Minnesota @ Chicago Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Guaranteed Rate Field as the 10th-worst ballpark in the league for RHB base hits. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 3rd-most suitable pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Batting from the same side that Yoendrys Gomez throws from, Byron Buxton will have a disadvantage in today's game. Playing on the road generally weakens batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Byron Buxton in today's game. Byron Buxton's average exit velocity has declined of late; his 91.7-mph seasonal EV has fallen to 87.6-mph over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Austin Martin in the 78th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.278) may lead us to conclude that Austin Martin has had bad variance on his side since the start of last season with his .251 actual batting average. Austin Martin has posted a .309 BABIP since the start of last season, placing in the 75th percentile.

The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Curtis Mead has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Curtis Mead will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Curtis Mead's 17.3° launch angle (an advanced stat to measure a batter's ability to lift the ball for power) is among the highest in the game: 75th percentile. With a .313 BABIP since the start of last season, Curtis Mead is positioned in the 79th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Jeffers in the 80th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Ryan Jeffers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved in recent games, increasing from 46.7% on the season to 58.6% over the past 14 days.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Miguel Vargas ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Miguel Vargas is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Miguel Vargas will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Trevor Larnach ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Trevor Larnach is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Hitting from the opposite that Yoendrys Gomez throws from, Trevor Larnach will have the upper hand in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luke Keaschall in the 88th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Luke Keaschall is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. In the last week's worth of games, Luke Keaschall's 54.2% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.6%.

Andrew Benintendi's batting average ability is projected to be in the 78th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Taj Bradley throws from, Andrew Benintendi will have the upper hand in today's game. Andrew Benintendi will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chase Meidroth in the 80th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Chase Meidroth has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Chase Meidroth will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Chase Meidroth has exhibited strong plate discipline this year, grading out in the 91st percentile with a 1.44 K/BB rate.

Brooks Lee is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 66% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. The switch-hitting Brooks Lee will have the advantage of batting from from his better side (0) today against Yoendrys Gomez. Brooks Lee pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33% — 75th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Brooks Lee has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 88.9-mph average to last year's 85.8-mph figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert Jr. in the 88th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Luis Robert Jr. is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats in all categories, and Luis Robert Jr. will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Edgar Quero in the 84th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Edgar Quero has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.1%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats in all categories, and Edgar Quero will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Edgar Quero has made big strides with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 4% seasonal rate to 13.6% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

As it relates to his BABIP ability, Edouard Julien is projected as the 17th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Yoendrys Gomez throws from, Edouard Julien will have the upper hand in today's game. Edouard Julien has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.5%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences today. Edouard Julien has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 96.5-mph average to last season's 93.7-mph average.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Matt Wallner ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Matt Wallner is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Hitting from the opposite that Yoendrys Gomez throws from, Matt Wallner will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Matt Wallner pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.4% — 95th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.

Kyle Teel's BABIP talent is projected in the 92nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Kyle Teel is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-shallowest among all major league parks. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Taj Bradley throws from, Kyle Teel will have an advantage in today's matchup.

Lenyn Sosa has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (62% of the time), but he is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Lenyn Sosa has an 80th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.3%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Lenyn Sosa will hold that advantage today. Lenyn Sosa has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% of late, upping his 9.9% seasonal rate to 17.1% over the last 14 days.

Mike Tauchman is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Mike Tauchman will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Taj Bradley in today's game. Mike Tauchman has an 87th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.3%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Mike Tauchman will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Royce Lewis ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Royce Lewis pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.6% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Royce Lewis has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 90.2-mph average to last year's 87.1-mph figure. Compared to his seasonal average of 18.3°, Royce Lewis has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 29.4° figure in the last two weeks.

The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. James Outman will hold the platoon advantage against Yoendrys Gomez in today's game. James Outman pulls many of his flyballs (36.2% — 92nd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. As it relates to his batting average, James Outman has been unlucky since the start of last season. His .143 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .184. James Outman's 95.7-mph exit velocity on flyballs (an advanced stat to measure power) grades out in the 92nd percentile since the start of last season.

Colson Montgomery is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Taj Bradley throws from, Colson Montgomery will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Colson Montgomery pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.8% — 88th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Colson Montgomery will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Kody Clemens is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 16.1-mph in this game, the most-favorable of the day for hitters. Kody Clemens will have the handedness advantage against Yoendrys Gomez today. Kody Clemens pulls many of his flyballs (33.3% — 77th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Kody Clemens's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls in recent games (35.8° over the past 14 days) is a considerable increase over his 16.7° seasonal angle.