MLB DFS Weather: Wednesday, April 20

It does NOT look like this scene will have to be repeated in TX tonight

Brief Summary (Updated at 5:30 PM EDT): Today's "trouble"spot is in TEX. However, I am not worried about a PPD threat and I would be surprised if this game experienced a delay. Widely scattered thunderstorms will be across the northern and eastern part of the state. By the random nature of thunderstorms, this is a location to watch and I will provide updates throughout the day via Twitter.

Simulated radar at 8 PM EDT:

Thunderstorm activity will be extremely spotty tonight. We should be good to go!

 

Good Hitting Environment:
 -Relatively warm and humid for HOU at TEX

Poor Hitting Environments:
-The East Coast cities of BOS, NYC, BLT and PHL continue to see plenty of dry and somewhat cool air in place making the air density high. At least there is not alot of wind in these locations tonight.

SEA at CLE: 6:10: Wind ENE 8-16 mph lessening to 6-12 mph which blows from right to left. The wind is a 5. Temps in the mid to upper 60s falling to near 60. Air density is a 6 becoming a 5.

DET at KC 7:00: Wind WSW 6-12 mph which blows out to right. The wind is a 6. Temps in the mid 60s dropping to near 60. Air density is a 6.

TOR at BLT 7:05: Wind light and variable which is a 5. Temps dropping from the mid 60s into the low 50s. Air density is a 5 becoming a 4.

OAK at NYY 7:05: Wind light and variable which is a 5. Temps dropping from near 60 to the low to mid 50s. Air density is a 5 becoming a 4.

NYM at PHL 7:05: Wind SSW 5-10 mph which blows  out to center. The wind is a 6. Temps dropping from the mid 60s into the mid 50s. Air density is a 5 becoming a 4.

TB at BOS 7:10: Wind light and variable which is a 5. Temps dropping from the mid 50s to near 50. Air density is a 4.

LAD at ATL 7:10: Wind ESE 7-14 mph which blows in from right. The wind is a 4. Temps dropping from the mid to upper 70s into the upper 60s. Air density is a 7.

 WSH at MIA 7:10: The retractable roof will likely be open as the humidity is low, temps are not too hot and there is no threat of rain. Wind ENE 10-20 mph lessening to 8-16 mph which blows in from left. The wind is a 2 becoming a 3. Temps dropping from the mid to upper 70s into the low 70s. Air density is a 7.

HOU at TEX 8:05: A scattering of thunderstorms across the region means THERE IS AN EXTREMELY LOW THREAT OF PPD AND AN EXTREMELY LOW THREAT OF A DELAY(S). Wind SE 6-12 mph which blows in from center. The wind is a 4. Temps falling from the mid to upper 70s to near 70. Air density is a 7.

MIN at MIL 8:10: Because of the threat of rain, the retractable roof will likely be closed. 

PIT at SD 10:10: Wind WNW 7-14 mph lessening to 5-10 mph which blows from left to right. The wind is a 5. Temps dropping from the mid to upper 70s into the upper 60s. Air density is a 7 becoming a 6.

AZ at SF 10:15: Wind WSW 10-20 mph lessening to 6-12 mph which blows out to right-center. The wind is a 3 becoming a 4 (I have read that the design of the stadium takes into consideration the predominant west wind and the structure behind the plate lessens the "push" the wind may have). Temps near 70 falling to near 60. Air density is a 6. 

MLB DFS Weather: Tuesday, April 19

Hopefully this image isn't repeated tonight in St. Louis

Brief Summary (6:35 PM EDT update): Trouble spots in Chicago, St. Louis and in Arlington, Texas, home of the Rangers. In Chicago, spotty, light rain should stay off to the north and west of the city and thus I am WAY MORE optimistic than my original forecast this morning. Trends are also MORE PROMISING in St. Louis. Showers are developing nearby but there is NOT a steady shield of rain developing, great new!!!. In Texas, scattered thunderstorms, not a steady shield of rain, will cause a low threat of a ppd and a low threat of delays but most, if not, of the thunderstorms should stay off to the west of the stadium. The main problem is if a thunderstorm cell forms and stalls over the ballpark and causes a heavy, drenching rain with frequent lightning that could ppd the game. More likely than not, they would just wait it out and start late or delay if it happens during the game.

 

  Let's look at St. Louis:

Current radar (6:35 PM EDT):

St. Louis is sitting in a GREAT spot!

 

 

Simulated radar near scheduled 1st pitch:

Model trends have caught up to what is actually going on so I AM FEELING WAY BETTER ABOUT THIS GAME RIGHT NOW!

Arlington, Texas area looks better than it did this morning. Expected radar near scheduled 1st pitch:

Not too bad. Always a bit risky with pop up thunderstorms but most of the game, especially early, should be dry.

Good hitting environments:
- Atlanta and Cincinnati see mild temperatures with very little wind.

Poor hitting environments:
- New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and especially Boston all see relatively chilly temperatures (could be a lot worse this time of year) with winds blowing in.  


SEA at CLE 6:10: Northeast wind 6-12 mph which blows in from right. The wind is a 4. Temps near 60 falling to near 50. Air density is a 5 becoming a 4.

TOR at BLT 7:05: North wind 8-16 mph lessening to 6-12 mph which blows in from left. The wind is a 3 becoming a 4. Temps near 70 falling to near 60. Air density is a 6 becoming a 5.

OAK at NYY 7:05: North-northwest wind 10-20 mph which blows in from left. The wind is a 2 or a 3. Temps near 60 falling into the mid 50s. Air density is a 5.

NYM at PHL 7:05: Northwest wind 12-25 mph lessening to 10-20 mph which blows in from left. The wind is a 2 becoming a 3. Temps in the mid 60s falling into the upper 50s. Air density is a 5.

TB at BOS 7:10: Northwest wind 10-20 mph which blows from left to right. The wind is a 5. Temps in the mid 50s dropping to near 50. Air density is a 5 becoming a 4.

LAD at ATL 7:10: Light and variable wind. The wind is a 5. Temps in the upper 70s falling to near 70. Air density is a 7.

COL at CIN 7:10: Light and variable wind. The wind is a 5. Temps near 70 falling into the low 60s. Air density is a 6.

WSH at MIA 7:10: Retractable roof. With no threat of thunderstorms and comfortable levels of humidity and temperatures, the roof will likely be OPEN. Wind east-northeast 10-20 mph lessening to 6-12 mph which blows in from left. The wind is a 3 becoming a 4. Temps in the low to mid 70s. Air density is a 7.

DET at KC 7:15: North-northeast wind 5-10 mph which blows in from right-center. The wind is a 4. Temps near 70 falling to near 60. Air density is a 6.

HOU at TEX 8:05: VERY LOW PPD THREAT, LOW DELAY THREAT. Thunderstorm coverage will increase as we go through the evening. East-southeast wind 6-12 mph which blows in from left-center. The wind is a 4. Temps low to mid 70s falling into the upper 60s. Air density is a 7.

LAA at CHW 8:10: VERY LOW PPD THREAT, VERY LOW DELAY THREAT. Rain should be just north of the city in southern Wisconsin. Northeast wind 8-16 mph which blows from left to right. The wind is a 5. Temps near 60 falling into the mid 50s. Air density is a 6.

CHC at STL 8:15: LOW PPD THREAT, LOW DELAY THREAT. South-southeast winds blow from right to left. The wind is a 5. Temps near 70 falling into the mid 60s. Air density is a 7.

PIT at SD 10:10: Northwest winds 6-12 mph which blow in from left. The wind is a 4. Temps in the mid 70s falling to near 70. Air density is a 7 becoming a 6.

AZ at SF 10:15:West-northwest winds 10-20 mph blow out to right-center. The wind is a 7. Temps near 70 falling into the low 60s. Air density is a 6 becoming a 5.

How Elevation Impacts Baseball

Baseballs travel 9% farther in Coors Field than at sea level

Elevation is defined as your height above mean sea level measured usually in feet. Elevation is the only factor in air density that will not change on a daily and/or seasonal basis. It is also the most dominant of the three factors that influence air density.   

Elevation has a correlation to air density; the higher the elevation, the lower the air density. Air density is defined as the mass per unit volume of the Earth's atmosphere. In English, it means how much "stuff" (air molecules) are found in a given space of air. At sea level and at 15 °C (59 F) air has a density of approximately 1.225 kg/m3

In terms of a batted baseball, the less "stuff" the ball has to collide with on its flight, the less friction it encounters. Less friction means more energy is available for the flight, which means the ball is able to travel further. 

In MLB, the two parks where elevation comes into play the most is, of course, Coors Field in Denver Chase Field in Arizona and Turner Field in Atlanta. 

(I had a real nice graph that shows elevations of MLB stadiums and also shows that Coors, Chase and Turner are head and shoulders above every other park when it comes to elevation but I can not find it at this time. Lacking a pretty graph, I can just the elevations shown below. Coors is 5183 feet above sea level, Chase is 1082 feet and Turner is 1050 feet. The highest AL park is Target Field in Minneapolis at 812 feet.)

In fact, elevation becomes almost irrelevant in all other ballparks besides these three. To make matters even more complicated, Chase Field is a retractable roof stadium so the physics of air density become tougher to digest when the roof is closed. Coors is the only field where you can count on a dramatic influence due to elevation.  

According to Colorado.Rockies.com, "the ball still travels 9 percent farther at 5,280 feet than at sea level. It is estimated that a home run hit 400 feet in sea-level Yankee Stadium would travel about 408 feet in Atlanta and as far as 440 feet in the Mile High City." See graph below:

MLB DFS Weather: Monday, April 18

The only risk of ppd on Monday's slate is the Brewers @ Twins

Here's a look at the forecast for today's MLB slate of games.

BRIEF SUMMARY
***8:00 PM EDT Update: Rain looks to be slower moving into Minneapolis. Steady rain WILL NOT move in until after the scheduled 8:10 EDT scheduled 1st pitch. **** 

Current radar as of 8:00 PM EDT shows showers lifting away and they will 1-2 hours (at least) of dry weather !

Note: The rain is mainly moving north and not much eastward motion so it is going to take awhile to move into Minneapolis.

 Expected (simulated) radar at 9:00 EDT tonight

 Expected (simulated) radar at 10:00 EDT tonight

No other ppd/delay risks. Good weather in Miami leads me to believe the retractable roof may be open.

GOOD HITTING ENVIRONMENTS
- Pleasantly mild in Philadelphia with very little wind.
-A moderate right to left wind may help some balls hit towards left in St. Louis. Pleasantly mild there as well.

 POOR HITTING ENVIRONMENT
-Chilly temperatures and a 8-16 mph wind blowing in from center makes the game between the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Fenway Park, a tough place for hitters.

TOR at BOS 11:05 AM: Winds NE 8-16 mph which blows in from center. The wind is a 3. Temps near 50 rising into the mid 50s. Air density is a 4. 

NYM at PHL 7:05: Winds light and variable. The wind is a 5. Temps in the low to mid 70s falling into the mid to upper 60s. Air density is a 7 becoming a 6.

COL at CIN 7:10: Winds SSW 5-10 mph becoming light and variable which blows in from right. The wind is a 4 becoming a 5. Temps near 70 dropping to near 60. Air density is a 6.

WSH at MIA 7:10: Good weather may lead to the roof being open. Winds ENE 10-20 mph lessening to 6-12 mph which blows in from left. The wind is a 3 becoming a 4. Temps in the mid 70s. Air density is a 7.

CHC at STL 8:00: Winds SSE 10-20 mph lessening to 7-14 mph which blows from right to left. The wind is a 5. Temps in the low 70s falling into the mid 60s. Air density is a 7 becoming a 6.

LAA at CHW 8:10: Winds SSE 7-14 mph which blows in from right. The wind is a 4. Temps near 80 falling to near 70. Air density is a 7.

MIL at MIN 8:10: MAJOR delay threat, moderate PPD threat! Winds ESE 10-20 mph which blows in from right. The wind is a 3. Temps in the upper 60s falling into the low 60s. Air density is a 6.

AZ at SF 10:15: Winds WNW 5-10 mph becoming light and variable which blows out to left-center. The wind is a 6. Temps in the mid 60s falling to near 60. Air density is a 6.

MLB DFS Weather: Sunday, April 17

Today's Orioles/Rangers game in Arlington has already been ppd.

Here's a look at the forecast for today's MLB slate of games.

BRIEF SUMMARY
The Orioles/Rangers game in Arlington has already been ppd.

GOOD HITTING ENVIRONMENTS
- COL at CHC

- WSH at PHL

- Warmer than normal in the 3 California locations

POOR HITTING ENVIRONMENT
- Though not nearly as bad as yesterday, temperatures remain cool and the wind is still blowing in at Fenway for the Blue Jays at Red Sox game. 

SEA at NYY 1:05 PM EST
Winds light and variable, a 5. Temps in the mid to upper 60s, air density a 6.

NYM at CLE: 1:10 PM EST
Winds NNE 6-12 mph blows in from right-center, a 4. Temps near 70, air density a 6.

ATL at MIA 1:10 PM EST
Very little chance of rain so the roof MAY be open today. If it is, winds ENE at 15-25 mph will blow in from left, a 2. Temps near 80, air density an 8.

CHW at TB 1:10 PM EST
Dome.

TOR at BOS 1:35 PM EST
Winds ESE 6-12 mph which blows in from right, a 4. Temps in the mid to upper 50s, air density is a 5.

WSH at PHL 1:35 PM EST

Winds W 6-12 mph which blows out to right or from left to right at times. The wind is a 6. Temps near 70, air density is a 6.

MIL at PIT 1:35 PM EST
Winds W 5-10 mph which blows out to left-center. The wind is a 4. Temps in the mid 70s, air density is a 7.

LAA at MIN 2:10 PM EST
Winds SSE 8-16 mph which blows from right to left. The wind is a 5. Temps in the mid to upper 70s, air density is a 7. 

DET at HOU PM EST

With the threat of thunderstorms, the roof will most likely be closed.

COL at CHC 2:20 PM EST
Winds SE 7-14 mph which blows from right to left or out to left at times. The wind is a 6. Temps near 80, air density is a 7. 

BLT at TEX 3:05 PM EST

ppd.

KC at OAK 4:05 PM EST
NW winds 6-12 mph which blows from left to right. The wind is a 5. Temps warm for the Bay Area, near 80. Air density is an 8.

AZ at SD 4:40 PM EST
NW winds 8-16 mph which blows in from left, the wind is a 3. Temps in the low 80s, air density is an 8.

SF at LAD 8:00 PM EST
Winds WSW 8-16 lessening to 6-12 mph which blows out to right. The wind is a 6. Temps in the low 70s dropping into the mid 60s, air density is a 7 becoming a 6.