Miami @ Pittsburgh picks

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Otto Lopez in the 94th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability.. Otto Lopez is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game.. Otto Lopez will hold the platoon advantage against Bailey Falter today.. Hitters such as Otto Lopez with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Bailey Falter who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.. Over the past week, Otto Lopez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.8% up to 14.3%.

Extreme groundball batters like Ke'Bryan Hayes are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Cal Quantrill.. Ke'Bryan Hayes will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Ke'Bryan Hayes's true offensive ability to be a .298, providing some evidence that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .040 difference between that mark and his actual .258 wOBA.

Agustin Ramirez is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.. Agustin Ramirez will have the handedness advantage against Bailey Falter in today's game.. In the past week's worth of games, Agustin Ramirez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.5% up to 15.4%.. Agustin Ramirez has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 104.6-mph average in the last week to his seasonal average of 94.4-mph.. Sporting a .316 Isolated Power (ISO) this year, Agustin Ramirez grades out in the 83rd percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Oneil Cruz as Major League Baseball's 6th-best home run hitter.. Oneil Cruz is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this game.. Hitting from the opposite that Cal Quantrill throws from, Oneil Cruz will have the upper hand in today's matchup.. Oneil Cruz has a ton of pop (99th percentile) if he makes contact, but that's never a sure thing (30.8% K%). Today, however, opposing pitcher Cal Quantrill doesn't generate many whiffs (8th percentile K%) — great news for Cruz.. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats in all categories, and Oneil Cruz will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Javier Sanoja will have the handedness advantage over Bailey Falter today.. Extreme groundball bats like Javier Sanoja generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Bailey Falter.. Javier Sanoja has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.4-mph to 93.3-mph over the past 14 days.. In the last two weeks, Javier Sanoja's 57.9% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 49.6%.. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.278) implies that Javier Sanoja has experienced some negative variance this year with his .243 actual batting average.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation often leads to better offense.. Batting from the opposite that Bailey Falter throws from, Nick Fortes will have an advantage today.. Nick Fortes's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, increasing from 11.6% to 19.7%.. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.294) implies that Nick Fortes has been unlucky this year with his .257 actual wOBA.

Agustin Ramirez is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.. Agustin Ramirez will have the handedness advantage against Bailey Falter in today's game.. In the past week's worth of games, Agustin Ramirez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.5% up to 15.4%.. Agustin Ramirez has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 104.6-mph average in the last week to his seasonal average of 94.4-mph.. Sporting a .316 Isolated Power (ISO) this year, Agustin Ramirez grades out in the 83rd percentile.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT)'s appraisal, Cal Quantrill's overall pitching talent is in the 5th percentile among all starters in the game currently.. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cal Quantrill to throw 84 pitches in today's game (8th-least of all pitchers on the slate today), considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup.. The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the 4th-unluckiest offense in the league this year, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), and are likely to hit better in the future. The #4 venue in the majors for boosting batting average, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is PNC Park.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation often leads to better offense.

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 in the lineup in this game.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation often leads to better offense.. Andrew McCutchen will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.. Andrew McCutchen has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 95.6-mph average to last season's 93-mph average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Otto Lopez in the 94th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability.. Otto Lopez is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game.. Otto Lopez will hold the platoon advantage against Bailey Falter today.. Hitters such as Otto Lopez with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Bailey Falter who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.. Over the past week, Otto Lopez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.8% up to 14.3%.