New York @ Pittsburgh picks

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Oneil Cruz as the game's 7th-best home run hitter.. Batting from the opposite that Frankie Montas throws from, Oneil Cruz will have the upper hand today.. Oneil Cruz will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.. Oneil Cruz has made substantial improvements with his Barrel%, upping his 15.7% rate last year to 22.1% this season.. This season, Oneil Cruz has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 98.7 mph compared to last year's 96.3 mph mark.

Juan Soto projects as the 3rd-best batter in Major League Baseball, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Juan Soto is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. Juan Soto will hold the platoon advantage against Michael Burrows in today's game.. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.. Juan Soto has made significant gains with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 16.2% seasonal rate to 43.8% in the last 7 days.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to better offense.. Batting from the opposite that Michael Burrows throws from, Brett Baty will have an edge in today's game.. Extreme flyball hitters like Brett Baty usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Michael Burrows.. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.. In the past 14 days, Brett Baty's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.8-mph over the course of the season to 98-mph in recent games.

Pete Alonso projects as the 15th-best batter in MLB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Pete Alonso is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in today's game.. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the worst outfield defense belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.. Pete Alonso has made big strides with his Barrel%, improving his 13.2% rate last season to 20.1% this season.. Pete Alonso has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 94-mph average to last year's 89.7-mph EV.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 84th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent.. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to better offense.. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Andrew McCutchen will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Joey Bart in the 79th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to better offense.. Joey Bart will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats.. Joey Bart's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 43.1% to 50.8%.. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (16.7) implies that Joey Bart has had bad variance on his side this year with his 3.0 actual HR/600.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 95th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent.. Bryan Reynolds is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today.. The switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side (0) today against Frankie Montas.. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Bryan Reynolds will hold that advantage in today's game.. Bryan Reynolds has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 95.7-mph average in the past week to his seasonal 91.5-mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Francisco Lindor in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.. Francisco Lindor is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today.. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 2nd-worst outfield defense belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.. Francisco Lindor has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 96.4-mph average over the past two weeks to his seasonal average of 93.9-mph.. Compared to his seasonal average of 12.8°, Francisco Lindor has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 28° figure over the last 7 days.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation in Major League Baseball. High elevation often leads to better offense.. Henry Davis will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.295) provides evidence that Henry Davis has suffered from bad luck this year with his .252 actual wOBA.. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Henry Davis ranks in the 97th percentile with a 22.9° launch angle, which is among the most flyball-inducing angles in baseball.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Oneil Cruz as the game's 7th-best home run hitter.. Batting from the opposite that Frankie Montas throws from, Oneil Cruz will have the upper hand today.. Oneil Cruz will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.. Oneil Cruz has made substantial improvements with his Barrel%, upping his 15.7% rate last year to 22.1% this season.. This season, Oneil Cruz has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 98.7 mph compared to last year's 96.3 mph mark.