Kansas City @ Pittsburgh Picks & Props

Homers are generally less common at parks with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 8th-deepest among all major league parks. Batting from the same side that Mitch Keller throws from, Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a disadvantage in today's matchup. The Pittsburgh Pirates infield defense profiles as the 4th-strongest out of all the teams playing today. Bobby Witt Jr. will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team today. Bobby Witt Jr. has been cold lately, with his seasonal exit velocity of 93-mph dropping to 90.3-mph over the last two weeks.

Homers are generally less common at parks with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 8th-deepest among all major league parks. Hitting from the same side that Michael Wacha throws from, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will have a disadvantage in today's game. The Kansas City Royals outfield defense projects as the 5th-best among every team today. Isiah Kiner-Falefa's average exit velocity has dropped off this season; his 88.8-mph figure last year has lowered to 85.6-mph. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Isiah Kiner-Falefa's exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off from his seasonal figure of 87.8 mph to 83.2 mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 89th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. When it comes to his batting average, Maikel Garcia has had bad variance on his side this year. His .237 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .279.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tommy Pham in the 81st percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Tommy Pham is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this matchup. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Tommy Pham has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.6-mph to 94.1-mph in the last two weeks.

When it comes to his BABIP talent, Oneil Cruz is projected as the 19th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Oneil Cruz is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Batting from the opposite that Michael Wacha throws from, Oneil Cruz will have the upper hand in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 89th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Bryan De La Cruz will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Bryan De La Cruz's average exit velocity has fallen off in recent games; his 89.3-mph seasonal figure has dropped to 83.7-mph in the last week's worth of games.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Andrew McCutchen is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Andrew McCutchen will hold that advantage today.

Michael Massey is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Michael Massey will hold the platoon advantage against Mitch Keller in today's matchup. Michael Massey has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 94.1-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 89.4-mph mark.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, MJ Melendez ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Batting from the opposite that Mitch Keller throws from, MJ Melendez will have an edge in today's game. MJ Melendez has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 99.8-mph average in the past two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal figure of 93.9-mph.

Freddy Fermin is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 83% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. With a .327 BABIP this year, Freddy Fermin is positioned in the 88th percentile.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Adam Frazier will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Mitch Keller in today's matchup. As it relates to his batting average, Adam Frazier has experienced some negative variance this year. His .205 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .251. Adam Frazier ranks in the 90th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs (19.3% rate this year).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 95th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Bryan Reynolds is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup today. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. The switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds will get to bat from his strong side (0) today against Michael Wacha.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Hitting from the opposite that Mitch Keller throws from, Kyle Isbel will have an advantage in today's matchup.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Rowdy Tellez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael Wacha today. Rowdy Tellez will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Salvador Perez in the 86th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Salvador Perez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Salvador Perez has made notable improvements with his Barrel% recently, upping his 13.2% seasonal rate to 21.4% in the last week's worth of games.

Jared Triolo's BABIP skill is projected in the 90th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Jared Triolo will hold that advantage in today's game. Jared Triolo has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 92.5-mph average in the past two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 88.6-mph EV.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all major league stadiums. High elevation usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather forecast projects the 4th-highest temperatures of the day at 83°. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Yasmani Grandal will hold that advantage in today's game. Yasmani Grandal has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 91-mph average to last year's 87.9-mph average. Yasmani Grandal has displayed good plate discipline this year, grading out in the 81st percentile with a 2.04 K/BB rate.

Paul DeJong has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.