropped to 88.6-mph.

Jose Ramirez has been cold recently, putting up a 0% Barrel% (an advanced stat to assess power) in the last 7 days.

As it relates to his batting average, Jose Ramirez has experienced some positive variance since the start of last season. His .277 figure has been significantly inflated relative to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .247.

Ben Lively will hold the platoon advantage against Salvador Perez today… and it’s an over-sized mismatch considering Lively’s large platoon split.

Extreme groundball bats like Salvador Perez are generally less successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Ben Lively.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Salvador Perez in the 18th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent.

Out of every team today, the best infield defense is that of the the Cleveland Guardians.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Hunter Renfroe in the 2nd percentile when assessing his BABIP ability.

Hunter Renfroe is projected to hit 7th in the lineup in this matchup.

Because of Ben Lively’s large platoon split, Hunter Renfroe will be at a massive disadvantage batting from the same side of the dish in today’s game.

Gabriel Arias is projected to bat 6th in the lineup in this matchup.

Over the last 7 days, Gabriel Arias has failed to produce much power, posting a mere a 0% Barrel% (a reliable metric to assess power).

Notching a lowly a 77.7-mph average exit velocity over the last week, Gabriel Arias has been in a slump of late.

Gabriel Arias has not been honed in on the ideal launch angle for home runs lately, angling balls between 23° and 34° just 0% of the time over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kyle Isbel in the 13th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability.

Kyle Isbel is projected to hit 9th in the batting order in this game.

Kyle Isbel will be at a disadvantage playing away from home today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kyle Isbel in the 21st percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects MJ Melendez in the 13th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent.

MJ Melendez is projected to bat 8th in the lineup in this game.

When starting against a right-handed pitcher this year, MJ Melendez has been replaced by a pinch-hitter 14% of the time.

Considering Ben Lively’s large platoon split, Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a massive disadvantage batting from the same side of the dish in this game.

Extreme flyball batters like Bobby Witt Jr. tend to be less successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Ben Lively.

Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Ben Lively in the 13th percentile when assessing his strikeout talent.

Out of all starters, Ben Lively’s fastball velocity of 89.7 mph grades out in the 3rd percentile since the start of last season.

Ben Lively’s 2004.4-rpm fastball spin rate since the start of last season is in the 1st percentile out of all starting pitchers.

Ben Lively has notched a 7.8% Swinging Strike percentage since the start of last season, grading out in the 5th percentile.

Ben Lively is an extreme flyball pitcher (36.6% FB% per the leading projection system, THE BAT) and should be helped pitching in the #21 HR venue in the majors in this game.

Ben Lively will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Maikel Garcia in today’s game… and it’s a particular mismatch considering Lively’s large platoon split.

Maikel Garcia will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s matchup.

Posting a .271 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) since the start of last season, Maikel Garcia has performed in the 7th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 15th percentile as it relates to his home run ability.

When estimating his home run ability, Brayan Rocchio ranks in the 9th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Brayan Rocchio is projected to bat 9th in the lineup in this game.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Brayan Rocchio ranks in the 20th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Based on Statcast data, Brayan Rocchio is in the 8th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .269.

With a .211 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season , Brayan Rocchio is positioned in the 10th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jhonkensy Noel in the 12th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent.

In the past week, Jhonkensy Noel has failed to produce much power, posting a mere a 0% Barrel% (an advanced standard to evaluate power).

Jhonkensy Noel has not been honed in on the ideal launch angle for home runs of late, striking balls between 23° and 34° just 0% of the time over the last two weeks.

Jhonkensy Noel has had some very good luck with his batting average since the start of last season; his .208 BA is quite a bit higher than his .186 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

When estimating his home run ability, Steven Kwan ranks in the 1st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Cole Ragans will have the handedness advantage against Steven Kwan today.

Steven Kwan’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined in recent games; his 88.5-mph seasonal figure has decreased to 85.1-mph in the past week’s worth of games.

There has been a significant decline in Steven Kwan’s launch angle from last season’s 14.8° to 4.8° this season.

Steven Kwan has been cold recently, compiling a 0% Barrel% (a reliable standard to assess power) in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Vinnie Pasquantino in the 7th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill.

Vinnie Pasquantino will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s game.

Vinnie Pasquantino’s average exit velocity has decreased this year; his 91-mph average last season has dropped off to 88-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael Massey in the 11th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill.

Typically, hitters like Michael Massey who hit a lot of flyballs usually hit worse when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Ben Lively.

Playing on the road typically lowers hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Michael Massey in today’s matchup.

Cole Ragans will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s game.

Cole Ragans’s four-seamer rate has increased by 10.4% from last season to this one (41.8% to 52.2%) .

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