Chicago @ Cincinnati picks

Kyle Tucker has feasted on left-handed pitchers, hitting an impressive .311 on the season. He is a very tough out. That’s bad news for Cincinnati Reds starter Nick Lodolo, who has had a miserable time slowing left-handed batters down. He has held right-handers to a putrid .219 average, but lefties have touched him up for a whopping .378 average on the season.

Considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Ben Brown is projected to throw 85 pitches in this matchup by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 6th-least on the slate.. It is anticipated that we will see a Huge Hitters Umpire (Clint Vondrak) calling pitches today.. The #10 venue in MLB for suppressing strikeouts, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Great American Ball Park.. Ben Brown will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's matchup.. Ben Brown's fastball velocity has fallen 1.8 mph this season (94.7 mph) below where it was last year (96.5 mph).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt McLain in the 94th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent.. Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 park in Major League Baseball for right-handed home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Matt McLain has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Matt McLain will hold that advantage today.. This year, Matt McLain's flyball exit velocity (a reliable standard to study power) grades out in the 86th percentile at 96.2 mph.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 9th-best hitter in Major League Baseball, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in today's game.. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the best venue in the game for LHB home runs.. Kyle Tucker pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.4% — 89th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.. Extreme groundball batters like Kyle Tucker tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Nick Lodolo.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seiya Suzuki in the 97th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game.. Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 park in Major League Baseball for right-handed home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Among all stadiums, Great American Ball Park's left field fences are the 7th-shallowest.. Hitting from the opposite that Nick Lodolo throws from, Seiya Suzuki will have an edge in today's game.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Ian Happ ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Ian Happ is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this matchup.. Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 park in Major League Baseball for right-handed home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Ian Happ has a 79th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 8th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.. Ian Happ's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 44% to 50%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 85th percentile as it relates to his home run skill.. Pete Crow-Armstrong has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (77% of the time), but he is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today.. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the best venue in the game for LHB home runs.. Great American Ball Park has the 6th-shallowest right field fences in MLB.. The Barrel% of Pete Crow-Armstrong has significantly improved, with an increase from 8% last year to 13.9% this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Elly De La Cruz as the 2nd-best hitter in Major League Baseball when assessing his BABIP talent.. Elly De La Cruz is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game.. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Great American Ball Park as the best venue in the game for LHB home runs.. The switch-hitting Elly De La Cruz will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Ben Brown.. Elly De La Cruz has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.5%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 7th-shallowest LF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 91st percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability.. Dansby Swanson is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game.. Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 park in Major League Baseball for right-handed home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Among all stadiums, Great American Ball Park's left field fences are the 7th-shallowest.. Batting from the opposite that Nick Lodolo throws from, Dansby Swanson will have an advantage in today's game.

Carson Kelly is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today's game.. Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 park in Major League Baseball for right-handed home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Among all stadiums, Great American Ball Park's left field fences are the 7th-shallowest.. Carson Kelly will hold the platoon advantage over Nick Lodolo today.. Carson Kelly has made notable gains with his Barrel%, upping his 6.6% rate last year to 15% this year.

Great American Ball Park grades out as the #1 park in Major League Baseball for right-handed home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Spencer Steer pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.5% — 93rd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 7th-shallowest LF fences today.. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Spencer Steer will hold that advantage today.