San Francisco @ Chicago picks

Another matchup here with a pitching matchup I look to exploit. Justin Verlander has struggled through the early exchanges, and going up against the top offense in the Majors is a bad proposition. I expect the Cubs hot bats to stay hot after putting up nine on Monday. Give me the home side at a cheap price. 

Kyle Tucker has been all the Chicago Cubs could’ve asked for and more. He’s given their offense a much-needed jolt this season, batting .284 with nine home runs and 30 RBI. Tucker has two homers in just five games in May so far, and he gets the chance to face his ex-teammate today in San Francisco Giants righty Justin Verlander. Verlander has been prone to the long ball at times, surrendering five this season in seven starts. While Tucker is 0-for-3 lifetime against Verlander, five of his long balls are against right-handers, and he’s also batting just under .300 when a righty is on the bump. 

Verlander has cashed the Under on earned runs allowed in three straight outings, surrendering two earned runs last time out and just two total across his previous two appearances. Last season, the veteran tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs. He’s historically dominated Chicago, giving up a mere three earned runs across 18 career innings, and this current Cubs lineup is hitting .186 lifetime against Verlander. Back him to enjoy another quality start at Wrigley.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Heliot Ramos in the 90th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent.. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest altitude in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output.. In the past week's worth of games, Heliot Ramos's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.5% up to 30.8%.. Over the past week, Heliot Ramos's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.7-mph over the course of the season to 102.5-mph lately.. Heliot Ramos's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last season to this one, going from 41.9% to 53.1%.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 8th-best hitter in Major League Baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card today.. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest altitude in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output.. Kyle Tucker will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Verlander in today's game.. The San Francisco Giants have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker can likely count on holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seiya Suzuki in the 96th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent.. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. In the majors, Wrigley Field's left field dimensions are the 6th-shallowest.. The San Francisco Giants outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst among all the teams today.. Seiya Suzuki will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Matt Chapman as baseball's 10th-best home run hitter.. Matt Chapman is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today's game.. In the majors, Wrigley Field's left field dimensions are the 6th-shallowest.. Matt Chapman has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 93.4-mph to 95.7-mph in the last 14 days.. Matt Chapman's launch angle this year (24.6°) is considerably better than his 16.1° mark last year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jung Hoo Lee as the 13th-best batter in baseball as it relates to his batting average ability.. Jung Hoo Lee is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this matchup.. Jung Hoo Lee will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Colin Rea in today's matchup.. Jung Hoo Lee's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, rising from 44% to 56.1%.. Jung Hoo Lee has put up a .343 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, grading out in the 89th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 8th-best hitter in Major League Baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card today.. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest altitude in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output.. Kyle Tucker will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Verlander in today's game.. The San Francisco Giants have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker can likely count on holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Matt Chapman as baseball's 10th-best home run hitter.. Matt Chapman is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today's game.. In the majors, Wrigley Field's left field dimensions are the 6th-shallowest.. Matt Chapman has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 93.4-mph to 95.7-mph in the last 14 days.. Matt Chapman's launch angle this year (24.6°) is considerably better than his 16.1° mark last year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seiya Suzuki in the 96th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent.. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. In the majors, Wrigley Field's left field dimensions are the 6th-shallowest.. The San Francisco Giants outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst among all the teams today.. Seiya Suzuki will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seiya Suzuki in the 96th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent.. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. In the majors, Wrigley Field's left field dimensions are the 6th-shallowest.. The San Francisco Giants outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst among all the teams today.. Seiya Suzuki will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

In the majors, Wrigley Field's left field dimensions are the 6th-shallowest.. Ranking in the 92nd percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.86 ft/sec this year, Christian Koss is remarkably toolsy.