Pittsburgh @ Chicago Picks & Props

Wrigley Field has the 5th-deepest right field dimensions in the league. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 6th-best pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Bryan Reynolds will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's game. Over the past week, Bryan Reynolds's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.6-mph over the course of the season to 95.8-mph in recent games. Over the last week, Bryan Reynolds's 21.4% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 92nd percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Ian Happ is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Ian Happ will have the advantage of batting from from his good side against Paul Skenes today. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 6th-best pitching weather on the schedule is expected for this contest. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Steele in today's matchup. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.5%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league's 5th-deepest RF fences today. Playing on the road generally lessens hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Isiah Kiner-Falefa in today's game. Isiah Kiner-Falefa's average exit velocity has dropped off this season; his 88.8-mph EV last year has dropped to 85.6-mph.

Michael Busch is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Michael Busch will have the handedness advantage against Paul Skenes today. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Michael Busch will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cody Bellinger in the 80th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Hitting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Cody Bellinger will have an edge in today's game. Bats such as Cody Bellinger with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Paul Skenes who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 90th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Bryan De La Cruz has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 93-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal 89.5-mph average. Bryan De La Cruz's launch angle recently (19.9° in the last 14 days) is significantly higher than his 13.9° seasonal angle. Last season, Bryan De La Cruz had an average launch angle of 12.3° on his hardest-hit balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 17.2°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 85th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Batting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have an edge in today's game. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pete Crow-Armstrong will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nico Hoerner in the 96th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nico Hoerner will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Nico Hoerner's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better recently, increasing from 44.3% on the season to 62.5% in the last week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Andrew McCutchen pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 79th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 7th-shallowest LF fences today. Andrew McCutchen has made substantial gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 12.8% seasonal rate to 37.5% in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dansby Swanson will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 5th in the batting order in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Isaac Paredes pulls many of his flyballs (46.6% — 100th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 7th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball batters like Isaac Paredes tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Paul Skenes. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Seiya Suzuki in the 96th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Seiya Suzuki is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 97th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Oneil Cruz is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Justin Steele will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Oneil Cruz in today's game. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Oneil Cruz can likely count on holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game.

Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. In the past 7 days, Connor Joe's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 89.5-mph over the course of the season to 106.8-mph in recent games. In the last 14 days, Connor Joe has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 33.3° compared to his seasonal mark of 8.3°.

Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among every team playing today, the 7th-weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Christian Bethancourt will hold that advantage today. Compared to last season, Christian Bethancourt 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 15.2% to 21.3% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jared Triolo in the 87th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Jared Triolo has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.3-mph to 90.6-mph over the past 14 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 11.9°, Jared Triolo has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 27.8° figure in the last two weeks. Jared Triolo has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .205 mark is a good deal lower than his .235 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today's game. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Hitting from the same side that Justin Steele throws from, Rowdy Tellez will have a tough challenge in today's matchup. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Rowdy Tellez stands a good chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Over the past two weeks, Rowdy Tellez's 38.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 44.9%.

Wrigley Field has the 4th-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Among every team playing today, the weakest outfield defense is that of the the Pittsburgh Pirates. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Miguel Amaya will hold that advantage today. Compared to his seasonal average of 9.8°, Miguel Amaya has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 23.9° mark in the last two weeks' worth of games.

Built 599 feet above sea level, Wrigley Field has the 10th-highest elevation in the league, which generally leads to higher offensive output. Yasmani Grandal has made big strides with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 9.4% seasonal rate to 21.4% in the past 14 days. Yasmani Grandal has seen a big increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 93.7-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal 91.4-mph figure. Over the last two weeks, Yasmani Grandal's 64.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 40.7%.

Henry Davis has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.