Texas @ Chicago Picks & Props

Gage Workman is projected to bat 9th in the batting order in today's game. Among all parks, Wrigley Field's right field fences are the 5th-deepest. Less offense (and more strikeouts) are strongly linked with cold weather, and the weather report for this game forecasts the 5th-lowest temperature of all games on the slate at 35°. The wind projects to be blowing in from LF at 19.6-mph in this match-up, the most-favorable of the day for mound aces.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Josh Smith can likely count on never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Over the last 7 days, Josh Smith's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 44.4% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°. Josh Smith has recorded a .320 BABIP since the start of last season, placing in the 84th percentile.

In MLB, Wrigley Field's left field fences are the 6th-shallowest. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Matthew Shaw will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the last 14 days, Matthew Shaw has posted a 22.1° launch angle, lifting the ball well and indicating strong home run potential.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Corey Seager ranks as the 10th-best hitter in Major League Baseball. Corey Seager is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Corey Seager stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Corey Seager has had some very poor luck with his wOBA since the start of last season; his .359 mark is a good deal lower than his .389 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 7th-best batter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Nathan Eovaldi throws from, Kyle Tucker will have an edge today. Extreme groundball hitters like Kyle Tucker generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Nathan Eovaldi.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Nathan Eovaldi throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have an edge today. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today. Pete Crow-Armstrong will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. There has been a significant improvement in Pete Crow-Armstrong's launch angle from last season's 16.7° to 23.7° this year.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Kyle Higashioka will have an edge today. Kyle Higashioka pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.1% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball bats like Kyle Higashioka generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Justin Steele. Kyle Higashioka's 10.8% Barrel% (an advanced metric to measure power) is in the 80th percentile since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 85th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Adolis Garcia is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today. In MLB, Wrigley Field's left field fences are the 6th-shallowest. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Adolis Garcia will have the handedness advantage against Justin Steele in today's matchup.

Nico Hoerner's batting average skill is projected to be in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Nico Hoerner will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Compared to last year, Nico Hoerner has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 44.5% to 64.3% this season.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Wyatt Langford ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Wyatt Langford is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Wyatt Langford will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Steele today. Wyatt Langford pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.5% — 84th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 87th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Dansby Swanson is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this game. In MLB, Wrigley Field's left field fences are the 6th-shallowest. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Seiya Suzuki ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game. In MLB, Wrigley Field's left field fences are the 6th-shallowest. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the dish, Jonah Heim will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side against Justin Steele in this game. Jonah Heim pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.9% — 80th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest LF fences today. Notching a 95.2-mph average exit velocity over the last 7 days, Jonah Heim has been in great form of late.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Jake Burger ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Jake Burger will have the handedness advantage over Justin Steele in today's game. Jake Burger pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.8% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Jake Burger has hit one of the hardest balls in the game in the last week's worth of games — 113-mph — which is a favorable measure of recent form and raw power.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Ian Happ ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ian Happ is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The switch-hitting Ian Happ will have the advantage of batting from from his better side (0) today against Nathan Eovaldi. Ian Happ has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.4%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences today.

Kevin Pillar has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (100% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the lineup in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Kevin Pillar will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Steele in today's game. Kevin Pillar pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.5% — 93rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. When it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34° (the launch angle range that tends to optimize home runs), Kevin Pillar and his 21.3% rank in the 98th percentile since the start of last season.

In MLB, Wrigley Field's left field fences are the 6th-shallowest. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today. Miguel Amaya will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. As it relates to his batting average, Miguel Amaya has had some very poor luck since the start of last season. His .233 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .247.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Marcus Semien ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Marcus Semien will have the handedness advantage over Justin Steele today. Marcus Semien pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38.3% — 96th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Michael Busch ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Michael Busch is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Nathan Eovaldi throws from, Michael Busch will have an advantage today. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jon Berti in the 88th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output. The Texas Rangers outfield defense profiles as the 13th-worst among all the teams today. Jon Berti will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Based on Statcast metrics, Jon Berti is in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .267.

Leody Taveras has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.