Chicago @ Tampa Bay Picks & Props

Tropicana Field grades out as the #29 stadium in MLB for right-handed base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). The Tropicana Field roof is expected to be closed today, making weather conditions in this match-up -9° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate today — favorable for pitching. In today's game, Amed Rosario is at a disadvantage facing the league's 9th-deepest CF center field fences given that he hits his flyballs towards center field at a 40.3% rate (99th percentile). Amed Rosario's 3.6% Barrel% (a reliable metric to assess power) is in the 11th percentile since the start of last season. Amed Rosario has done a poor job optimizing his launch angle on his hardest-hit balls. His 5.4° figure is among the lowest in the majors since the start of last season (6th percentile).

Tropicana Field grades out as the #29 stadium in MLB for right-handed base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). The Tropicana Field roof is expected to be closed today, making weather conditions in this match-up -9° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Yandy Diaz's footspeed has decreased this season. His 26.61 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 25.23 ft/sec now. Yandy Diaz and his 5° launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls rank in 4th percentile, among the lowest in MLB since the start of last season.

Jose Siri will hold the platoon advantage against Justin Steele in today's game. Jose Siri pulls a lot of his flyballs (36% — 92nd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Among every team on the slate today, the 11th-weakest infield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Jose Siri will hold that advantage in today's matchup. As it relates to his batting average, Jose Siri has had some very good luck this year. His .192 figure has been a good deal higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .181.

Michael Busch is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in today's game. The 5th-shallowest right field fences among all parks are found in Tropicana Field. Michael Busch will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Taj Bradley in today's game. Over the past two weeks, Michael Busch has been performing exceptionally well at the plate with a wOBA of .341. Since the start of last season, Michael Busch's flyball exit velocity (an advanced stat to measure power) is in the 80th percentile at 94.5 mph.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Randy Arozarena ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Randy Arozarena is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. Batting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Randy Arozarena will have the upper hand in today's game. Among every team on the slate today, the 11th-weakest infield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Randy Arozarena will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 81st percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Ian Happ is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup. As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the plate, Ian Happ will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his better side against Taj Bradley in today's matchup. Ian Happ has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.5%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. By putting up a .346 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) since the start of last season, Ian Happ grades out in the 79th percentile for offensive skills.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Christopher Morel ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Christopher Morel is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Christopher Morel pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (37.9% — 96th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Christopher Morel has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average this year; his .209 figure is deflated compared to his .279 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Christopher Morel's 16.2% Barrel% (an advanced stat to evaluate power) ranks in the 96th percentile since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 89th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Dansby Swanson's true offensive ability to be a .329, suggesting that he has had some very poor luck this year given the .042 gap between that figure and his actual .287 wOBA. Dansby Swanson's 11.1% Barrel% (a reliable metric to assess power) is in the 75th percentile since the start of last season. Since the start of last season, Dansby Swanson's flyball exit velocity (an advanced standard to assess power) is in the 88th percentile at 95 mph. Dansby Swanson and his 17.9° launch angle on his hardest-hit balls rank in 94th percentile, among the highest in MLB since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Lowe in the 89th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Brandon Lowe is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Among every team on the slate today, the 11th-weakest infield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Brandon Lowe will hold that advantage in today's game. Brandon Lowe's 95.4-mph exit velocity on flyballs (an advanced stat to study power) is in the 91st percentile since the start of last season.

Jose Caballero will have the handedness advantage over Justin Steele today. Jose Caballero pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.8% — 91st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Among every team on the slate today, the 11th-weakest infield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Jose Caballero will hold that advantage in today's game. Jose Caballero's 20.9° launch angle (a reliable standard to study a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is among the steepest in the majors: 93rd percentile.

Despite posting a .186 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Yan Gomes has had some very poor luck given the .093 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .279. Yan Gomes ranks in the 78th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs (17.7% rate since the start of last season). Grading out in the 100th percentile of THE BAT X's Spray Score since the start of last season, Yan Gomes demonstrated exceptional skill in hitting the ball to all fields - a key skill for achieving a high batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cody Bellinger in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card today. Batting from the opposite that Taj Bradley throws from, Cody Bellinger will have an advantage today. Cody Bellinger pulls many of his flyballs (35.6% — 90th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. Cody Bellinger has done a strong job optimizing his launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls. His 16.7° figure is among the highest in the league since the start of last season (90th percentile).

The 6th-shallowest LF fences in Major League Baseball are found in Tropicana Field. As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the plate, Taylor Walls will have the advantage of batting from from his good side against Justin Steele today. Taylor Walls will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Taylor Walls's 18.9° launch angle (an advanced stat to measure a hitter's ability to lift the ball for power) is among the steepest in MLB: 92nd percentile.

Nico Hoerner's batting average skill is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Nico Hoerner has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.5%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game's 5th-shallowest RF fences today. In notching a .285 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season , Nico Hoerner is ranked in the 87th percentile. By putting up a 1.04 K/BB rate this year, Nico Hoerner has demonstrated impressive plate discipline, checking in at the 98th percentile.

Mike Tauchman is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this game. Mike Tauchman will hold the platoon advantage over Taj Bradley in today's matchup. Mike Tauchman has a 98th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (41.6%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. With a 1.54 K/BB rate this year, Mike Tauchman has shown good plate discipline, checking in at the 89th percentile.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Seiya Suzuki ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Seiya Suzuki is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in today's game. Seiya Suzuki has put up a .365 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, ranking in the 92nd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Seiya Suzuki has posted a .293 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, placing in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Since the start of last season, the hardest ball Seiya Suzuki has made contact with reached a maximum exit velocity of 114.6 mph (an advanced stat to study power), ranking in the 89th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. The 5th-shallowest right field fences among all parks are found in Tropicana Field. Batting from the opposite that Taj Bradley throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Pete Crow-Armstrong's 16.7% Barrel% (an advanced metric to measure power) ranks in the 96th percentile since the start of last season. Pete Crow-Armstrong ranks in the 99th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize home runs (33.3% rate since the start of last season).

Patrick Wisdom pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.8% — 96th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Since the start of last season, Patrick Wisdom's 19.4% Barrel%, a reliable standard for measuring power, places him in the 98th percentile among his peers. Patrick Wisdom's 97.4-mph exit velocity on flyballs (a reliable stat to evaluate power) is in the 99th percentile since the start of last season. Patrick Wisdom's 21.5° launch angle (an advanced metric to evaluate a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the steepest in the game: 95th percentile.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Isaac Paredes will have an edge in today's matchup. Isaac Paredes pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (45.3% — 100th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Among every team on the slate today, the 11th-weakest infield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Isaac Paredes will hold that advantage in today's game.

The 6th-shallowest LF fences in Major League Baseball are found in Tropicana Field. Despite posting a .242 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Miguel Amaya has had bad variance on his side given the .050 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .292. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Miguel Amaya ranks in the 86th percentile with a 18.6° launch angle, which is among the steepest angles in MLB.

The 6th-shallowest LF fences in Major League Baseball are found in Tropicana Field. Hitting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Alex Jackson will have the upper hand in today's game. Among every team on the slate today, the 11th-weakest infield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Alex Jackson will hold that advantage in today's game.