Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

Player match stat positives for Chicago at Chicago Game 2 Matchup Today

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 bat 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup.

The #8 field in MLB for boosting home runs to RHB, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Guaranteed Rate Field.

HRs are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and Guaranteed Rate Field has the 2nd-shallowest among all stadiums.

The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 12.9-mph in this contest, the 2nd-most-favorable of the day for batters.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 86th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent.

Guaranteed Rate Field profiles as the #8 field in baseball for LHB home runs, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Batting from the opposite that Chris Flexen throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong will have an edge in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Vaughn in the 87th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability.

Andrew Vaughn is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isaac Paredes in the 83rd percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today’s game.

Isaac Paredes pulls a lot of his flyballs (45.8% — 100th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game’s 5th-shallowest LF fences today.

Luis Robert’s BABIP ability is projected in the 94th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Luis Robert is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.

Batting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Luis Robert will have an edge today.

Nico Hoerner’s batting average skill is projected to be in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Nico Hoerner has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.4%) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them towards MLB’s 9th-shallowest RF fences in today’s game.

Nico Hoerner has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average this year; his .254 figure is quite a bit lower than his .284 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

When it comes to plate discipline, Nico Hoerner’s skill is quite impressive, sporting a 1.5 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 92nd percentile.

Michael Busch is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this game.

Michael Busch will have the handedness advantage over Chris Flexen in today’s matchup.

Michael Busch has made substantial strides with his Barrel% recently, improving his 12.6% seasonal rate to 26.7% in the past week.

Miguel Amaya has a 76th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.8%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game’s 9th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Miguel Amaya has made substantial gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 3.6% seasonal rate to 11.1% in the past 7 days.

Miguel Amaya has had some very poor luck with his batting average this year; his .210 rate is a good deal lower than his .231 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 86th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability.

Dansby Swanson has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 98.5-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal mark of 96.1-mph.

Justin Steele projects as the 20th-best SP in baseball right now, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Justin Steele has averaged 91.6 adjusted pitches per start this year, grading out in the 76th percentile.

The Chicago White Sox projected batting order ranks as the 5th-worst of all teams on the slate today in terms of overall batting skill.

It is expected that we will see a Pitchers Umpire (David Rackley) calling pitches today.

Miguel Amaya’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better lately, going from 13.5% on the season to 25% over the past 14 days.

Over the past 7 days, Isaac Paredes’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 89.1-mph over the course of the season to 99-mph in recent games.

As it relates to his home run talent, Michael Busch ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Miguel Vargas ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Miguel Vargas has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (69% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st in the batting order today.

Luis Robert pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.4% — 76th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB’s 5th-shallowest LF fences in today’s game.

Hitting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Miguel Vargas will have an advantage in today’s matchup.

Lenyn Sosa has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (74% of the time), but he is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in today’s game.

Hitting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Lenyn Sosa will have the upper hand in today’s matchup.

Lenyn Sosa has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.5%) and is a great match for the park considering he’ll be hitting them out towards the league’s 9th-shallowest RF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 75th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent.

The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Andrew Benintendi stands a good chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the ‘pen all game.

Andrew Benintendi has an 87th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.6%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards MLB’s 5th-shallowest LF fences today.

Nick Senzel is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today’s game.

Hitting from the opposite that Justin Steele throws from, Nick Senzel will have an edge in today’s game.

Nick Senzel will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Andrew Vaughn will have the handedness advantage over Justin Steele in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his home run skill.

Corey Julks will have the handedness advantage over Justin Steele today.

Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Corey Julks will hold that advantage today.

Compared to last year, Seiya Suzuki 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 16.3% to 19.3% this season.

Last season, Isaac Paredes had an average launch angle of 18° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 21.7°.

Over the last week, Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.8% up to 11.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 89th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.

Ian Happ is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew Benintendi in the 88th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent.

Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Andrew Benintendi will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Lenyn Sosa will hold that advantage today.

The switch-hitting Ian Happ will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side (0) today against Chris Flexen.

Corey Julks’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this year (14.7°) is considerably higher than his 8.6° figure last season.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT)’s estimation, Chris Flexen’s overall pitching ability grades out in the 13th percentile out of all SPs in Major League Baseball right now.

The Chicago Cubs have been the 4th-unluckiest offense in the majors this year, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), and are likely to positively regress in future games, Projected catcher Korey Lee profiles as a weak pitch framer, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Dansby Swanson’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, going from 46.6% on the season to 60% in the last two weeks.

Chris Flexen has averaged 91.5 adjusted pitches per game per started this year, checking in at the 75th percentile.

Among all SPs, Justin Steele’s fastball spin rate of 2420 rpm is in the 83rd percentile this year.

Saturday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Cubs vs White Sox Matchup

Dry weather has a small yet noteworthy connection with less offense (and more whiffs), and the weather report projects the 3rd-least humidity on the slate at 40%.

Hitting from the same side that Chris Flexen throws from, Seiya Suzuki faces a tough challenge today.

Playing on the road generally lowers hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Seiya Suzuki in today’s game.

Seiya Suzuki’s average exit velocity has fallen off in recent games; his 92.3-mph seasonal EV has fallen off to 90.2-mph in the last two weeks.

When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Seiya Suzuki has experienced some positive variance this year. His .355 figure has been quite a bit higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .329.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is projected to bat 8th in the lineup in today’s game.

Playing on the road generally lowers hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Pete Crow-Armstrong in today’s game.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has recorded a .247 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, checking in at the 3rd percentile.

Sporting a 5.4 K/BB rate this year, Pete Crow-Armstrong has shown poor plate discipline, placing in the 6th percentile.

When it comes to plate discipline, Andrew Vaughn’s talent is quite poor, sporting a 3.62 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 25th percentile.

Chris Flexen will hold the platoon advantage against Isaac Paredes in today’s matchup.

Playing on the road typically reduces hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Isaac Paredes today.

There has been a decrease in Isaac Paredes’s average exit velocity this season, from 86.9 mph last year to 84.8 mph now, Isaac Paredes has been lucky in regards to with his wOBA this year; his .336 figure is a fair amount higher than his .318 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

In the past two weeks, Luis Robert’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 13.5% down to 4%.

From last season to this one, Luis Robert’s ability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes BABIP (-4° to 26°) has decreased substantially, plummeting from 45.5% to 39%.

In the last week’s worth of games, Luis Robert’s 18.8% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 39%.

With a .211 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year , Luis Robert finds himself in the 7th percentile.

Nico Hoerner is projected to hit 6th in the batting order in this game.

Chris Flexen will hold the platoon advantage over Nico Hoerner today.

Nico Hoerner will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today’s matchup.

Nico Hoerner’s average exit velocity has declined of late; his 85.9-mph seasonal mark has decreased to 83.8-mph in the past two weeks.

Playing on the road generally lowers hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Michael Busch in today’s matchup.

In terms of his batting average, Michael Busch has been very fortunate this year. His .261 mark has been significantly inflated relative to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .220.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Miguel Amaya in the 21st percentile when assessing his BABIP talent.

Miguel Amaya is projected to hit 9th in the batting order in this game.

Batting from the same side that Chris Flexen throws from, Miguel Amaya faces a tough challenge today.

Miguel Amaya will be at a disadvantage playing away from home today.

Dansby Swanson is projected to hit 7th in the batting order in today’s game.

Hitting from the same side that Chris Flexen throws from, Dansby Swanson will have a tough matchup today.

Playing on the road typically lessens hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Dansby Swanson in today’s game.

Dansby Swanson’s average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this year (14.6°) is quite a bit worse than his 17.8° angle last season.

The Chicago White Sox have been the 2nd-unluckiest offense in MLB this year, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), and are likely to hit better in the future, Guaranteed Rate Field projects as the #7 venue in the league for walks, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The 5th-shallowest left field fences in Major League Baseball are found in Guaranteed Rate Field.

Playing on the road typically lowers pitcher stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Justin Steele in today’s game.

Justin Steele was rolling in his last outing and allowed 2 ER.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Miguel Amaya in the 24th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability.

Isaac Paredes’s BABIP ability is projected in the 1st percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

As it relates to his home run ability, Nico Hoerner ranks in the 2nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Miguel Vargas has put up a .288 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, placing in the 20th percentile.

In the past two weeks’ worth of games, Miguel Vargas’s 23.8% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 35.1%.

Miguel Vargas has posted a .223 BABIP since the start of last season, ranking in the 1st percentile.

Lenyn Sosa’s average exit velocity has declined of late; his 88.5-mph seasonal average has lowered to 85-mph in the past two weeks.

In notching a .253 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Lenyn Sosa finds himself in the 6th percentile.

Lenyn Sosa has displayed poor plate discipline this year, placing in the 4th percentile with a 6.28 K/BB rate.

Andrew Benintendi has primarily hit in the top-half of the batting order this year (78% of the time), but he is projected to bat 6th in the lineup in this game.

Hitting from the same side that Justin Steele throws from, Andrew Benintendi meets a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

With a .267 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Andrew Benintendi has performed in the 11th percentile.

With a .350 Slugging Percentage (SLG) this year, Andrew Benintendi is positioned in the 19th percentile.

Nick Senzel’s average exit velocity has declined this season; his 87.4-mph mark last season has lowered to 84.2-mph.

Checking in at the 17th percentile, Nick Senzel sits with a .278 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.

Sporting a .334 Slugging Percentage (SLG) this year, Nick Senzel is positioned in the 14th percentile.

Nick Senzel’s speed has decreased this season. His 28.29 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 27.34 ft/sec now.

Checking in at the 6th percentile, Nick Senzel sports a .199 batting average this year.

Compared to his seasonal figure of 13°, Luis Robert has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (4.2°) in the past two weeks’ worth of games.

Luis Robert’s average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this season (12.5°) is considerably worse than his 17.6° figure last season.

Sporting a .291 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year, Luis Robert has performed in the 23rd percentile for offensive skills.

Corey Julks has primarily hit in the top-half of the batting order this season (60% of the time), but he is penciled in 8th in the batting order in today’s game.

Based on Statcast metrics, Corey Julks grades out in the 20th percentile for power via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Home Runs per 600 plate appearances since the start of last season at 11.800.

Corey Julks’s 4.9% Barrel% (a reliable metric to assess power) is in the 20th percentile since the start of last season.

Placing in the 21st percentile, Corey Julks has hit 22% of his balls in the air since the start of last season with a velocity of 100 mph or faster.

Corey Julks has averaged 11.8 HRs per 600 plate appearances since the start of last season, ranking in the 21st percentile for power.

Playing on the road typically reduces batter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Ian Happ in today’s game.

Andrew Benintendi has posted a .233 BABIP this year, grading out in the 5th percentile.

Ian Happ has compiled a .225 batting average this year, checking in at the 22nd percentile.

Home field advantage typically boosts pitcher stats in all categories, and Chris Flexen will hold that advantage today.

Chris Flexen’s higher utilization rate of his secondary pitches this year (62.1% compared to 54.5% last year) ought to work in his favor consider they are typically much more effective than fastballs.

Considering the 0.48 difference between Chris Flexen’s 5.53 ERA and his 5.05 estimated true talent ERA (via the leading projection system, THE BAT), it’s safe to say he’s been one of the unluckiest pitchers in Major League Baseball this year and should perform better the rest of the season.

Michael Busch has had positive variance on his side thus far when it comes to with his wOBA this year; his .349 figure is considerably higher than his .317 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

As it relates to his strikeout talent, the leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Chris Flexen in the 15th percentile among all starters in Major League Baseball.

The #7 venue in the majors for suppressing strikeouts, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Guaranteed Rate Field.

Out of all starters, Chris Flexen’s fastball velocity of 90.7 mph ranks in the 11th percentile this year.

Out of all starting pitchers, Justin Steele’s fastball velocity of 91.1 mph grades out in the 16th percentile this year.

Justin Steele’s high usage rate of his fastball (64.5% this year) is likely dampening his results, consider they are typically much less effective than breaking or off-speed pitches.