Chicago @ Chicago Picks & Props

Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Colson Montgomery will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Colson Montgomery's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 90.2-mph over the course of the season to 97.3-mph in recent games. Colson Montgomery has been hot in recent games, posting a a 20% Barrel% (an advanced stat to evaluate power) over the last week.

Playing on the road typically lowers batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Michael Busch in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Michael Busch's true offensive skill to be a .344, implying that he has had some very good luck this year given the .046 deviation between that figure and his actual .390 wOBA.

Adrian Houser will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Seiya Suzuki in today's game. Seiya Suzuki will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today's matchup. Seiya Suzuki has been cold recently, with his seasonal exit velocity of 92.3-mph dropping to 85.2-mph over the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Miguel Vargas in the 86th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Miguel Vargas is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Hitting from the opposite that Shota Imanaga throws from, Miguel Vargas will have the upper hand today. Miguel Vargas pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.3% — 77th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

Nico Hoerner is projected to bat 7th in the lineup in today's game. Batting from the same side that Adrian Houser throws from, Nico Hoerner will be in a tough position today. Playing on the road typically diminishes hitter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Nico Hoerner today. Nico Hoerner's exit velocity on flyballs has declined recently; his 87.1-mph seasonal mark has decreased to 81.9-mph in the past week. Nico Hoerner has been cold of late, notching a 0% Barrel% (an advanced metric to measure power) in the past 7 days.

This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Mike Tauchman has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.1%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Mike Tauchman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. In the past 7 days, Mike Tauchman's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.4% up to 21.4%. Mike Tauchman has seen a big gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 94.4-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal 90-mph figure.

Edgar Quero's batting average ability is projected to be in the 75th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Edgar Quero is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The switch-hitting Edgar Quero will get to bat from his strong side (0) today against Shota Imanaga. Edgar Quero has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 80th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Andrew Benintendi is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game. Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats in all categories, and Andrew Benintendi will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert Jr. in the 86th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Luis Robert Jr. will hold the platoon advantage over Shota Imanaga in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Luis Robert Jr. will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 84th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Pete Crow-Armstrong is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this game. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Pete Crow-Armstrong will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Adrian Houser in today's game. Pete Crow-Armstrong pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.9% — 92nd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.

This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Lenyn Sosa will have the handedness advantage over Shota Imanaga today. Lenyn Sosa has an 85th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the league's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Lenyn Sosa will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Lenyn Sosa's launch angle this season (19°) is considerably higher than his 12.4° angle last season.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 8th-best hitter in Major League Baseball. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Kyle Tucker will hold the platoon advantage over Adrian Houser in today's matchup. Kyle Tucker pulls a lot of his flyballs (35% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chase Meidroth in the 78th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Chase Meidroth is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Batting from the opposite that Shota Imanaga throws from, Chase Meidroth will have the upper hand in today's game. Chase Meidroth has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Reese McGuire will hold the platoon advantage against Adrian Houser in today's matchup. Reese McGuire's average exit velocity has risen significantly from last season to this one, averaging 86.5-mph now compared to just 84-mph then. Compared to last year, Reese McGuire has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 15% to 21.8% this season.

Carson Kelly is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The Barrel% of Carson Kelly has significantly improved, with an increase from 6.6% last year to 11.8% this year. Carson Kelly's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 13.7% to 17.6%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 86th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. In the past 7 days, Dansby Swanson's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.4% up to 16.7%. In the past 7 days, Dansby Swanson's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.1-mph over the course of the season to 105.7-mph in recent games.

This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Matt Shaw has an 89th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.8%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game. Over the last 7 days, Matt Shaw's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.4% up to 18.8%. Matt Shaw has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 86.2-mph average in the past week to his seasonal 83.3-mph average. In terms of his batting average, Matt Shaw has experienced some negative variance this year. His .221 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .258.

When estimating his BABIP talent, Austin Slater is projected as the 9th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Austin Slater is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this game. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. Austin Slater will hold the platoon advantage against Shota Imanaga today. Austin Slater has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.1%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 89th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Ian Happ is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The switch-hitting Ian Happ will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Adrian Houser.

Long-balls are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 3rd-shallowest in Major League Baseball. This game is predicted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games on the slate (82%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the dish, Vidal Brujan will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his better side against Adrian Houser in today's matchup. Vidal Brujan has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 87.3-mph average to last season's 85.1-mph figure. Compared to last year, Vidal Brujan has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 11.6% to 23.3% this season.