San Diego @ Pittsburgh Picks & Props

PNC Park has the 8th-largest outfield in the majors — generally bad for HRs. The wind projects to be blowing in from CF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-best of the day for hurlers. Luis Ortiz will have the handedness advantage over Manny Machado in today's matchup... and it's an over-sized mismatch considering Ortiz's huge platoon split. Among every team playing today, the 4th-best infield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Manny Machado will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today's game.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Michael A. Taylor will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Michael A. Taylor has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, improving his 13.7% seasonal rate to 31.3% in the past two weeks. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Michael A. Taylor's 56.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 46.8%.

PNC Park has the 8th-largest outfield in the majors — generally bad for HRs. The wind projects to be blowing in from CF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-best of the day for hurlers. Despite posting a .360 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Bryan Reynolds has experienced some positive variance given the .016 disparity between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .344.

The wind projects to be blowing in from CF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-best of the day for hurlers. Jake Cronenworth has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.8%) and will be challenged by the game's 9th-deepest LF fences in today's matchup. Among every team playing today, the 4th-best infield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. 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 Jake Cronenworth in today's game. Jake Cronenworth's exit velocity on flyballs has declined lately; his 92-mph seasonal EV has lowered to 85.5-mph over the last 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 95th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Hitting from the opposite that Randy Vasquez throws from, Oneil Cruz will have the upper hand today.

Jackson Merrill is projected to hit 6th in the batting order in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing in from CF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-best of the day for hurlers. Jackson Merrill has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.7%) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the league's 9th-deepest LF fences today. Among every team playing today, the 4th-best infield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing on the road typically weakens batter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Jackson Merrill in today's game.

PNC Park has the 8th-largest outfield in the majors — generally bad for HRs. The wind projects to be blowing in from CF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-best of the day for hurlers. Hitting from the same side that Randy Vasquez throws from, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will be in a tough position today. Isiah Kiner-Falefa's average exit velocity has declined this season; his 88.8-mph average last year has fallen off to 85.4-mph. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been lucky in regards to with his wOBA this year; his .329 figure is a good deal higher than his .288 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Tyler Wade will have the handedness advantage against Luis Ortiz today... and the cherry on top, Ortiz has a huge platoon split. When it comes to his batting average, Tyler Wade has been unlucky since the start of last season. His .248 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .268. Tyler Wade is in the 87th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce base hits (47.6% rate since the start of last season).

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. In terms of his batting average, Ha-seong Kim has suffered from bad luck this year. His .223 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .247. Ha-seong Kim has displayed strong plate discipline this year, placing in the 97th percentile with a 1.36 K/BB rate.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Jurickson Profar ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jurickson Profar is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Jurickson Profar has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 9% seasonal rate to 20% over the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ke'Bryan Hayes in the 79th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Ke'Bryan Hayes will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Compared to his seasonal average of 5.1°, Ke'Bryan Hayes has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 31.7° angle over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 84th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Andrew McCutchen is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Andrew McCutchen will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 89th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Bryan De La Cruz will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The wind projects to be blowing in from CF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-best of the day for hurlers. Luis Arraez has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.4%) but may find it hard to clear the game's 9th-deepest LF fences in today's game. Among every team playing today, the 4th-best infield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing on the road typically reduces hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Luis Arraez today. Luis Arraez's average exit velocity has declined lately; his 86.4-mph seasonal average has lowered to 82.1-mph over the last 7 days.

Joey Bart is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 83% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Joey Bart will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Joey Bart has made big gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 12.1% seasonal rate to 20.8% in the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jared Triolo in the 91st percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 85°. Jared Triolo will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jared Triolo has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 92.5-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal 88.1-mph mark.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°.

David Peralta's batting average talent is projected to be in the 76th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. David Peralta will have the handedness advantage over Luis Ortiz in today's matchup... and moreover, Ortiz has a huge platoon split. David Peralta has made significant strides with his Barrel% lately, upping his 5.4% seasonal rate to 12.5% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Xander Bogaerts in the 95th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Xander Bogaerts is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Xander Bogaerts's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 40.2% to 45.6%.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Hitting from the opposite that Randy Vasquez throws from, Rowdy Tellez will have the upper hand today. Rowdy Tellez will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to more offense. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer whiffs), and this game is projected to have the 2nd-hottest temperature of all games today at 84°. Kyle Higashioka's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 17.5% to 26.7%. Kyle Higashioka's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better of late, going from 26.7% on the season to 37.5% in the last two weeks' worth of games. Checking in at the 80th percentile, Kyle Higashioka has put up a .331 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.