Pittsburgh @ Chicago props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Spencer Horwitz in the 76th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Spencer Horwitz is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Spencer Horwitz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cade Horton in today's game. Spencer Horwitz has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.3%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences today.

Ke'Bryan Hayes's batting average ability is projected to be in the 76th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Extreme flyball hitters like Ke'Bryan Hayes are generally more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Cade Horton. Ke'Bryan Hayes's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off of late; his 90.9-mph seasonal average has decreased to 80.5-mph in the last week. Ke'Bryan Hayes's launch angle this year (9°) is a considerable increase over his 4.7° angle last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the 89th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Extreme groundball batters like Isiah Kiner-Falefa tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Cade Horton. In the last 14 days, Isiah Kiner-Falefa's 59.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 49.4%. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has put up a .292 batting average this year, placing in the 90th percentile.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 7th-best hitter in baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Hitting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Kyle Tucker will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Extreme groundball bats like Kyle Tucker are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Paul Skenes.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 94th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Bryan Reynolds is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this game. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. The switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Cade Horton. Bryan Reynolds has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.6%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards MLB's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Ian Happ is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the dish, Ian Happ will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side against Paul Skenes in this game. Ian Happ has an 80th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.2%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Adam Frazier will hold the platoon advantage over Cade Horton in today's matchup. Adam Frazier has a 77th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.7%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Last year, Adam Frazier had an average launch angle of 11.9° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 15.4°. Adam Frazier's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better of late, increasing from 16.7% on the season to 30.8% in the past 14 days.

Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Henry Davis pulls many of his flyballs (35.5% — 90th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Henry Davis has made big strides with his Barrel% of late, upping his 9.2% seasonal rate to 14.3% over the past two weeks. Henry Davis has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 91.2-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 85.5-mph average. Henry Davis's launch angle lately (32.3° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is quite a bit better than his 27.3° seasonal mark.

Nico Hoerner's batting average talent is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Nico Hoerner will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. With a .286 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year , Nico Hoerner has performed in the 91st percentile. In terms of plate discipline, Nico Hoerner's skill is quite impressive, posting a 1.4 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 89th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Andrew McCutchen is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Andrew McCutchen pulls many of his flyballs (34.2% — 83rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Andrew McCutchen has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 95.9-mph average to last season's 93-mph figure.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Seiya Suzuki ranks as the 18th-best batter in the game. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today. Among all stadiums, Wrigley Field's LF dimensions are the 6th-shallowest. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Bats such as Seiya Suzuki with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Paul Skenes who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 81st percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Pete Crow-Armstrong has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (59% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Batting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have an advantage in today's matchup. Pete Crow-Armstrong will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Dansby Swanson ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Dansby Swanson is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Among all stadiums, Wrigley Field's LF dimensions are the 6th-shallowest. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Dansby Swanson will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 96th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Oneil Cruz is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in today's game. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Oneil Cruz will have the handedness advantage against Cade Horton today. Oneil Cruz has made sizeable strides with his Barrel%, bettering his 15.7% rate last year to 24.6% this year.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Michael Busch ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Michael Busch will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Paul Skenes in today's game. Michael Busch will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Over the past week, Michael Busch's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 14.6% up to 25%.

Among all stadiums, Wrigley Field's LF dimensions are the 6th-shallowest. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Carson Kelly will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Carson Kelly has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 95.4-mph average to last season's 91.4-mph mark. Based on Statcast data, Carson Kelly ranks in the 95th percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .369.

Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Batting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Reese McGuire will have an advantage in today's game. Reese McGuire will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt Shaw in the 78th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Wrigley Field sits at the 10th-highest altitude in the league. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Matt Shaw will hold that advantage in today's game. Matt Shaw has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 98.1-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal figure of 93.8-mph.