Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

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

Gavin Sheets is penciled in 4th in the lineup today.

Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer strikeouts), and the weather report forecasts the 3rd-hottest weather on the schedule today at 84°.

Batting from the opposite that Michael Wacha throws from, Gavin Sheets will have an edge in today’s matchup.

Gavin Sheets pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.8% — 80th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards the league’s 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

Gavin Sheets will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s game, which should boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 91st percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability.

Maikel Garcia has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.2%) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them out towards the league’s 9th-shallowest RF fences in today’s game.

The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst among every team in action today.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.279) implies that Maikel Garcia has suffered from bad luck this year with his .238 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects MJ Melendez in the 88th percentile when estimating his home run ability.

MJ Melendez will hold the platoon advantage over Jonathan Cannon in today’s game.

MJ Melendez pulls a lot of his flyballs (35% — 86th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league’s 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Eloy Jimenez in the 89th percentile when assessing his batting average ability.

Eloy Jimenez is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this game.

Long-balls are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest in the league.

Home field advantage generally improves batter stats across the board, and Eloy Jimenez will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Kyle Isbel will hold the platoon advantage against Jonathan Cannon in today’s game.

Compared to his seasonal average of 7.9°, Kyle Isbel has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 20.5° figure over the past two weeks.

Paul DeJong pulls many of his flyballs (35.5% — 89th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards MLB’s 5th-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

Home field advantage typically improves batter stats in all categories, and Paul DeJong will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Paul DeJong has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 87.9-mph average to last season’s 85.5-mph EV.

Paul DeJong has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 96.8-mph average over the past two weeks to his seasonal figure of 93.6-mph.

Freddy Fermin pulls many of his flyballs (35.9% — 91st percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball’s 5th-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

Freddy Fermin has put up a .283 batting average this year, grading out in the 87th percentile.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Vinnie Pasquantino ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

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

Vinnie Pasquantino will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jonathan Cannon in today’s matchup.

Vinnie Pasquantino pulls many of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards MLB’s 9th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Riley Baldwin pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.2% — 81st percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB’s 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

Riley Baldwin will possess the home field advantage in today’s game, which should boost all of his stats.

Posting a 92.6-mph average exit velocity in the last week’s worth of games, Riley Baldwin has been in great form recently.

Over the last 14 days, Riley Baldwin has posted a 32.5° launch angle, lifting the ball well and indicating strong home run potential.

Kyle Isbel’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, going from 41.1% on the season to 60% in the last 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Vaughn in the 86th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.

Andrew Vaughn is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today’s game.

Andrew Vaughn has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.6%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of the league’s 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

Andrew Vaughn will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

When it comes to his batting average ability, Bobby Witt Jr. is projected as the 6th-best batter in the majors by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

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

Bobby Witt Jr. has an 89th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league’s 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert in the 93rd percentile when assessing his home run skill.

Luis Robert is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today’s game.

Luis Robert pulls many of his flyballs (33.5% — 77th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game’s 5th-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

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

Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Korey Lee will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Korey Lee has had some very poor luck with his batting average this year; his .216 rate is significantly deflated relative to his .236 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

The Chicago White Sox have been the 2nd-unluckiest offense in the majors this year, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), and are likely to hit better going forward, It is likely that we will see a Huge Hitters Umpire (Mark Wegner) in charge of the strike zone in today’s game.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), Salvador Perez (the Royals’s expected catcher today) profiles as a weak pitch framer.

Among all stadiums, Guaranteed Rate Field’s left field dimensions are the 5th-shallowest.

Hunter Renfroe is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 84% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year.

Hunter Renfroe pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.3% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league’s 5th-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

Hunter Renfroe has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 95.5-mph average in the last 14 days to his seasonal mark of 92.1-mph.

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

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

Salvador Perez pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards the game’s 5th-shallowest LF fences today.

Michael Massey is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup.

Hitting from the opposite that Jonathan Cannon throws from, Michael Massey will have the upper hand today.

Michael Massey pulls many of his flyballs (38.2% — 96th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB’s 9th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Nicky Lopez has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (63% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today.

Nicky Lopez will hold the platoon advantage over Michael Wacha today.

Nicky Lopez has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (44.3%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league’s 5th-shallowest LF fences today.

Nicky Lopez will hold the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

Luis Robert’s BABIP ability is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

The Chicago White Sox have 3 hitters in their projected lineup today with a high (i.e. over 27%) underlying K% (according to the leading projection system, THE BAT X) (Korey Lee, Luis Robert, Paul DeJong).

Considering the 0.99 disparity between Michael Wacha’s 7.66 K/9 and his 8.65 estimated true talent K/9 (via the leading projection system, THE BAT), it’s safe to say he’s been one of the least fortunate pitchers in the league this year as it relates to strikeouts and figures to see better results in future games.

MJ Melendez has been unlucky this year, posting a .277 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .318 — a .041 discrepancy.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects MJ Melendez in the 77th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill.

Home field advantage typically bolsters pitcher stats in all categories, and Jonathan Cannon will hold that advantage today.

In his last outing, Jonathan Cannon turned in a great performance and conceded 2 ER.

Jonathan Cannon’s high utilization percentage of his secondary pitches (60% this year) should work in his favor since they are typically much more effective than fastballs.

Jonathan Cannon has recorded a .314 BABIP this year, a sign that he has been one of the unluckiest mound aces in baseball on balls in play with improved performance likely coming.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Eloy Jimenez in the 85th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill.

Maikel Garcia has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .278 figure is a fair amount lower than his .311 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

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

Michael Massey has made notable improvements with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 8.1% seasonal rate to 14.3% over the last 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 88th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill.

Andrew Benintendi will have the handedness advantage over Michael Wacha in today’s game.

Andrew Benintendi has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.6%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball’s 5th-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats in all categories, and Andrew Benintendi will hold that advantage today.

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

Salvador Perez’s launch angle this year (19°) is significantly better than his 15.3° figure last season.

Andrew Benintendi has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% recently, upping his 6.3% seasonal rate to 23.5% in the last 7 days.

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

Bobby Witt Jr. has seen a big increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 92.9-mph average to last year’s 90.7-mph EV.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Hunter Renfroe in the 80th percentile when assessing his home run talent.

Tuesday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Royals vs White Sox Matchup

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gavin Sheets in the 12th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability.

13% of the time that Gavin Sheets has started against a righty hurler this year, he has been replaced by a pinch-hitter.

Gavin Sheets has negatively regressed with his Barrel% in recent games; his 5.7% seasonal rate has decreased to 0% in the past 14 days.

Gavin Sheets’s exit velocity on flyballs has decreased recently; his 89.5-mph seasonal average has dropped off to 83.3-mph over the past two weeks.

Gavin Sheets has notched a .224 batting average this year, ranking in the 23rd percentile.

Maikel Garcia is penciled in 8th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be a downgrade from his 87% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this season.

Jonathan Cannon will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Maikel Garcia in today’s game.

Playing on the road typically lessens hitter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Maikel Garcia in today’s game.

Maikel Garcia’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off this season; his 92.7-mph EV last season has fallen off to 90-mph.

Maikel Garcia has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 97.6-mph average over the last week to his seasonal figure of 90.2-mph.

MJ Melendez is projected to hit 6th on the lineup card in today’s game.

This year, MJ Melendez has been replaced by a pinch-hitter in 18% of his appearances when starting against northpaw.

Playing on the road generally reduces hitter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for MJ Melendez in today’s matchup.

MJ Melendez’s average exit velocity has dropped off this season; his 93.2-mph figure last year has fallen off to 90.9-mph.

MJ Melendez ranks in the 17th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize base hits (39.4% rate this year).

Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Eloy Jimenez faces a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

Eloy Jimenez’s launch angle this year (2.3°) is significantly worse than his 5.8° figure last year.

Eloy Jimenez has put up a .290 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, checking in at the 23rd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Posting a .286 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Eloy Jimenez finds himself in the 21st percentile.

Kyle Isbel is penciled in 9th in the batting order in this game.

When starting against a righty on the mound this year, Kyle Isbel has been pinch hit for 17% of the time.

Kyle Isbel will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team today.

Kyle Isbel’s average exit velocity has dropped off of late; his 88.8-mph seasonal EV has fallen off to 79-mph in the last week.

Kyle Isbel’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (3.3°) is quite a bit lower than his 7° angle last season.

Paul DeJong’s batting average talent is projected to be in the 7th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Paul DeJong is projected to hit 8th on the lineup card in this matchup.

Michael Wacha will have the handedness advantage against Paul DeJong in today’s matchup.

Paul DeJong has been lucky in regards to his home runs this year; his 29.8 HR per 600 plate appearances figure is a fair amount higher than his 22.9 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

When it comes to plate discipline, Paul DeJong’s ability is quite bad, posting a 7.63 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 2nd percentile.

Freddy Fermin is projected to hit 7th on the lineup card in this game.

Hitting from the same side that Jonathan Cannon throws from, Freddy Fermin will have a tough challenge in today’s game.

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

Freddy Fermin has taken a step back with his Barrel%; his 10.1% rate last season has fallen off to 4.1% this year.

In the past 7 days, Freddy Fermin’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped from his seasonal average of 89.6 mph to 80.3 mph.

Playing on the road generally weakens hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Vinnie Pasquantino today.

In the past week’s worth of games, Vinnie Pasquantino’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 7% down to 0%.

Vinnie Pasquantino’s average exit velocity has fallen off lately; his 90.9-mph seasonal figure has dropped to 84.5-mph in the past week’s worth of games.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Riley Baldwin ranks in the 25th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Riley Baldwin is projected to hit 7th in the batting order today.

The switch-hitting Riley Baldwin will bat from his weak side (0) today against Michael Wacha, With a .237 wOBA over the past 14 days, Riley Baldwin has been struggling at the plate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kyle Isbel in the 25th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent.

Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Andrew Vaughn meets a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

Over the last two weeks, Andrew Vaughn’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 8.9% down to 0%.

In the past week, Andrew Vaughn’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen from his seasonal mark of 92.2 mph to 81.4 mph.

Andrew Vaughn’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased in recent games, decreasing from 17.7% on the season to 0% over the past 7 days.

As it relates to plate discipline, Andrew Vaughn’s skill is quite poor, putting up a 3.65 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 25th percentile.

Checking in at the 23rd percentile for power, Gavin Sheets has hit 11.2 HRs per 600 plate appearances this year.

Batting from the same side that Jonathan Cannon throws from, Bobby Witt Jr. has a tough challenge today.

Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a disadvantage playing on the road today.

Bobby Witt Jr.’s launch angle of late (5° over the last 7 days) is quite a bit lower than his 15.5° seasonal figure.

Michael Wacha will have the handedness advantage over Luis Robert in today’s game.

Luis Robert’s average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this season (13.1°) is considerably worse than his 17.6° angle last season.

Luis Robert has been lucky in regards to his home runs this year; his 32.1 HR per 600 plate appearances mark is a good deal higher than his 27.8 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

In terms of plate discipline, Luis Robert’s talent is quite poor, posting a 4.12 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 18th percentile.

By putting up a .262 BABIP this year, Vinnie Pasquantino finds himself in the 17th percentile.

Sporting a .162 Isolated Power (ISO) this year, Eloy Jimenez grades out in the 13th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Korey Lee in the 5th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent.

Korey Lee is projected to hit 9th in the lineup in today’s game.

Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Korey Lee faces a tough challenge today.

Sporting a .281 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Korey Lee grades out in the 16th percentile for hitting ability.

Ranked in the 20th percentile, Korey Lee’s average exit velocity of 87 mph ranks among the lowest in the league this year.

The Chicago White Sox projected batting order grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams today in terms of overall batting skill.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Guaranteed Rate Field as the 7th-worst venue in MLB for BABIP.

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

This season, Michael Wacha has added a new pitch to his pitch mix (a slider), throwing it on 7.8% of his pitches.

Chicago White Sox batters jointly grade out 28th- in MLB for power this year when using their 6.8% Barrel%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Hunter Renfroe in the 4th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability.

Jonathan Cannon will have the handedness advantage over Hunter Renfroe in today’s game.

Playing on the road generally weakens batter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Hunter Renfroe in today’s matchup.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.209) suggests that Hunter Renfroe has experienced some positive variance this year with his .234 actual batting average.

Posting a .247 BABIP this year, Hunter Renfroe has performed in the 11th percentile.

Hitting from the same side that Jonathan Cannon throws from, Salvador Perez encounters a tough challenge in today’s game.

Playing on the road typically lowers hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Salvador Perez in today’s game.

Salvador Perez’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined of late; his 94.6-mph seasonal EV has dropped off to 89-mph in the last 7 days.

Salvador Perez’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has declined lately, decreasing from 44% on the season to 33.3% in the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael Massey in the 18th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability.

Michael Massey will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s matchup.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (22.9) suggests that Michael Massey has had some very good luck this year with his 25.4 actual HR/600.

When it comes to plate discipline, Michael Massey’s talent is quite bad, posting a 4.62 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 23rd percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nicky Lopez in the 8th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability.

Nicky Lopez has been pulled from the game early 11% of the time when starting against a righty on the mound this year.

Nicky Lopez’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined in recent games; his 87.5-mph seasonal EV has lowered to 80.5-mph over the past two weeks.

Nicky Lopez’s launch angle lately (-6.5° in the last 7 days) is considerably worse than his 6.9° seasonal angle.

In notching a .257 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Nicky Lopez grades out in the 3rd percentile for hitting ability.

Luis Robert’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has declined from last year to this one, decreasing from 45.5% to 40.3%.

Using Statcast data, Luis Robert grades out in the 7th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .211.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Guaranteed Rate Field as the 6th-worst ballpark in baseball for strikeouts.

Playing on the road generally lessens pitcher stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Michael Wacha in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nicky Lopez in the 0th percentile as it relates to his home run skill.

Despite posting a .412 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Bobby Witt Jr. has experienced some positive variance given the .041 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .371.

Placing in the 25th percentile, Michael Massey has notched a .242 BABIP this year.

In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Paul DeJong has been lucky this year. His .302 mark has been a good deal higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .280.

By putting up a .274 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, MJ Melendez is ranked in the 14th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Jonathan Cannon in the 23rd percentile as it relates to his overall pitching talent.

Korey Lee, the White Sox’s expected catcher in today’s game, grades out as a weak pitch framer according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

In the past two weeks, Eloy Jimenez’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls (-1.4°) has significantly dropped compared to his seasonal mark of 1.7°.

When estimating his home run skill, Maikel Garcia ranks in the 11th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Salvador Perez has been lucky in regards to his batting average this year; his .276 figure is significantly inflated relative to his .257 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Michael Massey’s launch angle this season (14.2°) is significantly lower than his 19.6° angle last season.

Andrew Benintendi has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this season (81% of the time), but he is projected to bat 6th in the batting order today.

Andrew Benintendi has compiled a .250 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, grading out in the 5th percentile.

Andrew Benintendi has posted a .226 BABIP this year, grading out in the 5th percentile.

Luis Robert has had some very good luck with with his wOBA this year; his .314 rate is quite a bit higher than his .298 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Jonathan Cannon in the 13th percentile when estimating his strikeout skill.

When it comes to his home run talent, Andrew Benintendi ranks in the 23rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Ranking in the 8th percentile, Andrew Benintendi has put up a .312 Slugging Percentage (SLG) this year.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (18.7) may lead us to conclude that Korey Lee has been lucky this year with his 20.7 actual HR/600.

Over the last 14 days, Hunter Renfroe’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls (4.6°) has significantly dropped compared to his seasonal mark of 11°.

When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Hunter Renfroe has been very fortunate this year. His .318 figure has been significantly inflated relative to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .296.