Chicago @ Pittsburgh Picks & Props

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 78th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Andrew McCutchen will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.256) implies that Andrew McCutchen has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season with his .242 actual batting average.

Mike Tauchman is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 53% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Jared Jones throws from, Mike Tauchman will have an edge today. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mike Tauchman has shown favorable plate discipline since the start of last season, grading out in the 93rd percentile with a 1.48 K/BB rate.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Yasmani Grandal will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 90th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Jared Jones throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have an advantage in today's matchup. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since the start of last season, Pete Crow-Armstrong's 16.7% Barrel%, a reliable stat for measuring power, places him in the 96th percentile among his peers.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Jack Suwinski ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Javier Assad throws from, Jack Suwinski will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jack Suwinski stands a good chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats across the board, and Jack Suwinski will hold that advantage today.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 59% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Javier Assad throws from, Rowdy Tellez will have an advantage in today's game. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Rowdy Tellez stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Rowdy Tellez will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Michael A. Taylor will hold that advantage in today's matchup. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Michael A. Taylor has had some very poor luck this year. His .239 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .260. Michael A. Taylor's 14.3% Barrel% (an advanced metric to assess power) grades out in the 91st percentile since the start of last season. Michael A. Taylor's 96.7-mph exit velocity on flyballs (an advanced metric to evaluate power) ranks in the 97th percentile since the start of last season.

Long-balls are generally less common at venues with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 8th-deepest in Major League Baseball. Less offense (and more strikeouts) are strongly connected with lower temperatures, and the weather forecast for this contest calls for the 5th-lowest temperature on the slate at 59°. Jared Jones will have the handedness advantage over Nico Hoerner in today's matchup. Nico Hoerner will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today's matchup. Nico Hoerner's 1.7% Barrel% (a reliable standard to measure power) ranks in the 3rd percentile since the start of last season.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Joey Bart will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Joey Bart and his 17.7° launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls rank in 83rd percentile, among the highest in the league since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jared Triolo in the 97th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jared Triolo will hold that advantage in today's game. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.281) provides evidence that Jared Triolo has had bad variance on his side this year with his .253 actual wOBA. Jared Triolo grades out in the 95th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce base hits (52.4% rate since the start of last season).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 88th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 2nd-strongest of the day for batters. Among all the teams today, the worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Dansby Swanson's true offensive talent to be a .330, indicating that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .053 disparity between that figure and his actual .277 wOBA.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Michael Busch will hold the platoon advantage against Jared Jones today. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Michael Busch's 94.5-mph exit velocity on flyballs (a reliable standard to assess power) ranks in the 80th percentile since the start of last season. Michael Busch has done a strong job optimizing his launch angle on his hardest-hit balls. His 22° figure is among the highest in the game since the start of last season (93rd percentile).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ke'Bryan Hayes in the 86th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Ke'Bryan Hayes is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this game, the 2nd-strongest of the day for batters. Ke'Bryan Hayes will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Bryan Reynolds is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this game. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. The switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Javier Assad. Bryan Reynolds will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Miguel Amaya ranks in the 86th percentile with a 18.6° launch angle, which is among the steepest angles in Major League Baseball.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christopher Morel in the 85th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Christopher Morel is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Christopher Morel has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average this year; his .211 figure is considerably lower than his .274 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Ian Happ ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ian Happ is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. The switch-hitting Ian Happ will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side (0) today against Jared Jones. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nick Madrigal in the 95th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.289) provides evidence that Nick Madrigal has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .256 actual batting average.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Cody Bellinger ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Cody Bellinger is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Cody Bellinger will have the handedness advantage against Jared Jones in today's matchup. Among all the teams today, the 2nd-worst infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Oneil Cruz is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league stadiums, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Oneil Cruz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Javier Assad today. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Oneil Cruz stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game.