Pittsburgh @ St. Louis picks

Per the leading projection system (THE BAT X), the offense with the 3rd-least strikeout-prone lineup in today's games is the St. Louis Cardinals with a 18.8% underlying K%.. Jansen Visconti projects as a Hitters Umpire and is scheduled to be umping in today's game.. The #6 park in the majors for suppressing strikeouts, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Busch Stadium.. Playing on the road typically lessens pitcher metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Paul Skenes in today's game.

Oneil Cruz projects as the 8th-best home run hitter in MLB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st in the lineup today.. Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. Oneil Cruz has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 15.7% rate last year to 24% this season.. Oneil Cruz has made substantial gains with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 24.3% seasonal rate to 32.1% over the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 94th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill.. Bryan Reynolds is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in today's game.. Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. Bryan Reynolds has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 96.4-mph average to last year's 94.1-mph EV.. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Bryan Reynolds's true offensive talent to be a .333, indicating that he has suffered from bad luck this year given the .047 disparity between that figure and his actual .286 wOBA.

Oneil Cruz projects as the 8th-best home run hitter in MLB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st in the lineup today.. Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. Oneil Cruz has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 15.7% rate last year to 24% this season.. Oneil Cruz has made substantial gains with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 24.3% seasonal rate to 32.1% over the past two weeks.

Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. Victor Scott II will have the handedness advantage against Paul Skenes in today's game.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest among every team playing today.. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Victor Scott II will hold that advantage today.. Over the last 7 days, Victor Scott II's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.9% up to 14.3%.

Jordan Walker's BABIP skill is projected in the 77th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. Jordan Walker hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.7% — 96th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards MLB's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's game.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest among every team playing today.. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Jordan Walker will hold that advantage in today's game.

Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest among every team playing today.. Pedro Pages will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Compared to the average pitcher, Matthew Liberatore has been granted a below-average leash since the start of last season, recording an -9.2 fewer adjusted pitches each game.. It may be best to expect better numbers for the Pittsburgh Pirates offense going forward, given that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) views them as the 8th-unluckiest offense in the majors this year.. Jansen Visconti projects as a Hitters Umpire and is scheduled to be umping in today's game.. Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. With 8 bats of the opposite hand in the opposing team's projected lineup, Matthew Liberatore faces a tough challenge while lacking the platoon advantage in most plate appearances today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lars Nootbaar in the 95th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability.. Lars Nootbaar is penciled in 1st in the batting order in today's game.. Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. Hitting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Lars Nootbaar will have an advantage in today's game.. Lars Nootbaar hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.9% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards baseball's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup.

Busch Stadium has the 10th-shortest fences among all major league stadiums.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest among every team playing today.. Yohel Pozo will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats.