Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

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

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Royce Lewis in the 92nd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill.

Royce Lewis is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup.

Target Field sits at the 5th-highest altitude in MLB. High elevation often leads to better offense.

This matchup is projected to have the 11th-most favorable conditions for pitching among all the games scheduled today.

Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Royce Lewis will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willi Castro in the 80th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent.

Willi Castro has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (57% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Target Field as the 6th-best field in MLB for run-scoring.

Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Willi Castro will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Byron Buxton projects as the 10th-best home run batter in the league, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Byron Buxton is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today’s game.

Willi Castro has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his home runs this year; his 10.1 HR per 600 plate appearances rate is deflated compared to his 16.9 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Matt Wallner projects as the 11th-best home run hitter in the league, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Matt Wallner is penciled in 4th on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 57% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year.

Matt Wallner will have the handedness advantage against Seth Lugo in today’s matchup.

When it comes to his home run talent, Royce Lewis ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Hitting from the opposite that Seth Lugo throws from, Max Kepler will have an edge in today’s matchup.

Max Kepler will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.

Over the past 14 days, Max Kepler’s 64% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 43.7%.

Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Carlos Santana will hold that advantage today.

Last year, Carlos Santana had an average launch angle of 7.9° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 13.1°.

Carlos Santana’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, rising from 14.9% on the season to 31.3% over the last week.

Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Matt Wallner will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Trevor Larnach in the 82nd percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability.

Trevor Larnach is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today.

Trevor Larnach will hold the platoon advantage against Seth Lugo today.

Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Trevor Larnach will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt Wallner in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

Carlos Santana has displayed strong plate discipline this year, ranking in the 83rd percentile with a 1.87 K/BB rate.

Seth Lugo has averaged 96.2 adjusted pitches per outing this year, checking in at the 94th percentile.

The Minnesota Twins (25.3% K% (according to the leading projection system, THE BAT X) project to have the 4th-most strikeout-prone group of batters on the slate.

Seth Lugo’s 2368-rpm spin rate on his fastball this year is a big 101-rpm spike from last season’s 2267-rpm rate.

Seth Lugo has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his strikeouts this year, notching a 7.57 K/9 despite the leading projection system (THE BAT) estimating his true talent level to be 8.28 — a 0.71 K/9 deviation.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Byron Buxton ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Byron Buxton will hold the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Max Kepler in the 75th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability.

Max Kepler’s launch angle recently (21.3° in the last two weeks) is considerably higher than his 16.9° seasonal figure.

Tuesday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Royals vs Twins Matchup

Hitting from the same side that Seth Lugo throws from, Royce Lewis will have a disadvantage today.

Royce Lewis pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (37.6% — 95th percentile) and will have to hit them out towards baseball’s 11th-deepest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Royce Lewis has struggled with his Barrel% in recent games; his 14.9% seasonal rate has fallen off to 0% over the past 7 days.

Royce Lewis has been lucky this year, notching a .402 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .338 — a .064 discrepancy.

The 10th-deepest centerfield dimensions in MLB are found in Target Field.

Among all stadiums, the 5th-tallest fences are at Target Field.

In the past week’s worth of games, Willi Castro’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 6.3% down to 0%.

Over the past 7 days, Willi Castro’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal EV of 90.3 mph to 76.4 mph.

Willi Castro has averaged 9.7 long-balls per 600 plate appearances this year, checking in at the 16th percentile for power.

Hitting from the same side that Seth Lugo throws from, Byron Buxton will be in a tough position in today’s matchup.

Today, Byron Buxton is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 11th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 42.3% rate (99th percentile).

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.252) suggests that Byron Buxton has been very fortunate this year with his .278 actual batting average.

By putting up a 4.93 K/BB rate this year, Byron Buxton has displayed weak plate discipline, ranking in the 7th percentile.

Target Field profiles as the #21 stadium in the majors for lefty home runs, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Matt Wallner has been replaced by a pinch-hitter 30% of the time when starting against a right-handed starter this year.

Despite posting a .423 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Matt Wallner has been very fortunate given the .100 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .323.

Target Field profiles as the #21 venue in Major League Baseball for RHB home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Max Kepler in the 16th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent.

Max Kepler is penciled in 6th in the lineup in this game, which would be a downgrade from his 79% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this year.

Max Kepler has negatively regressed with his Barrel% lately; his 7% seasonal rate has decreased to 0% in the past week’s worth of games.

As it relates to his home runs, Royce Lewis has been very fortunate this year. His 53.8 HR per 600 plate appearances figure has been considerably higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected HR/600 at 40.5.

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

Carlos Santana is projected to hit 7th in the batting order today.

The switch-hitting Carlos Santana will bat from his worse side (0) today against Seth Lugo, This year, Trevor Larnach has been lifted for a pinch-hitter in 41% of his appearances when starting against righty hurler.

In the past 14 days, Trevor Larnach’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 10.1% down to 4.5%.

Ben May grades out as a Hitters Umpire and is likely to be behind the plate in this game.

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

Playing on the road generally diminishes pitcher metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Seth Lugo in today’s matchup.

In the past two weeks, Trevor Larnach’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped from his seasonal average of 93 mph to 85.8 mph.

Trevor Larnach’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined in recent games, decreasing from 21.3% on the season to 8.3% in the last week’s worth of games.

Willi Castro has been lucky this year, compiling a .329 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .301 — a .028 disparity.

Max Kepler’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off this season; his 93.4-mph mark last year has dropped to 89.2-mph.

In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Carlos Santana has experienced some positive variance this year. His .326 rate has been a fair amount higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .297.