Pittsburgh @ Texas props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 87th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Nathaniel Lowe is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game. Nathaniel Lowe will hold the platoon advantage against Domingo German in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Nathaniel Lowe will hold that advantage in today's game. Nathaniel Lowe has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.8-mph to 91.1-mph over the past 14 days.

Oneil Cruz's BABIP skill is projected in the 96th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Oneil Cruz has recorded a .352 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, placing in the 89th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Oneil Cruz has notched a .265 Expected Batting Average this year, checking in at the 75th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. This year, the hardest ball Oneil Cruz has hit reached a maximum exit velocity of 121.5 mph (an advanced standard to measure power), placing in the 100th percentile. Grading out in the 96th percentile, Oneil Cruz sits with a .353 BABIP this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Leody Taveras in the 78th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Leody Taveras will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. In the last two weeks, Leody Taveras's 64.5% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 44.7%. Leody Taveras has posted a .273 Expected Batting Average this year, grading out in the 84th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

When assessing his BABIP ability, Josh Jung is projected as the 17th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Josh Jung will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Josh Jung has made notable gains with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 8.5% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the past week's worth of games. Josh Jung's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (20.3°) is considerably higher than his 14.8° angle last season. Utilizing Statcast data, Josh Jung grades out in the 77th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .265.

Josh Smith is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this game. Josh Smith will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Domingo German today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Josh Smith will hold that advantage in today's game. Ranking in the 77th percentile, Josh Smith sports a .337 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) this year. Josh Smith has put up a .266 batting average this year, grading out in the 76th percentile.

Corey Seager projects as the 8th-best hitter in baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Corey Seager is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Corey Seager will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Domingo German today. Corey Seager will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Corey Seager has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 99.2-mph average in the past two weeks to his seasonal EV of 95-mph.

Joey Bart is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 65% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Hitting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Joey Bart will have an edge today. Joey Bart has made notable gains with his Barrel% lately, upping his 12.7% seasonal rate to 21.4% over the past week. Joey Bart's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, going from 43.3% on the season to 50% over the past 7 days. By putting up a .342 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year, Joey Bart grades out in the 87th percentile for hitting ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 90th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Wyatt Langford will hold that advantage today. In the past week, Wyatt Langford's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 7.7% up to 25%. Over the last two weeks, Wyatt Langford's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 91.5-mph over the course of the season to 97.5-mph in recent games. Compared to his seasonal average of 17.1°, Wyatt Langford has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 21° mark over the past two weeks.

Hitting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Michael A. Taylor will have the upper hand in today's matchup.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Adolis Garcia will hold that advantage in today's game. Adolis Garcia has made significant gains with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 12.5% seasonal rate to 28.6% in the last week's worth of games. Adolis Garcia has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.5-mph to 96.4-mph in the last week's worth of games.

Travis Jankowski will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Domingo German in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats across the board, and Travis Jankowski will hold that advantage today. Last season, Travis Jankowski had an average launch angle of 1.1° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 5.8°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 90th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Bryan De La Cruz is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Bryan De La Cruz will hold the platoon advantage against Andrew Heaney today. Bryan De La Cruz's launch angle in recent games (26° over the past week) is a significant increase over his 13.4° seasonal angle. Last year, Bryan De La Cruz had an average launch angle of 12.3° on his hardest-hit balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 17.6°.

As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the plate, Yasmani Grandal will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side against Andrew Heaney today. Yasmani Grandal has seen a big gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 91.2-mph average to last year's 87.9-mph average. Yasmani Grandal has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.2-mph to 93.2-mph in the last week. Yasmani Grandal's launch angle lately (37.7° in the past week's worth of games) is considerably better than his 11° seasonal figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Marcus Semien in the 89th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Marcus Semien is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Marcus Semien will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Marcus Semien's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, rising from 41.9% to 47%. In the last week's worth of games, Marcus Semien's 65.2% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 47%.

Jared Triolo's BABIP ability is projected in the 91st percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jared Triolo will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Heaney in today's game. Jared Triolo has made notable gains with his Barrel% recently, upping his 5% seasonal rate to 42.9% in the past 7 days. Jared Triolo has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 99.6-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal mark of 90.2-mph.

Connor Joe is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this game. Batting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Connor Joe will have an advantage today.

Batting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Alika Williams will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.239) provides evidence that Alika Williams has been unlucky since the start of last season with his .207 actual batting average. Alika Williams is in the 94th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (50% rate since the start of last season).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 94th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Bryan Reynolds is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in today's game. By putting up a .340 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Bryan Reynolds is positioned in the 81st percentile for offensive skills. Posting a .266 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year , Bryan Reynolds grades out in the 76th percentile. Bryan Reynolds has posted a .342 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 82nd percentile.

Jonah Heim has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (80% of the time), but he is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. Jonah Heim will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the 91st percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 80% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will hold the platoon advantage against Andrew Heaney in today's matchup. Isiah Kiner-Falefa's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 12.9% to 17.3%. In the past 7 days, Isiah Kiner-Falefa's 38.5% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.3%.