Pittsburgh @ Chicago Picks & Props

In terms of temperature and humidity, the weather report predicts the 6th-best pitching conditions of the day.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the worst out of every team in action today. Oneil Cruz has made big gains with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 18.8% seasonal rate to 33.3% in the past two weeks. Oneil Cruz has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 95.4-mph to 99.3-mph over the last two weeks.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. Michael A. Taylor will have the handedness advantage over Garrett Crochet today. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today. Over the last 7 days, Michael A. Taylor's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.7% up to 16.7%. Michael A. Taylor has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 101.7-mph average in the past week to his seasonal average of 94.1-mph.

Connor Joe is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. Connor Joe will have the handedness advantage against Garrett Crochet in today's game. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today. Very few of Connor Joe's struck balls have a "too-high" (above 38°) launch angle, which helps him to avoid making easy pop-up outs. His 24% "too-high" rate this year is in the 88th percentile.

Batting from the opposite that Garrett Crochet throws from, Joey Bart will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Joey Bart pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.6% — 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. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today. Joey Bart's 93.7-mph exit velocity on flyballs (a reliable metric to assess power) ranks in the 75th percentile since the start of last season.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Bryan Reynolds ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Bryan Reynolds is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today. Bryan Reynolds's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls lately (24.1° in the last 14 days) is a significant increase over his 12.2° seasonal angle.

Because of Luis Ortiz's huge platoon split, Korey Lee will be at a gigantic disadvantage batting from the same side of the plate in today's game. Korey Lee pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.4% — 83rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Korey Lee will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 85th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Andrew McCutchen will hold the platoon advantage against Garrett Crochet in today's matchup. Andrew McCutchen pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.9% — 80th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert in the 93rd percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Luis Robert is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this game. Considering Luis Ortiz's huge platoon split, Luis Robert will be at a tremendous disadvantage batting from the same side of the dish in today's game. Luis Robert pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.7% — 78th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Luis Robert will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jared Triolo in the 93rd percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Hitting from the opposite that Garrett Crochet throws from, Jared Triolo will have an advantage today. Jared Triolo has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.6%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today. Jared Triolo has had some very poor luck with his wOBA this year; his .252 rate is a fair amount lower than his .288 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Ke'Bryan Hayes's batting average ability is projected to be in the 79th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Ke'Bryan Hayes is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Garrett Crochet throws from, Ke'Bryan Hayes will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Ke'Bryan Hayes has a 98th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (41.3%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Eloy Jimenez in the 89th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Eloy Jimenez is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. Considering Luis Ortiz's huge platoon split, Eloy Jimenez will be at an enormous disadvantage batting from the same side of the plate in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Eloy Jimenez will hold that advantage in today's game.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Tommy Pham ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Tommy Pham is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Luis Ortiz will hold the platoon advantage over Tommy Pham in today's game... and it's an even larger mismatch considering Ortiz's huge platoon split. Tommy Pham has an 80th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.4%) 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. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Tommy Pham will hold that advantage in today's game.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. Luis Ortiz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Corey Julks today... and it's an over-sized mismatch considering Ortiz's huge platoon split. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Corey Julks will hold that advantage today. Last year, Corey Julks had an average launch angle of 8.6° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 16.1°. The standard deviation of Corey Julks's launch angle since the start of last season (25.9°) is in the 89th percentile. A low deviation like this tends to lead to a higher BABIP.

Jack Suwinski pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35% — 87th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. The Chicago White Sox outfield defense grades out as the 4th-worst out of every team in action today. Jack Suwinski has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 9.3% seasonal rate to 20.8% in the last two weeks' worth of games. Jack Suwinski has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.7-mph to 92.8-mph in the past two weeks' worth of games. In the last 14 days, Jack Suwinski's 29.2% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 15.2%.

Lenyn Sosa has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (80% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the batting order in today's game. Luis Ortiz will hold the platoon advantage over Lenyn Sosa in today's matchup... and it's an even bigger mismatch considering Ortiz's huge platoon split. Lenyn Sosa has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.7%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Lenyn Sosa will hold that advantage in today's game. Lenyn Sosa's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 46.3% to 52.3%.

Given Luis Ortiz's huge platoon split, Paul DeJong will be at a tremendous disadvantage hitting from the same side of the dish in today's game. Paul DeJong pulls many of his flyballs (35.4% — 89th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Paul DeJong will hold that advantage in today's game. Paul DeJong's launch angle lately (26.3° in the last week's worth of games) is a significant increase over his 20.9° seasonal figure. Paul DeJong's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this year (21.3°) is quite a bit better than his 15.5° mark last year.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for HRs. Considering Luis Ortiz's huge platoon split, Danny Mendick will be at a tremendous disadvantage batting from the same side of the dish in today's game. Danny Mendick will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Danny Mendick's speed has gotten better this year. His 25.55 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 26.52 ft/sec now. Danny Mendick is in the 86th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs (19.6% rate since the start of last season).