San Diego @ Pittsburgh Picks & Props

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Michael A. Taylor will hold that advantage today. Michael A. Taylor has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% recently, upping his 13.7% seasonal rate to 31.3% in the last 14 days. In the last 14 days, Michael A. Taylor'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 46.8%.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Tyler Wade has had some very poor luck this year. His .260 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .296. Tyler Wade grades out in the 88th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize base hits (47.6% rate since the start of last season).

Jurickson Profar pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.6% — 90th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards MLB's 9th-deepest LF fences today. Among every team in action today, the 3rd-best infield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jurickson Profar will be at a disadvantage playing away from home today. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jurickson Profar's true offensive skill to be a .322, providing some evidence that he has experienced some positive variance this year given the .058 difference between that mark and his actual .380 wOBA.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Andrew McCutchen is penciled in 1st in the batting order today. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats across the board, and Andrew McCutchen will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 95th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Bryan Reynolds is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the plate, Bryan Reynolds will have the advantage of batting from from his good side against Michael King in today's matchup.

Oneil Cruz's BABIP talent is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Oneil Cruz is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 4th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Oneil Cruz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael King in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jared Triolo in the 91st percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Jared Triolo will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jared Triolo has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.1-mph to 91.8-mph in the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 89th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 4th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Bryan De La Cruz will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ke'Bryan Hayes in the 79th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Ke'Bryan Hayes will hold that advantage in today's game. Ke'Bryan Hayes's launch angle of late (30.8° over the past 7 days) is considerably better than his 5.1° seasonal angle.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the 90th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 90% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will hold the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Rowdy Tellez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael King in today's game. Rowdy Tellez will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jackson Merrill in the 94th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Over the last 7 days, Jackson Merrill's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 9.1% up to 23.1%. Jackson Merrill has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 96.8-mph average in the last 14 days to his seasonal mark of 93-mph.

Marco Gonzales will have the handedness advantage against Luis Arraez today. Luis Arraez has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.4%) but may find it hard to clear baseball's 9th-deepest LF fences in today's game. Among every team in action today, the 3rd-best infield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing on the road generally weakens hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Luis Arraez in today's matchup. Luis Arraez has been cold lately, with his seasonal exit velocity of 86.4-mph dropping to 83.1-mph over the last week.

Xander Bogaerts's batting average ability is projected to be in the 95th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Xander Bogaerts is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in today's game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Hitting from the opposite that Marco Gonzales throws from, Xander Bogaerts will have an advantage in today's game.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 4th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Batting from the opposite that Marco Gonzales throws from, Ha-seong Kim will have an advantage in today's matchup. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.247) suggests that Ha-seong Kim has experienced some negative variance this year with his .223 actual batting average. By putting up a 1.36 K/BB rate this year, Ha-seong Kim has shown good plate discipline, checking in at the 97th percentile.

Donovan Solano's BABIP skill is projected in the 94th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Donovan Solano is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today's game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Donovan Solano will have the handedness advantage over Marco Gonzales today.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Manny Machado ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Manny Machado is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Batting from the opposite that Marco Gonzales throws from, Manny Machado will have an edge in today's game.

Yasmani Grandal is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Yasmani Grandal will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Yasmani Grandal has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 91.1-mph average to last season's 87.9-mph figure.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to better offense. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting of the day. Batting from the opposite that Marco Gonzales throws from, Kyle Higashioka will have an advantage in today's game. Kyle Higashioka's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 17.5% to 26.7%. Kyle Higashioka's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better of late, increasing from 26.7% on the season to 31.6% in the last 14 days.