Chicago @ Cleveland Picks & Props

17% of the time that Oscar Gonzalez has started against a northpaw this year, he has been pinch hit for. Jesse Scholtens will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Oscar Gonzalez in today's game. Oscar Gonzalez hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 90th percentile) and and has the misfortune of hitting them towards MLB's 7th-deepest CF fences in today's matchup. Oscar Gonzalez's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased from last season to this one, decreasing from 13.5% to 8.5%. Oscar Gonzalez's speed has declined this season. His 28.88 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 27.75 ft/sec now.

Xzavion Curry will have the handedness advantage against Tim Anderson in today's game. Playing on the road generally lowers hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Tim Anderson in today's game. Tim Anderson's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off recently; his 90.1-mph seasonal mark has lowered to 77.2-mph in the past week's worth of games. Tim Anderson's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has dropped off from last season to this one, decreasing from 14.8% to 7.1%. By putting up a .253 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Tim Anderson finds himself in the 3rd percentile.

Playing on the road generally weakens batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Andrew Benintendi today. Andrew Benintendi's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased this year; his 91.1-mph average last season has fallen off to 87.7-mph. Andrew Benintendi has been cold of late, posting a 0% Barrel% (an advanced stat to measure power) in the past 14 days.

Andrew Vaughn is penciled in 6th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be a downgrade from his 82% rate of hitting in the top-half of the lineup this season. Xzavion Curry will have the handedness advantage against Andrew Vaughn in today's game. Playing on the road generally diminishes hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Andrew Vaughn in today's game. This year, there has been a decline in Andrew Vaughn's footspeed with his Statcast Sprint Speed dropping from 26.2 ft/sec last year to 25.27 ft/sec currently.

Steven Kwan's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off of late; his 85-mph seasonal average has dropped to 81.2-mph in the last week. Steven Kwan's 1.1% Barrel% (a reliable standard to evaluate power) ranks in the 1st percentile this year.

Xzavion Curry will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Eloy Jimenez today. Eloy Jimenez hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39% — 89th percentile) and and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the league's 7th-deepest CF fences in today's matchup. Eloy Jimenez will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's matchup. Eloy Jimenez's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off this year; his 97.6-mph EV last season has dropped off to 93.5-mph. In the past 7 days, Eloy Jimenez's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen from his seasonal mark of 93.5 mph to 86.3 mph.

Xzavion Curry will have the handedness advantage against Luis Robert in today's game. Luis Robert will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's game. Luis Robert has taken a step back with his Barrel% recently; his 14.8% seasonal rate has lowered to 0% in the past week's worth of games. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.349) suggests that Luis Robert has been very fortunate this year with his .372 actual wOBA. In terms of plate discipline, Luis Robert's talent is quite weak, posting a 6.01 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 4th percentile.

Will Brennan hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40% — 98th percentile) and and will be challenged by the league's 7th-deepest CF fences in today's game. Will Brennan has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 85.7-mph dropping to 81.3-mph in the last 14 days. Ranked in the 3rd percentile, Will Brennan's average exit velocity of 85.7 mph ranks among the lowest in Major League Baseball this year. Sporting a .292 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Will Brennan is ranked in the 19th percentile. Will Brennan has exhibited poor plate discipline this year, grading out in the 20th percentile with a 3.86 K/BB rate.

In the majors, Progressive Field's CF fences are the 7th-deepest. Andres Gimenez's average exit velocity has fallen off this year; his 87.8-mph mark last year has fallen off to 84.9-mph. Last season, Andres Gimenez had a launch angle of 12.6° on his highest exit velocity balls, but this year he experienced a significant decline to just 9.6°. Andres Gimenez's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased recently, decreasing from 40.4% on the season to 17.6% over the last week. Placing in the 21st percentile, Andres Gimenez sports a .271 BABIP this year.

Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Zach Remillard has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 1.9% seasonal rate to 7.7% over the past 14 days. Zach Remillard has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 99.1-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal average of 87.2-mph. In the last two weeks, Zach Remillard's 69.2% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 61.5%.

This season, there has been a decline in Jose Ramirez's footspeed with his Statcast Sprint Speed dropping from 28.46 ft/sec last year to 27.8 ft/sec currently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yoan Moncada in the 81st percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Yoan Moncada is penciled in 2nd in the lineup today. Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Myles Straw in the 88th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Myles Straw has a 100th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (47.4%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Myles Straw will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last two weeks, Myles Straw has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 6.8° compared to his seasonal mark of 3.5°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gabriel Arias in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Gabriel Arias has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.8%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards MLB's 6th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Gabriel Arias will hold that advantage in today's game. Since the start of last season, the hardest ball Gabriel Arias has connected with reached a maximum exit velocity of 114.4 mph (an advanced metric to study power), ranking in the 93rd percentile.

Elvis Andrus has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (97% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today. Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Extreme groundball bats like Elvis Andrus usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Xzavion Curry. Elvis Andrus has been unlucky this year, notching a .258 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .301 — a .043 gap.

Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Yasmani Grandal has seen a big increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 91.1-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 88.4-mph EV.

Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Oscar Colas will have the handedness advantage over Xzavion Curry in today's matchup. Oscar Colas has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Oscar Colas has experienced some negative variance this year. His .234 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .277.

Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Trayce Thompson pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.6% — 95th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

Progressive Field has the 3rd-shallowest LF dimensions among all major league parks. Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats across the board, and Cam Gallagher will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Cam Gallagher's footspeed has increased this season. His 24.88 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 25.47 ft/sec now. Cam Gallagher has been unlucky this year, posting a .163 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .252 — a .089 discrepancy.

Gavin Sheets is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this game. Progressive Field sits at the 7th-highest elevation in the league. High elevation generally leads to higher offensive output. Gavin Sheets will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Xzavion Curry today. This season, Gavin Sheets has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 92 mph compared to last year's 89.6 mph mark. Gavin Sheets has been unlucky this year, notching a .284 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .324 — a .040 deviation.