Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

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

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Comerica Park as the 7th-best field in Major League Baseball for boosting offensive stats to RHB.

Comerica Park has the 2nd-lowest fence height (on average) among all major league parks.

Comerica Park sits at the 9th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation generally leads to more offense.

Paul DeJong will have the handedness advantage over Tarik Skubal today.

Among all the teams playing today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Detroit Tigers.

Wenceel Perez is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in today’s game.

Home field advantage typically improves batter stats across the board, and Wenceel Perez will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Wenceel Perez has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.8-mph to 90.2-mph in the past two weeks.

Ryan Kreidler is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year.

Hitting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Ryan Kreidler will have the upper hand today.

Garrett Hampson’s BABIP skill is projected in the 87th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Batting from the opposite that Tarik Skubal throws from, Garrett Hampson will have an edge today.

Justyn-Henry Malloy is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in today’s game, which would be an upgrade from his 71% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season.

Justyn-Henry Malloy will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cole Ragans in today’s matchup.

Justyn-Henry Malloy will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

In the past two weeks’ worth of games, Justyn-Henry Malloy has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 34° compared to his seasonal mark of 26.9°.

Jake Rogers will hold the platoon advantage over Cole Ragans in today’s matchup.

Jake Rogers will hold the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Dairon Blanco will hold the platoon advantage over Tarik Skubal in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gio Urshela in the 88th percentile when estimating his batting average ability.

Batting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Gio Urshela will have an edge today.

Gio Urshela will hold the home field advantage in today’s game, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Maikel Garcia’s BABIP talent is projected in the 91st percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

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

Matt Vierling’s batting average talent is projected to be in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Matt Vierling is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.

Matt Vierling will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cole Ragans in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Vinnie Pasquantino in the 89th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability.

Vinnie Pasquantino is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Comerica Park as the 7th-best park in the majors for boosting offensive stats to LHB.

When assessing his batting average skill, Bobby Witt Jr. is projected as the 6th-best batter in MLB by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Bobby Witt Jr. is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.

Comerica Park projects as the #6 ballpark in Major League Baseball for righty batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Bobby Witt Jr. will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Tarik Skubal today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Salvador Perez in the 79th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill.

Salvador Perez is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup.

Batting from the opposite that Tarik Skubal throws from, Salvador Perez will have the upper hand in today’s game.

Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Ryan Kreidler will hold that advantage today.

Garrett Hampson has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 88.7-mph average to last year’s 86.7-mph figure.

Compared to last season, Garrett Hampson has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 13.9% to 20.6% this season.

Alan Porter grades out as a Huge Hitters Umpire and is likely to be in charge of the strike zone today.

The #5 stadium in the majors for boosting walks, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Comerica Park.

Tarik Skubal’s higher utilization percentage of his fastball this season (53.4 compared to 48.1% last season) is not ideal consider they are typically much less effective than breaking or off-speed pitches.

Projected catcher Salvador Perez grades out as a weak pitch framer, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Cole Ragans will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s matchup.

Cole Ragans has been given more leash than the typical pitcher this year, tallying 7.4 more adjusted pitches-per-start than the average starter.

Andy Ibanez is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this matchup.

Andy Ibanez will hold the platoon advantage against Cole Ragans today.

In the past two weeks, Jake Rogers’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96.7-mph over the course of the season to 100.4-mph of late.

Gio Urshela has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 89.6-mph average to last year’s 87.4-mph average.

Gio Urshela has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 95.5-mph average in the last week’s worth of games to his seasonal mark of 89.6-mph.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Bobby Witt Jr. ranks as the 13th-best hitter in the league.

Bobby Witt Jr. has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 92.8-mph average to last year’s 90.7-mph average.

Maikel Garcia will hold the platoon advantage over Tarik Skubal today.

When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Maikel Garcia has experienced some negative variance this year. His .278 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .311.

This season, Vinnie Pasquantino has experienced a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 93 mph compared to last year’s 90 mph mark.

Vinnie Pasquantino’s launch angle recently (21.6° over the last 14 days) is significantly higher than his 16.5° seasonal angle.

When estimating his home run skill, Salvador Perez ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

As it relates to his home run skill, Paul DeJong ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Paul DeJong has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 93.6-mph average to last year’s 90.4-mph figure.

Hunter Renfroe will hold the platoon advantage over Tarik Skubal in today’s matchup.

When assessing his strikeout skill, Tarik Skubal projects as the 7th-best SP in Major League Baseball currently, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Tarik Skubal was rolling in his last outing and compiled 8 strikeouts.

Tarik Skubal has tallied 18.6 outs per start this year, ranking in the 98th percentile.

When estimating his home run ability, Hunter Renfroe ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Hunter Renfroe’s launch angle this season (18.5°) is significantly better than his 14.9° figure last year.

Ryan Vilade will hold the platoon advantage over Cole Ragans in today’s game.

Ryan Vilade will hold the home field advantage in today’s game, which should bolster all of his stats.

Ranking in the 79th percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.35 ft/sec this year, Ryan Vilade is quite athletic.

Cole Ragans projects as the 12th-best starting pitcher in baseball currently when estimating his strikeout ability, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The Detroit Tigers have 3 bats in their projected offense today with a high (i.e. over 27%) underlying K% (via the leading projection system, THE BAT X) (Ryan Kreidler, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Jake Rogers).

In his previous outing, Cole Ragans was firing on all cylinders and posted 7 strikeouts.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Rogers in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his home run skill.

Javier Baez will have the handedness advantage against Cole Ragans today.

Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Javier Baez will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Andy Ibanez will possess the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Paul DeJong has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 96.8-mph average in the last two weeks’ worth of games to his seasonal EV of 93.6-mph.

Javier Baez has made big gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 7.2% seasonal rate to 36.4% in the past week.

Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Matt Vierling will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Matt Vierling has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, upping his 4.7% rate last year to 9.7% this year.

Comerica Park grades out as the #6 venue in the majors for LHB batting average, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Friday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Royals vs Tigers Matchup

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Paul DeJong in the 7th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill.

Paul DeJong is penciled in 8th in the batting order in this game.

Paul DeJong pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.5% — 89th percentile) and will be challenged by baseball’s 5th-deepest LF fences in today’s game.

Paul DeJong will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s game.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (22.8) implies that Paul DeJong has been very fortunate this year with his 29.4 actual HR/600.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wenceel Perez in the 24th percentile as it relates to his home run talent.

Wenceel Perez pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.7% — 85th percentile) and will be challenged by the league’s 5th-deepest LF fences in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Kreidler in the 3rd percentile when it comes to his batting average ability.

In today’s game, Ryan Kreidler is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 2nd-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 38.7% rate (88th percentile).

The Kansas City Royals outfield defense projects as the 5th-strongest out of all the teams today.

This season, there has been a decline in Ryan Kreidler’s speed with his Statcast Sprint Speed dropping from 27.79 ft/sec last year to 27.11 ft/sec currently.

Garrett Hampson is projected to hit 7th in the lineup in this game.

Garrett Hampson hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 93rd percentile) and will have to hit them out towards MLB’s 2nd-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

Playing on the road generally lessens hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Garrett Hampson in today’s game.

Sporting a .272 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 positioned in the 24th percentile for offensive ability.

Grading out in the 0th percentile for power, Garrett Hampson has hit 0 long-balls per 600 plate appearances this year.

Comerica Park has the 2nd-deepest CF dimensions in Major League Baseball.

Justyn-Henry Malloy has been cold of late, with his seasonal exit velocity of 87.4-mph dropping to 84.6-mph over the past week.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (22.4) provides evidence that Justyn-Henry Malloy has had positive variance on his side this year with his 28.0 actual HR/600.

Jake Rogers’s batting average ability is projected to be in the 8th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Jake Rogers is penciled in 6th on the lineup card today.

In today’s game, Jake Rogers is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 5th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 33.7% rate (79th percentile).

Jake Rogers has struggled with his Barrel% lately; his 10.9% seasonal rate has fallen to 0% over the past week.

When estimating his home run skill, Dairon Blanco ranks in the 18th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Dairon Blanco is projected to hit 9th in the batting order today.

Dairon Blanco hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (40.2% — 99th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of MLB’s 2nd-deepest CF fences in today’s game.

Dairon Blanco will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s game.

Dairon Blanco’s speed has dropped off this season. His 30.38 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 29.59 ft/sec now.

Gio Urshela is projected to hit 8th in the lineup in this matchup.

In the last two weeks’ worth of games, Gio Urshela’s 34.6% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 47.6%.

Using Statcast data, Gio Urshela grades out 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.

In today’s matchup, Maikel Garcia is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 2nd-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 38.3% rate (82nd percentile).

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

Maikel Garcia’s exit velocity on flyballs has decreased this year; his 92.7-mph figure last year has fallen to 89.9-mph.

Maikel Garcia’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off in recent games; his 89.9-mph seasonal EV has fallen to 81.1-mph in the last week.

Maikel Garcia’s launch angle of late (-1.4° in the last 7 days) is considerably worse than his 7.1° seasonal angle.

Matt Vierling’s launch angle in recent games (10.1° in the past two weeks) is a significant dropoff from his 13.6° seasonal figure.

Matt Vierling has displayed bad plate discipline this year, placing in the 14th percentile with a 4.34 K/BB rate.

Tarik Skubal will have the handedness advantage over Vinnie Pasquantino in today’s game.

Vinnie Pasquantino will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s matchup.

In the past 7 days, Vinnie Pasquantino’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off from his seasonal mark of 93 mph to 90.6 mph.

With a .263 BABIP this year, Vinnie Pasquantino grades out in the 18th percentile.

When it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34° (the launch angle range that tends to best-produce home runs), Dairon Blanco and his 11.6% rank in the 17th percentile since the start of last season.

Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s matchup.

Bobby Witt Jr.’s average exit velocity has dropped off recently; his 92.8-mph seasonal EV has dropped off to 90.3-mph over the last week.

Over the past week, Bobby Witt Jr.’s 25% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 44.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Bobby Witt Jr.’s true offensive talent to be a .372, providing some evidence that he has had some very good luck this year given the .043 deviation between that figure and his actual .415 wOBA.

Salvador Perez pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the league’s 5th-deepest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Salvador Perez will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today.

Salvador Perez has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 91.1-mph dropping to 84.9-mph over the past week.

Over the last 14 days, Salvador Perez’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls (6.4°) has significantly dropped compared to his seasonal mark of 14.6°.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.255) provides evidence that Salvador Perez has been very fortunate this year with his .278 actual batting average.

As it relates to his home run talent, Garrett Hampson ranks in the 16th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Tarik Skubal projects as the best SP in baseball right now, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Projected catcher Jake Rogers projects as an elite pitch framer, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Tarik Skubal has a reverse platoon split and should be helped facing 8 opposite-handed bats today.

Tarik Skubal will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to improve all of his metrics across the board.

Cole Ragans projects as the 14th-best SP in baseball right now, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The Detroit Tigers projected offense profiles as the weakest of all teams today in terms of overall offensive ability.

As a result of his large reverse platoon split, Cole Ragans will be in a good position going up against 9 hitters in the projected offense of opposing handedness in this outing.

Andy Ibanez hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.9% — 91st percentile) and will have to hit them out towards the game’s 2nd-deepest CF fences today.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.212) may lead us to conclude that Andy Ibanez has experienced some positive variance this year with his .278 actual batting average.

In terms of plate discipline, Andy Ibanez’s skill is quite poor, sporting a 5.29 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 20th percentile.

In notching a .260 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Gio Urshela grades out in the 9th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gio Urshela in the 13th percentile as it relates to his home run skill.

Over the past 7 days, Gio Urshela’s 22.2% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 15.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dairon Blanco in the 19th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent.

Bobby Witt Jr. has struggled with his Barrel% lately; his 14.6% seasonal rate has dropped off to 5% over the past week.

When assessing his home run ability, Maikel Garcia ranks in the 12th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Garrett Hampson has had some very good luck with his batting average this year; his .257 mark is significantly inflated relative to his .222 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

In terms of plate discipline, Paul DeJong’s skill is quite bad, sporting a 7.19 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 2nd percentile.

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

Hunter Renfroe is projected to hit 6th in the lineup in this game.

Hunter Renfroe pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.1% — 98th percentile) and will be challenged by MLB’s 5th-deepest LF fences today.

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

In the last 7 days, Hunter Renfroe’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.2-mph over the course of the season to 95.8-mph lately.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Comerica Park as the worst field in the game for strikeouts.

Justyn-Henry Malloy has been lucky in regards to with his wOBA this year; his .313 figure is significantly inflated relative to his .286 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Ryan Kreidler ranks in the 5th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Compared to his seasonal mark of 18.5°, Hunter Renfroe has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (7.3°) in the past 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Vilade in the 17th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill.

Ryan Vilade is penciled in 9th on the lineup card in this game.

In the past week, Jake Rogers’s 0% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 19.6%.

Jake Rogers has put up a .255 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, grading out in the 7th percentile.

Javier Baez is penciled in 7th in the batting order today.

Javier Baez pulls many of his flyballs (33.5% — 77th percentile) but may find it hard to clear the game’s 5th-deepest LF fences today.

Javier Baez’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased from last season to this one, decreasing from 39.8% to 33.7%.

Javier Baez’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has declined recently, going from 33.7% on the season to 20% over the past two weeks.

In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Paul DeJong has had some very good luck this year. His .303 rate has been inflated compared to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .281.

Javier Baez has recorded a .212 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 1st percentile.

By putting up a .274 Slugging Percentage (SLG) this year, Javier Baez grades out in the 2nd percentile.

Andy Ibanez has had positive variance on his side thus far when it comes to with his wOBA this year; his .321 mark is considerably higher than his .270 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.