Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh picks

The Phillies have scored three or fewer runs in five of their last seven games, and Pirates SP Andrew Heaney has kept things fairly clean at home (3.21 ERA). Lefty Ranger Suarez responds for Philly vs. the Pirates' 27th-ranked lineup vs. southpaws.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Oneil Cruz as baseball's 6th-best home run batter.. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 3rd-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Out of all the teams in action today, the weakest infield defense is that of the Philadelphia Phillies.. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Oneil Cruz will hold that advantage today.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 3rd-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Hitting from the opposite that Ranger Suarez throws from, Andrew McCutchen will have the upper hand in today's game.. Out of all the teams in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense is that of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 95th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill.. Bryan Reynolds is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup today.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Out of all the teams in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense is that of the Philadelphia Phillies.. Bryan Reynolds will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Nick Castellanos's batting average skill is projected to be in the 91st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Nick Castellanos is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in today's game.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Nick Castellanos will have the handedness advantage against Andrew Heaney today.. Utilizing Statcast data, Nick Castellanos grades out in the 86th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .281.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Kyle Schwarber as the majors's 4th-best home run hitter.. Kyle Schwarber is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 3rd-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Kyle Schwarber's launch angle this season (19°) is quite a bit better than his 14.9° mark last year.. Posting a .399 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Kyle Schwarber finds himself in the 96th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alec Bohm as the 20th-best batter in the majors when it comes to his batting average talent.. Alec Bohm is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 67% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Batting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Alec Bohm will have an edge today.. Alec Bohm has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 99.7-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal EV of 92.8-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects J.T. Realmuto in the 88th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.. J.T. Realmuto is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. J.T. Realmuto will have the handedness advantage over Andrew Heaney today.. Despite posting a .288 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes J.T. Realmuto has had some very poor luck given the .044 difference between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .332.

As it relates to his batting average talent, Trea Turner is projected as the 13th-best batter in the league by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Trea Turner is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Batting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Trea Turner will have the upper hand in today's game.. Trea Turner has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 7.1% seasonal rate to 16.7% over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Oneil Cruz as baseball's 6th-best home run batter.. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 3rd-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Out of all the teams in action today, the weakest infield defense is that of the Philadelphia Phillies.. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Oneil Cruz will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Oneil Cruz as baseball's 6th-best home run batter.. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 3rd-hottest weather of the day at 81°.. Out of all the teams in action today, the weakest infield defense is that of the Philadelphia Phillies.. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Oneil Cruz will hold that advantage today.