Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

Player match stat positives for Seattle at Pittsburgh Game 2 Matchup Today

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 90th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is projected to have the 3rd-hottest temperature of all games today at 83°.

Bryan De La Cruz will hold the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

Bryan De La Cruz’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this year (18°) is a significant increase over his 12.3° angle last year.

Over the past week, Bryan De La Cruz’s 27.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Julio Rodriguez as the best hitter in Major League Baseball as it relates to his BABIP skill.

Julio Rodriguez is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in today’s game.

Hitting from the opposite that Bailey Falter throws from, Julio Rodriguez will have an advantage today.

Julio Rodriguez has made substantial gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 10.1% seasonal rate to 33.3% over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Joey Bart in the 81st percentile when it comes to his home run ability.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude among all major league parks, which tends to lead to better offense.

Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Joey Bart will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Sporting a .373 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Joey Bart is ranked in the 93rd percentile.

When assessing his home run skill, Dylan Moore ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Batting from the opposite that Bailey Falter throws from, Dylan Moore will have an advantage in today’s game.

Dylan Moore has big-time power (86th percentile) if he makes contact, but that’s never a sure thing (28.3% K%). Today, however, opposing pitcher Bailey Falter is a pitch-to-contact type (21st percentile K%) — great news for Moore.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Andrew McCutchen is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this game.

Andrew McCutchen will possess the home field advantage in today’s game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Julio Rodriguez ranks as the 20th-best hitter in the league.

Victor Robles has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (50% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this matchup.

Hitting from the opposite that Bailey Falter throws from, Victor Robles will have the upper hand in today’s matchup.

Compared to his seasonal average of 16.6°, Victor Robles has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 29.7° angle over the past two weeks.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today’s game.

Rowdy Tellez will have the handedness advantage over Luis Castillo in today’s game… and even better, Castillo has a large platoon split.

Rowdy Tellez is likely to have the upper hand against every reliever for the game’s entirety, since the bullpen of the Seattle Mariners only has 1 same-handed RP.

Cal Raleigh has made substantial gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 17.2% seasonal rate to 23.8% in the past 14 days.

Cal Raleigh has seen a big gain in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 92.1-mph average to last season’s 89.6-mph mark.

Over the past two weeks, Cal Raleigh’s 38.1% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 20.2%.

It may be wise to expect positive regression for the Seattle Mariners offense in the future, considering that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) views them as the 9th-unluckiest offense in baseball this year.

Jordan Baker grades out as a Hitters Umpire and is expected to be in charge of the strike zone in this game.

It may come as a surprise, but fastballs are generally a pitcher’s least effective pitch. Bailey Falter has used his off-speed and breaking pitches 12.2% less often this season (35%) than he did last season (47.2%).

Bailey Falter’s 2028-rpm fastball spin rate this year is in the 4th percentile among all starters.

Justin Turner is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today’s game.

Justin Turner will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Bailey Falter in today’s matchup.

Justin Turner has made significant strides with his Barrel% lately, upping his 4.1% seasonal rate to 16.7% over the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ke’Bryan Hayes in the 79th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill.

Ke’Bryan Hayes will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today’s game, which should boost all of his stats.

Despite posting a .261 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Ke’Bryan Hayes has had some very poor luck given the .037 gap between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .298.

Michael A. Taylor will possess the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats.

Michael A. Taylor has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.2-mph to 92.8-mph in the past week’s worth of games.

Michael A. Taylor has experienced some negative variance in regards to his home runs this year; his 9.4 HR per 600 plate appearances figure is quite a bit lower than his 19.7 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Rowdy Tellez will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Compared to his seasonal angle of 16.7°, Justin Turner has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (11.7°) over the past two weeks.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 97.3-mph average over the past week to his seasonal figure of 90-mph.

Bryan Reynolds’s BABIP skill is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Bryan Reynolds is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card today.

The switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side (0) today against Luis Castillo… and even better, Castillo has a large platoon split.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Randy Arozarena ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Randy Arozarena is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in today’s game.

Batting from the opposite that Bailey Falter throws from, Randy Arozarena will have an advantage today.

Randy Arozarena has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 94.2-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 90.6-mph figure.

It may be wise to expect improved performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates offense going forward, given that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) views them as the 5th-unluckiest offense in the league this year.

Playing on the road generally lessens pitcher metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Luis Castillo in today’s matchup.

Luis Castillo’s 2160-rpm spin rate on his fastball this year is a significant 127-rpm decline from last season’s 2287-rpm figure.

Oneil Cruz projects as the 20th-best home run batter in Major League Baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Oneil Cruz is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game.

Because of Luis Castillo’s large platoon split, Oneil Cruz will have an enormous advantage hitting from the opposite side of the dish today.

Oneil Cruz has a good chance to have the upper hand against every reliever from start to finish, since the bullpen of the Seattle Mariners has just 1 same-handed RP.

Bailey Falter’s 91.2-mph velocity on his fastball this season is a notable 1.1-mph increase from last year’s 90.1-mph figure.

With a 1.14 disparity between Bailey Falter’s 5.93 K/9 and his 7.07 estimated true talent K/9 (via the leading projection system, THE BAT), it’s safe to say he’s been one of the least fortunate pitchers in baseball this year when it comes to strikeouts and should see positive regression going forward.

Over the last 14 days, Dylan Moore has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 31.2° compared to his seasonal mark of 16.9°.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.221) provides evidence that Dylan Moore has had bad variance on his side this year with his .202 actual batting average.

When it comes to his home run ability, Mitch Haniger ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Mitch Haniger is penciled in 5th in the batting order in today’s game.

Hitting from the opposite that Bailey Falter throws from, Mitch Haniger will have the upper hand today.

Mitch Haniger has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 98.1-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal EV of 92.9-mph.

Bryan Reynolds will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today’s game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 75th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Cal Raleigh as Major League Baseball’s 11th-best home run batter.

Cal Raleigh has a ton of pop (98th percentile) if he makes contact, but that’s always far from assured (27.6% K%). Today, however, opposing pitcher Bailey Falter has a pitch-to-contact profile (25th percentile K%) — great news for Raleigh.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 96th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability.

Posting a .276 batting average this year, Joey Bart finds himself in the 86th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Rowdy Tellez in the 88th percentile when it comes to his home run ability.

When assessing his strikeout talent, the leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Luis Castillo in the 82nd percentile among all SPs in baseball.

Luis Castillo has averaged 96 adjusted pitches per start this year, placing in the 92nd percentile.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have 3 bats in their projected lineup today with a high (i.e. over 27%) underlying K% (via the leading projection system, THE BAT X) (Oneil Cruz, Joey Bart, Michael A. Taylor).

Due to his large platoon split, Luis Castillo should be in good shape being matched up with 6 bats in the projected lineup who share his handedness in today’s outing.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael A. Taylor in the 77th percentile as it relates to his home run skill.

Michael A. Taylor has been unlucky this year, compiling a .252 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .288 — a .036 deviation.

Saturday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Mariners vs Pirates Matchup

Bryan De La Cruz has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this season (92% of the time), but he is projected to hit 6th in the lineup in this matchup.

PNC Park profiles as the #23 ballpark in the league for righty home runs, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Among all stadiums, the 6th-highest fence height (on average) are at PNC Park.

Home runs are generally less common at parks with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 8th-deepest among all parks.

Considering Luis Castillo’s large platoon split, Bryan De La Cruz will be at a gigantic disadvantage hitting from the same side of the dish in today’s matchup.

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

In the last 7 days, Julio Rodriguez’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off from his seasonal EV of 93.9 mph to 87.4 mph.

Joey Bart is projected to bat 8th in the lineup in this game.

Considering Luis Castillo’s large platoon split, Joey Bart will be at a tremendous disadvantage hitting from the same side of the plate in this game.

Today, Joey Bart is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 34.9% rate (86th percentile).

Dylan Moore is penciled in 6th on the lineup card in today’s game.

Dylan Moore pulls a lot of his flyballs (38.1% — 96th percentile) and will be challenged by MLB’s 9th-deepest LF fences in today’s game.

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

Luis Castillo will have the handedness advantage over Andrew McCutchen in today’s game… and it’s an even larger mismatch considering Castillo’s large platoon split.

In today’s matchup, Andrew McCutchen is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 33.5% rate (77th percentile).

Out of every team today, the 3rd-strongest infield defense belongs to the Seattle Mariners.

Victor Robles pulls many of his flyballs (37.2% — 94th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards baseball’s 9th-deepest LF fences today.

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

Victor Robles has taken a step back with his Barrel% lately; his 9.7% seasonal rate has fallen off to 0% in the last week’s worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Rowdy Tellez in the 3rd percentile when estimating his BABIP ability.

This year, Rowdy Tellez has been replaced by a pinch-hitter in 25% of his appearances when starting against righty on the mound.

Rowdy Tellez’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined from last season to this one, falling from 16.1% to 11.4%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cal Raleigh in the 8th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent.

Cal Raleigh is projected to hit 7th in the batting order in this matchup, which would be a downgrade from his 89% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this year.

Today, Cal Raleigh is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 40.5% rate (98th percentile).

Playing on the road generally diminishes hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Cal Raleigh today.

With a .252 BABIP this year, Cal Raleigh is positioned in the 10th percentile.

PNC Park profiles as the #23 park in Major League Baseball for walks, per the leading projection system (THE BAT).

The 9th-deepest left field fences in the majors are found in PNC Park.

Bailey Falter has a reverse platoon split and is fortunate enough to be facing 8 opposite-handed batters today.

Home field advantage generally improves pitcher metrics across the board, and Bailey Falter will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Justin Turner will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team today.

There has been a decrease in Justin Turner’s average exit velocity this season, from 89.5 mph last year to 86.5 mph now, Ke’Bryan Hayes has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this year (62% of the time), but he is projected to hit 7th in the batting order in today’s game.

Luis Castillo will hold the platoon advantage over Ke’Bryan Hayes in today’s matchup… and it’s an even bigger mismatch considering Castillo’s large platoon split.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael A. Taylor in the 20th percentile when assessing his batting average skill.

Michael A. Taylor is projected to bat 9th in the batting order in this game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects PNC Park as the 8th-worst ballpark in the league for left-handed home runs.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has negatively regressed with his Barrel%; his 7.5% rate last year has dropped to 2.4% this season.

When assessing his home run talent, Ke’Bryan Hayes ranks in the 23rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Bryan Reynolds has taken a step back with his Barrel% lately; his 9.9% seasonal rate has fallen to 0% over the last week.

In the past two weeks’ worth of games, Bryan Reynolds’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal EV of 93.7 mph to 87.2 mph.

Randy Arozarena will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today’s matchup.

Randy Arozarena has taken a step back with his Barrel% of late; his 8.6% seasonal rate has fallen to 0% in the last two weeks.

Randy Arozarena’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased of late, going from 15.2% on the season to 0% in the past 7 days.

Randy Arozarena has put up a .223 Expected Batting Average this year, placing in the 16th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Victor Robles’s average exit velocity has declined recently; his 86-mph seasonal figure has decreased to 74.6-mph in the last 7 days.

In the past week, Julio Rodriguez’s 16.7% 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 41.4%.

Julio Rodriguez has displayed weak plate discipline this year, grading out in the 11th percentile with a 4.69 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Luis Castillo in the 89th percentile as it relates to his overall pitching talent level.

Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’s expected catcher in today’s matchup, grades out as an elite pitch framer according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Oneil Cruz has taken a step back with his Barrel% in recent games; his 18% seasonal rate has fallen off to 7.7% over the past week.

When it comes to his strikeout ability, the leading projection system (THE BAT) puts Bailey Falter in the 22nd percentile among all SPs in the majors.

Considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Bailey Falter is projected to throw 79 pitches in this game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 2nd-least of all pitchers today.

The #4 venue in the game for suppressing strikeouts, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is PNC Park.

Dylan Moore’s batting average talent is projected to be in the 23rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Dylan Moore has taken a step back with his Barrel% lately; his 8.3% seasonal rate has fallen to 0% in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

Oneil Cruz has been cold recently, with his seasonal exit velocity of 94.9-mph dropping to 92.7-mph in the last two weeks.

Mitch Haniger will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s matchup.

Mitch Haniger has negatively regressed with his Barrel% of late; his 9.4% seasonal rate has fallen to 0% over the last week.

Oneil Cruz’s launch angle lately (2.1° in the last two weeks’ worth of games) is considerably worse than his 10.6° seasonal figure.

In the past week’s worth of games, Joey Bart’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 11.3% down to 5.6%.

Bryan De La Cruz’s exit velocity on flyballs has dropped off lately; his 94.4-mph seasonal EV has decreased to 87-mph in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

Andrew McCutchen’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off recently, decreasing from 42.4% on the season to 26.3% in the last two weeks’ worth of games.

Mitch Haniger’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased recently, falling from 15.2% on the season to 0% in the past week’s worth of games.

Placing in the 17th percentile, Mitch Haniger has notched a .221 batting average this year.

Given Luis Castillo’s large platoon split, Michael A. Taylor will be at an enormous disadvantage hitting from the same side of the dish in today’s game.