Pittsburgh @ Chicago Picks & Props

Michael Busch is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Jared Jones throws from, Michael Busch will have an edge in today's game. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today. Michael Busch will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Ian Happ ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ian Happ is penciled in 1st in the batting order in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Ian Happ will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side against Jared Jones today. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 97th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Oneil Cruz is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Jameson Taillon throws from, Oneil Cruz will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Oneil Cruz can likely count on holding the advantage against every reliever all game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 88th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Andrew McCutchen pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 79th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 7th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Barrel% of Andrew McCutchen has significantly improved, with an increase from 6.8% last year to 12.8% this season.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Henry Davis pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.6% — 84th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 7th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Henry Davis's true offensive skill to be a .304, implying that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .087 disparity between that mark and his actual .217 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cody Bellinger in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Cody Bellinger will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jared Jones today. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's BABIP talent is projected in the 85th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Pete Crow-Armstrong will hold the platoon advantage over Jared Jones in today's game. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today. Pete Crow-Armstrong will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Billy McKinney will have the handedness advantage against Jameson Taillon in today's matchup. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Billy McKinney can likely count on holding the advantage against every reliever all game. In the past 7 days, Billy McKinney's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 10% up to 33.3%. Billy McKinney has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.4-mph to 94.4-mph in the last 7 days.

Bryan De La Cruz's BABIP skill is projected in the 90th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Bryan De La Cruz has seen a big increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 93-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 89.5-mph EV. Bryan De La Cruz's launch angle lately (19.9° over the last 14 days) is quite a bit better than his 13.9° seasonal mark. Last season, Bryan De La Cruz had an average launch angle of 12.3° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 17.2°.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Isaac Paredes pulls a lot of his flyballs (46.7% — 100th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 7th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today. Isaac Paredes will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Alika Williams has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .235 figure is significantly deflated relative to his .281 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Alika Williams ranks in the 94th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (50% rate since the start of last season).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nico Hoerner in the 96th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today. Nico Hoerner will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Nico Hoerner's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better of late, rising from 44.1% on the season to 57.1% in the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the 88th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 71% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 90.1-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal mark of 88.1-mph. By putting up a .274 batting average this year, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is positioned in the 83rd percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 95th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Bryan Reynolds is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the dish, Bryan Reynolds will get to bat from his good side against Jameson Taillon in this game. Bryan Reynolds's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, increasing from 44% on the season to 50% in the last two weeks.

Jared Triolo's BABIP ability is projected in the 87th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Jared Triolo has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.3-mph to 91.9-mph over the last 7 days. Jared Triolo's launch angle in recent games (29.5° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is quite a bit higher than his 12° seasonal mark. As it relates to his batting average, Jared Triolo has had some very poor luck this year. His .204 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .236.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Seiya Suzuki ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Seiya Suzuki is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Dansby Swanson ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats across the board, and Dansby Swanson will hold that advantage in today's game.

Rowdy Tellez is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Batting from the opposite that Jameson Taillon throws from, Rowdy Tellez will have an advantage in today's game. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Rowdy Tellez stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Over the last week, Rowdy Tellez's 61.5% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.1%.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 8th-worst out of all the teams in action today. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats across the board, and Miguel Amaya will hold that advantage today. Over the last 14 days, Miguel Amaya has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 5.1% to 11.5%. Compared to his seasonal average of 9.4°, Miguel Amaya has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 21.7° figure over the last two weeks.