Chicago @ Baltimore Picks & Props

20% of the time that Ryan O'Hearn has started against a northpaw this year, he has been pulled from the game early. In the past week, Ryan O'Hearn's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped from his seasonal mark of 94.1 mph to 92.1 mph. Over the past 14 days, Ryan O'Hearn's 26.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 40.8%.

Michael Busch is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 51% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has the shallowest RF dimensions among all stadiums. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Michael Busch will have the handedness advantage against Dean Kremer today.

Among all major league stadiums, Oriole Park at Camden Yards's left field fences are the deepest. Jameson Taillon will hold the platoon advantage over Jordan Westburg in today's matchup. Jordan Westburg has exhibited weak plate discipline this year, placing in the 15th percentile with a 4.22 K/BB rate.

Dean Kremer will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Nico Hoerner in today's matchup. Out of all the teams today, the 2nd-best infield defense is that of the Baltimore Orioles. Playing on the road generally lowers hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Nico Hoerner in today's matchup. Nico Hoerner's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off in recent games; his 89.4-mph seasonal figure has dropped to 82.7-mph over the last 7 days. Nico Hoerner's launch angle recently (-5.7° in the last 7 days) is considerably lower than his 9° seasonal mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Gunnar Henderson's true offensive talent to be a .365, implying that he has experienced some positive variance this year given the .049 disparity between that mark and his actual .414 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 89th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Ian Happ is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has the shallowest RF dimensions among all stadiums. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°.

Heston Kjerstad's BABIP ability is projected in the 92nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Heston Kjerstad will have the handedness advantage against Jameson Taillon in today's game. Heston Kjerstad hits many of his flyballs to center field (38% — 75th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the league's 4th-shallowest CF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 86th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the 8th-best ballpark in baseball for RHB BABIP. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Dansby Swanson hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.5% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards baseball's 4th-shallowest CF fences today. Dansby Swanson has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 94.2-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 90.2-mph average.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Seiya Suzuki ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Seiya Suzuki is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the 8th-best ballpark in baseball for RHB BABIP. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Seiya Suzuki hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (42.2% — 100th percentile) and is fortunate to face baseball's 4th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup.

The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Cedric Mullins II will hold the platoon advantage over Jameson Taillon in today's matchup. Cedric Mullins II pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.9% — 91st percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's shallowest RF fences today. Out of all the teams in action today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adley Rutschman in the 95th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Adley Rutschman is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game. The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has the shallowest RF dimensions among all stadiums. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°.

The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Miles Mastrobuoni will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Dean Kremer in today's game. Miles Mastrobuoni hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 95th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the game's 4th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Miles Mastrobuoni has had some very poor luck since the start of last season. His .251 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .304.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christopher Morel in the 85th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the 8th-best ballpark in baseball for RHB BABIP. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Christopher Morel has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 11.7% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the past week's worth of games. Christopher Morel has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.1-mph to 95.9-mph in the past week.

Anthony Santander is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Anthony Santander pulls many of his flyballs (40.9% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's shallowest RF fences today. Out of all the teams in action today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Cody Bellinger ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card today. The #8 field in the game for boosting base hits to LHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Batting from the opposite that Dean Kremer throws from, Cody Bellinger will have an edge in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Mountcastle in the 95th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the 8th-best ballpark in baseball for RHB BABIP. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Ryan Mountcastle has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.5%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards the league's shallowest RF fences in today's game. Out of all the teams in action today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the 8th-best ballpark in baseball for RHB BABIP. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Ramon Urias has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.9%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Out of all the teams in action today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Chicago Cubs. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Ramon Urias will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Oriole Park at Camden Yards as the 8th-best ballpark in baseball for RHB BABIP. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 2nd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 89°. Tomas Nido hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.3% — 82nd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the league's 4th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Compared to his seasonal average of 12.9°, Tomas Nido has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 44° mark over the last week. Tomas Nido has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .241 mark is deflated compared to his .323 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.