San Diego @ Chicago Picks & Props

Curtis Mead has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats across the board, and Curtis Mead will hold that advantage today. Compared to his seasonal average of 17.2°, Curtis Mead has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 21° figure over the last 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 80th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs. Batting from the opposite that Dylan Cease throws from, Andrew Benintendi will have an advantage in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Andrew Benintendi will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Andrew Benintendi has made big gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 10.9% seasonal rate to 20% over the last 14 days.

Miguel Vargas is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today. Miguel Vargas pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.1% — 76th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Miguel Vargas will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Miguel Vargas has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% lately, improving his 8.4% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the last week's worth of games. Despite posting a .306 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Miguel Vargas has suffered from bad luck given the .023 discrepancy between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .329.

Edgar Quero's batting average ability is projected to be in the 84th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Edgar Quero has a 98th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.8%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Edgar Quero will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Edgar Quero's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls in recent games (18° in the past two weeks) is considerably better than his 7.4° seasonal figure. Edgar Quero has notched a .338 BABIP this year, placing in the 93rd percentile.

Dominic Fletcher will hold the platoon advantage against Dylan Cease in today's game. Dominic Fletcher has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Dominic Fletcher will hold that advantage in today's game. Dominic Fletcher has been unlucky in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .205 BA is deflated compared to his .231 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Dominic Fletcher grades out in the 89th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce base hits (48.6% rate since the start of last season).

Chase Meidroth's batting average ability is projected to be in the 80th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Chase Meidroth is projected to bat 1st in the lineup today. Chase Meidroth has a 94th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.5%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards baseball's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Chase Meidroth will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. In the last 14 days, Chase Meidroth's 61.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.8%.

Lenyn Sosa has a 78th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.1%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Lenyn Sosa will hold that advantage in today's game. Lenyn Sosa has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 97.2-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal average of 94.1-mph. Lenyn Sosa's launch angle this year (18.2°) is a considerable increase over his 12.4° angle last season. Lenyn Sosa's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved recently, rising from 46.4% on the season to 54.5% in the past 7 days.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Fernando Tatis Jr. ranks as the 8th-best batter in the majors. Fernando Tatis Jr. is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs. Despite posting a .351 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Fernando Tatis Jr. has been unlucky given the .026 deviation between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .377. Using Statcast metrics, Fernando Tatis Jr. is in the 91st percentile for hitting ability via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .359.

Kyle Teel's BABIP skill is projected in the 92nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Kyle Teel is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs. Kyle Teel will hold the platoon advantage over Dylan Cease today. Kyle Teel will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Manny Machado ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Manny Machado is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs. Manny Machado has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 95.4-mph average to last year's 93.4-mph EV. Manny Machado has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 100-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal mark of 95.4-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ramon Laureano in the 87th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Ramon Laureano is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. Ramon Laureano pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33% — 75th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 5th-shallowest LF fences today. Ramon Laureano has made big strides with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 13.7% seasonal rate to 18.8% over the last week. Ramon Laureano has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 94.9-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 90.5-mph figure.

Jackson Merrill's batting average talent is projected to be in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jackson Merrill is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today. Jackson Merrill will hold the platoon advantage against Davis Martin in today's game. Jackson Merrill has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences today. Jackson Merrill has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 13% seasonal rate to 29% over the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Arraez as the 4th-best hitter in the league when assessing his batting average talent. Luis Arraez is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, Luis Arraez will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Luis Arraez has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (41.9%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences today. Luis Arraez's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased of late, going from 49.7% on the season to 64.3% over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan O'Hearn in the 93rd percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Hitting from the opposite that Davis Martin throws from, Ryan O'Hearn will have the upper hand in today's game. Ryan O'Hearn has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.6%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Ryan O'Hearn's launch angle in recent games (27.3° over the past 7 days) is quite a bit higher than his 11.8° seasonal mark. Ryan O'Hearn'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, going from 40.8% to 46.2%.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs.

Gavin Sheets will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Davis Martin in today's matchup. Gavin Sheets pulls many of his flyballs (34.8% — 86th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Gavin Sheets has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 94.2-mph average to last year's 90.8-mph average. Utilizing Statcast metrics, Gavin Sheets is in the 78th percentile for offensive ability per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .341.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs. Hitting from the opposite that Dylan Cease throws from, Will Robertson will have an edge in today's matchup. Will Robertson will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Will Robertson has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 84.4-mph to 87.4-mph in the last week.

Mike Tauchman is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Dylan Cease throws from, Mike Tauchman will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Mike Tauchman has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Mike Tauchman will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Mike Tauchman has notched a .336 BABIP this year, placing in the 90th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Cronenworth in the 84th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest fences among all parks — generally good for home runs. Jake Cronenworth will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Davis Martin in today's matchup. Jake Cronenworth has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 97.1-mph average in the past week to his seasonal mark of 90.3-mph. Jake Cronenworth's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved lately, increasing from 14.6% on the season to 27.3% over the past 7 days.

Colson Montgomery is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Colson Montgomery will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Dylan Cease today. Colson Montgomery pulls many of his flyballs (36.3% — 92nd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Colson Montgomery will hold that advantage in today's game. Colson Montgomery has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% recently, upping his 14.4% seasonal rate to 25% in the last week's worth of games.