Cleveland @ Chicago Picks & Props

Out of all the teams in action today, the 2nd-strongest infield defense is that of the Chicago Cubs. Steven Kwan will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team today. Steven Kwan's average exit velocity has fallen off of late; his 86.3-mph seasonal EV has decreased to 80.6-mph in the last week's worth of games. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Steven Kwan's true offensive skill to be a .307, providing some evidence that he has been very fortunate this year given the .028 disparity between that figure and his actual .335 wOBA. Grading out in the 1st percentile, the hardest ball Steven Kwan has made contact with this year reached a maximum exit velocity of 104.1 mph -- an advanced indication of underlying power skill.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Reese McGuire will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Reese McGuire has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 96.2-mph average to last season's 89.1-mph mark. Reese McGuire's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 15% to 28.9%.

Jose Ramirez's batting average skill is projected to be in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jose Ramirez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Jose Ramirez has seen a big increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 95.1-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal 89.6-mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael Busch in the 92nd percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Michael Busch will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Michael Busch has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.1-mph to 94-mph in the last week.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Batting from the opposite that Cade Horton throws from, Daniel Schneemann will have an advantage today. Daniel Schneemann has made big gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 14.8% seasonal rate to 27.3% in the past 14 days. This season, Daniel Schneemann has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 96.4 mph compared to last year's 90.5 mph mark.

Kyle Manzardo is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Kyle Manzardo will have the handedness advantage against Cade Horton in today's game. In the last week, Kyle Manzardo's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.7% up to 22.2%.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 7th-best hitter in MLB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Kyle Tucker is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage today.

Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest LF dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Luis Ortiz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Carson Kelly today... and it's a particular mismatch considering Ortiz's large platoon split. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Carson Kelly will hold that advantage in today's game.

Carlos Santana is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Carlos Santana has struggled with his Barrel% lately; his 6% seasonal rate has fallen off to 0% in the last week's worth of games. Carlos Santana's launch angle lately (29.3° over the last 14 days) is a significant increase over his 16.6° seasonal mark.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Angel Martinez's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better in recent games, going from 17% on the season to 41.4% over the last 14 days. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Angel Martinez's true offensive talent to be a .291, indicating that he has suffered from bad luck this year given the .029 discrepancy between that mark and his actual .262 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nico Hoerner as the 19th-best batter in the majors as it relates to his batting average ability. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Luis Ortiz will have the handedness advantage over Nico Hoerner in today's game... and it's an over-sized mismatch considering Ortiz's large platoon split. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Nico Hoerner will hold that advantage in today's game.

Lane Thomas is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Lane Thomas pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.6% — 78th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Lane Thomas's launch angle this year (27.2°) is significantly higher than his 16.8° angle last season.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Batting from the opposite that Cade Horton throws from, Bo Naylor will have an advantage in today's game. Bo Naylor's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this year (22.1°) is quite a bit higher than his 17.5° figure last season. Bo Naylor has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last year's 26.57 ft/sec to 27.18 ft/sec now (according to Statcast's Sprint Speed metric).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 81st percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Pete Crow-Armstrong is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Pete Crow-Armstrong will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Ian Happ ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ian Happ is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Ian Happ will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Seiya Suzuki projects as the 15th-best hitter in Major League Baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Seiya Suzuki is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest LF dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 87th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Dansby Swanson is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game. Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest LF dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Jones in the 88th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Nolan Jones will hold the platoon advantage against Cade Horton in today's matchup. Nolan Jones has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 6th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather report expects the 4th-hottest temperature on the slate today at 87°. Because of Luis Ortiz's large platoon split, Matt Shaw will be at a tremendous disadvantage batting from the same side of the plate in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Matt Shaw will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Matt Shaw has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 84.6-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal 82.6-mph average.

Justin Turner has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.