Chicago @ Los Angeles Picks & Props

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Taylor Ward ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Taylor Ward is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Taylor Ward will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. In the last two weeks, Taylor Ward's 55.3% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.1%.

The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense grades out as the 5th-strongest among every team on the slate today. Playing on the road typically lessens batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Nico Hoerner in today's game. In the past 14 days, Nico Hoerner's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls (-0.6°) has significantly dropped compared to his seasonal mark of 7.3°. Nico Hoerner has been cold in recent games, putting up a 0% Barrel% (a reliable stat to study power) in the last two weeks.

Extreme groundball hitters like Seiya Suzuki generally hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Tyler Anderson. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense grades out as the 5th-strongest among every team on the slate today. Playing on the road generally lessens batter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Seiya Suzuki in today's matchup. In the last week's worth of games, Seiya Suzuki's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 18.6% down to 0%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 86th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Batting from the opposite that Tyler Anderson throws from, Dansby Swanson will have an advantage today. Dansby Swanson has made big strides with his Barrel% lately, improving his 12.1% seasonal rate to 18.8% over the last 7 days. Dansby Swanson's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 43.8% to 48.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zach Neto in the 89th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Zach Neto is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in today's game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Zach Neto will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Zach Neto has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% recently, upping his 15.2% seasonal rate to 28.6% in the past 14 days.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Ian Happ ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Over the last week, Ian Happ's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 9.2% up to 18.2%. Ian Happ's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 44% to 49.1%. In the past week, Ian Happ's 72.7% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 49.1%.

Christian Moore's BABIP skill is projected in the 91st percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Christian Moore will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Schanuel in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Nolan Schanuel is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Hitting from the opposite that Javier Assad throws from, Nolan Schanuel will have an advantage in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Nolan Schanuel will hold that advantage today.

Carson Kelly is penciled in 5th in the batting order today. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Batting from the opposite that Tyler Anderson throws from, Carson Kelly will have an advantage in today's matchup. Carson Kelly's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 37.4% to 44.4%. Carson Kelly has compiled a .364 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, placing in the 93rd percentile for offensive skills according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Mike Trout ranks as the 15th-best hitter in the game. Mike Trout is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in today's game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Mike Trout will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Posting a .354 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Mike Trout is ranked in the 87th percentile for offensive ability.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 11th-best hitter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Despite posting a .355 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Kyle Tucker has had some very poor luck given the .018 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .373. Kyle Tucker has compiled a .363 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, ranking in the 90th percentile.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Jo Adell ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Jo Adell will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Jo Adell has made big gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 17% seasonal rate to 22.9% in the last 14 days. Jo Adell has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.5-mph to 96.1-mph over the past 14 days.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Logan O'Hoppe ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Logan O'Hoppe will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Logan O'Hoppe has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 97.2-mph average to last season's 94.6-mph figure. Logan O'Hoppe's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this season (21.3°) is significantly higher than his 16° mark last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yoan Moncada in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Yoan Moncada is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Yoan Moncada will get to bat from his good side against Javier Assad today. Yoan Moncada will hold the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Justin Turner has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (64% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in today's game. A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Justin Turner will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Tyler Anderson in today's game. Justin Turner's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, going from 19.1% to 25.2%. Justin Turner has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average this year; his .216 mark is a fair amount lower than his .251 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Hitting from the opposite that Tyler Anderson throws from, Matt Shaw will have the upper hand in today's game. Over the last two weeks, Matt Shaw has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 26.3° compared to his seasonal mark of 13.1°. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.253) implies that Matt Shaw has suffered from bad luck this year with his .227 actual batting average.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 3rd-hottest weather on the slate at 82°. Bryce Teodosio will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Willi Castro has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.