Chicago @ St. Louis Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Batting from the opposite that Sonny Gray throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have an edge in today's matchup. In the last two weeks, Pete Crow-Armstrong's 56.3% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 43.2%.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Ian Happ ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ian Happ is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. The switch-hitting Ian Happ will have the advantage of batting from from his better side (0) today against Sonny Gray.

Kyle Hendricks will hold the platoon advantage against Masyn Winn in today's matchup. Masyn Winn has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.8%) and will have to hit them out towards MLB's 2nd-deepest RF fences in today's matchup. Masyn Winn's average exit velocity has fallen off recently; his 86.1-mph seasonal figure has decreased to 83-mph in the past week. Masyn Winn's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off this season; his 89.7-mph figure last year has fallen to 86-mph. Masyn Winn's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased of late, decreasing from 45.3% on the season to 21.7% in the past week.

Alec Burleson has been replaced by a pinch-hitter 11% of the time when starting against a right-handed pitcher this year. Alec Burleson's average exit velocity has dropped off lately; his 89.5-mph seasonal mark has fallen off to 84.6-mph in the last two weeks' worth of games. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Alec Burleson's true offensive talent to be a .314, suggesting that he has had some very good luck this year given the .023 deviation between that figure and his actual .337 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 85th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Dansby Swanson hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the game's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Dansby Swanson has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 97.7-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal figure of 95.4-mph.

Michael Busch is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Hitting from the opposite that Sonny Gray throws from, Michael Busch will have the upper hand in today's game. In the past week, Michael Busch's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.2% up to 18.8%.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Nolan Gorman will have the handedness advantage over Kyle Hendricks today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Nolan Gorman will hold that advantage today. Nolan Gorman has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 16.5% seasonal rate to 21.7% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Lars Nootbaar ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Batting from the opposite that Kyle Hendricks throws from, Lars Nootbaar will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Lars Nootbaar hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40.2% — 99th percentile) and is fortunate to face MLB's 7th-shallowest CF fences today.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Seiya Suzuki ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Seiya Suzuki is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Seiya Suzuki hits many of his flyballs to center field (42.1% — 100th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the game's 7th-shallowest CF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Miles Mastrobuoni in the 75th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Miles Mastrobuoni will have the handedness advantage against Sonny Gray in today's game. Miles Mastrobuoni hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 95th percentile) and is fortunate to face baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nico Hoerner in the 96th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Nico Hoerner is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in today's game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Nico Hoerner has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average this year; his .251 mark is deflated compared to his .274 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christopher Morel in the 85th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Christopher Morel is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in this game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. In the past two weeks, Christopher Morel's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.5-mph over the course of the season to 101-mph recently.

Brendan Donovan's batting average ability is projected to be in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brendan Donovan is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this matchup. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Batting from the opposite that Kyle Hendricks throws from, Brendan Donovan will have an edge today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willson Contreras in the 96th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Willson Contreras is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Willson Contreras hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 95th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Paul Goldschmidt in the 89th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Paul Goldschmidt is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Paul Goldschmidt will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.233) may lead us to conclude that Miguel Amaya has experienced some negative variance this year with his .190 actual batting average.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is expected to have the 3rd-highest temperatures of all games on the slate today at 84°. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 5th-most-favorable of the day for batters. Nolan Arenado will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Nolan Arenado's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved recently, increasing from 44.8% on the season to 53.5% over the past 14 days.