Watch the Royals vs White Sox Game Highlights – July 31st, 2024

Kansas City Royals

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Chicago White Sox

As the Chicago White Sox prepare to host the Kansas City Royals on July 31, 2024, both teams find themselves on opposite ends of the American League Central standings. The White Sox are struggling with a dismal 27-82 record, while the Royals are having a respectable season at 58-49. This game marks the third in the series between these two teams.

The White Sox’s offense has been a significant weak spot, ranking 29th in team batting average and 28th in home runs. Their best hitter over the last week has been Paul DeJong, who has posted a solid .286 batting average and a .872 OPS in his last seven games. Despite his efforts, the White Sox offense has continued to underperform.

On the mound, Chicago will start right-hander Drew Thorpe, who faces a tough task against a Royals lineup that ranks 11th in team batting average and 8th in stolen bases. Kansas City’s offense has been led by Bobby Witt Jr., who has been on fire over the last week. Witt boasts a .440 batting average and a 1.142 OPS in his last six games, making him a significant threat to Thorpe and the White Sox pitching staff.

The Royals will counter with right-hander Brady Singer. Singer will look to exploit the White Sox’s offensive struggles as he aims to continue his solid season. The White Sox’s 14th-place ranking in stolen bases is one of their few offensive bright spots, but it may not be enough to overcome their overall lack of production.

The projections give the Royals a favorable outlook in this matchup, considering their above-average season and recent performances. With Kansas City looking to continue their strong play and Chicago trying to salvage some pride in a tough season, this game offers an intriguing dynamic for bettors and fans alike.

Kansas City Royals Insights

• Brady Singer – Over/Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-145/+110)
  Brady Singer has relied on his sinker 11% less often this year (40.1%) than he did last year (51.1%).
  Explain: Sinkers are the easiest pitches to hit and generate the fewest strikeouts, so a pitcher who begins to use his sinker less often will likely be more effective than he used to be.
• Kyle Isbel – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-160/+125)
  Kyle Isbel has been cold recently, with his seasonal exit velocity of 88.6-mph dropping to 77.5-mph over the past 7 days.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
• As a team, Kansas City Royals batters have not performed well in regard to hitting balls in the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (between -4° and 26°), placing 2nd-worst in baseball.
  Explain: Balls that are hit either too high or too low can easy to field, but balls hit between -4° and 26° are far more likely to become base hits.

Chicago White Sox Insights

• Drew Thorpe – Over/Under 3.5 Strikeouts (-105/-125)
  Among all starting pitchers, Andrew Thorpe’s fastball velocity of 90.4 mph ranks in the 14th percentile this year.
  Explain: Velocity is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs.
• Chuckie Robinson – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-135/+105)
  Typically, batters like Chuckie Robinson who hit a lot of groundballs usually hit worse when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of groundballs such as Brady Singer.
  Explain: This mostly has to do with the way the hitter’s swing plane interacts with the pitch trajectory, and it can create diminished performance across all categories and hidden value few are considering.
• Chicago White Sox – 2H Moneyline
  According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), the Chicago White Sox’ bullpen projects as the worst out of all the teams in the game.
  Explain: Most bettors only consider the starting pitcher, but a weak bullpen sneakily creates an easier matchup for the opposing offense and boosts a game’s runs.

Betting Trends

• Over/Under 9.0 Game Total (+100/-120)
  The Chicago White Sox have hit the Game Total Under in 25 of their last 42 games (+7.25 Units / 16% ROI)
• Over/Under 9.0 Game Total (+100/-120)
  The Kansas City Royals have hit the Game Total Under in 25 of their last 41 games (+8.15 Units / 18% ROI)
• Kyle Isbel – Over/Under 0.5 Runs (+135/-170)
  Kyle Isbel has hit the Runs Over in 11 of his last 20 games (+8.40 Units / 42% ROI)