Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Matchup Preview - April 1st, 2023
Right-hander Sonny Gray is expected to start today for Minnesota, while right-hander Jordan Lyles gets the nod at home for Kansas City. The last time Sonny Gray was on the bump, he suffered the loss as the Twins lost 4-11 against the Guardians. He left allowing 4 earned runs and recording 1 strikeout with 1 walk. Lyles's last start was against the Yankees, when he recorded the win as the Orioles were victorious 2-1. Over 7 innings pitched, he allowed 1 earned run with 4 hits. He also recorded 9 strikeouts with 1 walk.
Minnesota Twins Insights
Sonny Gray has been given a shorter leash than the average pitcher since the start of last season, throwing 7.3 fewer adjusted pitches-per-game than league average.
The Kansas City Royals have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Max Kepler stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game.
The Minnesota Twins bullpen profiles as the 5th-best in MLB, per The Sharp Model.
Kansas City Royals Insights
The Sharp Model projects Jordan Lyles in the 19th percentile when assessing his strikeout talent.
Michael Massey has been unlucky with his home runs since the start of last season; his 12.10 HR per 600 plate appearances mark is quite a bit lower than his 28.20 Expected HR/600 (based on The Sharp Model X's interpretation of Statcast data).
Nicky Lopez has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (44.2%) and will be challenged by MLB's 4th-deepest LF fences today.
Betting Trends
Gary Sanchez has hit the RBIs Over in his last game (+1.70 Units / 170% ROI)