Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

Player match stat positives for Kansas City at Cincinnati Game 2 Matchup Today

Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 field in the game for righty home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather report projects for the 5th-best hitting conditions on the schedule today.

The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 12.5-mph in this game, the 2nd-best of the day for bats.

Freddy Fermin will hold the platoon advantage over Nick Lodolo in today’s matchup.

Freddy Fermin pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.8% — 85th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 8th-shallowest LF fences today.

Garrett Hampson will have the handedness advantage over Nick Lodolo today.

The Cincinnati Reds infield defense grades out as the weakest among all the teams today.

Michael Wacha’s fastball velocity has risen 1.5 mph this year (92.9 mph) over where it was last year (91.4 mph).

Michael Wacha has added a slider to his arsenal this year and has thrown it 8.7% of the time.

Michael Wacha has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his strikeouts this year, posting a 7.36 K/9 despite the leading projection system (THE BAT) estimating his true talent level to be 8.54 — a 1.18 K/9 difference.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Elly De La Cruz as the 2nd-best batter in MLB when assessing his BABIP talent.

Elly De La Cruz is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup.

The #1 venue in Major League Baseball for boosting home runs to lefties, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Great American Ball Park.

Great American Ball Park has the 8th-shallowest RF dimensions among all stadiums.

Hunter Renfroe has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (76% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this game.

Hunter Renfroe will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Nick Lodolo in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Michael Wacha in the 75th percentile as it relates to his overall pitching abilities.

Recording 17.3 outs per game per started this year on average, Michael Wacha places him the 80th percentile.

In his last GS, Michael Wacha was in good form and conceded 2 ER.

The #7 venue in the game for boosting batting average to RHB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Great American Ball Park.

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

Vinnie Pasquantino is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this game.

Ty France’s batting average skill is projected to be in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Great American Ball Park has the 7th-shallowest left field dimensions among all stadiums.

When it comes to his home run skill, Salvador Perez ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Salvador Perez is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Spencer Steer in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

Spencer Steer is penciled in 5th on the lineup card today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Stephenson in the 87th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill.

Tyler Stephenson is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in today’s game.

T.J. Friedl is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game.

The #7 venue in Major League Baseball for boosting batting average to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Great American Ball Park.

Batting from the opposite that Michael Wacha throws from, T.J. Friedl will have an edge in today’s matchup.

Noelvi Marte will possess the home field advantage in today’s game, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Noelvi Marte has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 91.4-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 86.9-mph figure.

Jeimer Candelario pulls many of his flyballs (37.9% — 95th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league’s 8th-shallowest RF fences today.

Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Jeimer Candelario will hold that advantage in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Elly De La Cruz in the 89th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 90th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability.

Maikel Garcia is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Bobby Witt Jr. ranks as the 10th-best hitter in the league.

Bobby Witt Jr. is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in today’s game.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Jonathan India ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Jonathan India is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today.

Garrett Hampson’s launch angle this year (16.6°) is a considerable increase over his 11.5° mark last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Hunter Renfroe in the 76th percentile when assessing his home run ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bobby Witt Jr. as the 6th-best hitter in the league when estimating his batting average ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Salvador Perez in the 81st percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

Batting from the opposite that Nick Lodolo throws from, Maikel Garcia will have an edge in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Nick Lodolo in the 86th percentile as it relates to his strikeout talent.

Throwing 92 adjusted pitches per game per started this year on average, Nick Lodolo falls in the 77th percentile.

Nick Lodolo will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should boost all of his metrics across the board.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT)’s judgement, Nick Lodolo’s overall pitching skill grades out in the 82nd percentile out of all starting pitchers in MLB right now.

Kansas City grades out as the #28 group of hitters in MLB when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize base hits (41.3% rate this year).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Garrett Hampson in the 83rd percentile when estimating his BABIP talent.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ty France in the 81st percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability.

Saturday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Royals vs Reds Matchup

Freddy Fermin is penciled in 7th in the lineup in this matchup.

Freddy Fermin will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team today.

Freddy Fermin has taken a step back with his Barrel%; his 10.1% rate last year has dropped to 4.2% this season.

Freddy Fermin’s average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this season (7.5°) is quite a bit lower than his 12.2° mark last season.

Freddy Fermin’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls lately (-1.9° in the past two weeks’ worth of games) is considerably lower than his 7.5° seasonal figure.

As it relates to his home run talent, Garrett Hampson ranks in the 15th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Garrett Hampson is projected to bat 8th in the lineup in this matchup.

Garrett Hampson hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 93rd percentile) and will be challenged by the game’s 11th-deepest CF fences today.

Garrett Hampson will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s game.

With a .268 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) this year, Garrett Hampson is ranked in the 21st percentile for offensive skills.

It is expected that we will see a Hitters Umpire (Derek Thomas) in charge of the strike zone in this game.

Playing on the road generally diminishes pitcher metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Michael Wacha in today’s game.

Among all starting pitchers, Michael Wacha’s fastball spin rate of 2127 rpm ranks in the 18th percentile this year.

Despite posting a .359 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Elly De La Cruz has experienced some positive variance given the .028 deviation between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .331.

Hunter Renfroe’s BABIP talent is projected in the 4th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Hunter Renfroe will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s game.

Over the last 14 days, Hunter Renfroe’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 6% down to 0%.

Hunter Renfroe’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined lately, falling from 12% on the season to 0% in the last 7 days.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.210) provides evidence that Hunter Renfroe has had positive variance on his side this year with his .227 actual batting average.

Great American Ball Park projects as the #1 field in MLB for home runs, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Nick Lodolo will have the handedness advantage over Vinnie Pasquantino today.

Playing on the road generally lessens hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Vinnie Pasquantino in today’s matchup.

In the past week’s worth of games, Vinnie Pasquantino’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 7.5% down to 0%.

Vinnie Pasquantino’s exit velocity on flyballs has decreased of late; his 92.6-mph seasonal average has lowered to 89-mph in the past 14 days.

Vinnie Pasquantino’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off lately, decreasing from 41.2% on the season to 21.1% in the last week’s worth of games.

Ty France is projected to hit 7th in the batting order in this game.

Batting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Ty France will have a tough matchup in today’s game.

Ty France has struggled with his Barrel% of late; his 8.7% seasonal rate has dropped off to 0% in the past week.

Salvador Perez will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today’s game.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.255) may lead us to conclude that Salvador Perez has had some very good luck this year with his .277 actual batting average.

Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Spencer Steer faces a tough challenge in today’s game.

Spencer Steer has been cold of late, with his seasonal exit velocity of 87.8-mph dropping to 83.1-mph in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

Spencer Steer’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off recently, decreasing from 41.3% on the season to 14.3% in the last week’s worth of games.

Spencer Steer has been very fortunate when it comes to his home runs this year; his 21.9 HR per 600 plate appearances mark is a fair amount higher than his 19.4 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Placing in the 18th percentile, Spencer Steer has notched a .263 BABIP this year.

Cincinnati Reds bats collectively have been among the worst in the league this year ( worst) when assessing their 87.7-mph average exit velocity.

Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Tyler Stephenson has a tough challenge in today’s game.

Tyler Stephenson’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased from last season to this one, decreasing from 48.3% to 40.2%.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (19.5) provides evidence that Tyler Stephenson has been very fortunate this year with his 26.1 actual HR/600.

Sporting a .257 BABIP this year, Tyler Stephenson grades out in the 13th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects T.J. Friedl in the 9th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent.

T.J. Friedl has been lucky this year, posting a .327 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .303 — a .024 discrepancy.

Noelvi Marte is projected to bat 9th on the lineup card in this game.

Michael Wacha will have the handedness advantage against Noelvi Marte in today’s matchup.

Noelvi Marte hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.4% — 84th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league’s 11th-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

Noelvi Marte has negatively regressed with his Barrel% of late; his 5.4% seasonal rate has dropped to 0% over the past week.

Noelvi Marte’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased of late, decreasing from 10.8% on the season to 0% in the past 7 days.

Jeimer Candelario has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this season (70% of the time), but he is projected to bat 6th in the batting order in this matchup.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (22.0) suggests that Jeimer Candelario has had some very good luck this year with his 25.5 actual HR/600.

By putting up a 3.99 K/BB rate this year, Jeimer Candelario has shown weak plate discipline, checking in at the 19th percentile.

By putting up a .254 BABIP this year, Jeimer Candelario finds himself in the 12th percentile.

T.J. Friedl has had some very good luck with his home runs this year; his 29.3 HR per 600 plate appearances rate is quite a bit higher than his 15.5 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Maikel Garcia will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s matchup.

From last season to this one, Maikel Garcia’s flyball exit velocity has decreased from an average of 92.7 mph to 90 mph.

Maikel Garcia’s average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls lately (0.2° over the past two weeks) is a considerable dropoff from his 4.2° seasonal angle.

Based on Statcast metrics, Maikel Garcia ranks in the 11th percentile for power via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Home Runs per 600 plate appearances this year at 8.600.

Placing in the 10th percentile, Maikel Garcia sits with a .267 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.

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

Over the last 14 days, Bobby Witt Jr.’s exit velocity on flyballs has lowered from his seasonal average of 94 mph to 90.5 mph.

Bobby Witt Jr. has been lucky this year, posting a .421 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .375 — a .046 difference.

Batting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Jonathan India will have a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

Salvador Perez has been lucky this year, putting up a .342 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .321 — a .021 discrepancy.

Hunter Renfroe has compiled a .288 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, placing in the 22nd percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Maikel Garcia has recorded a .266 BABIP this year, grading out in the 20th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 12th percentile as it relates to his home run ability.

Over his last 3 GS, Nick Lodolo has experienced a substantial fall off in his fastball spin rate: from 2351 rpm over the whole season to 2246 rpm lately.

It may come as a surprise, but fastballs are typically a pitcher’s least effective pitch. Nick Lodolo has relied on his fastball a lot this year, though: 56.5% of the time, placing in the 100th percentile.

When it comes to his batting average, Garrett Hampson has been lucky this year. His .246 rate has been quite a bit higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .223.