Todays Series Game 2 Matchup Details

Player match stat positives for Philadelphia at Pittsburgh Series Game 2 Matchup Today

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Kyle Schwarber as the majors’s 5th-best home run batter.

Kyle Schwarber is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects PNC Park as the 10th-best park in the league for run-scoring.

A correlation exists between high heat and more offense (and fewer Ks), and this game is forecasted to have the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 85°.

Kyle Schwarber will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Luis Ortiz in today’s matchup… and even more favorably, Ortiz has a huge platoon split.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the 5th-unluckiest offense in MLB this year, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), and are likely to positively regress in the future, It is anticipated that we will see a Hitters Umpire (Ryan Additon) in charge of the strike zone today.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), Garrett Stubbs (the Phillies’s expected catcher today) profiles as a horrible pitch framer.

With 8 batters of opposing handedness in the opposing team’s projected offense, Cristopher Sanchez has a tough challenge while lacking the platoon advantage in most plate appearances in this game.

Johan Rojas has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last year’s 29.35 ft/sec to 30.13 ft/sec now (according to Statcast’s Sprint Speed metric).

Johan Rojas has been unlucky this year, compiling a .251 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .277 — a .026 discrepancy.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Bryce Harper ranks as the 8th-best hitter in baseball.

Bryce Harper is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this game.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest altitude in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to higher offensive output.

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

Bryan Reynolds is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card today.

Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Kyle Schwarber has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 93.6-mph to 97.2-mph in the last 14 days.

Luis Ortiz has been lucky this year, putting up a 2.83 ERA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT) estimating his true talent level to be 4.59 — a 1.76 gap.

Philadelphia ranks as the #2 offense in the league when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle band that tends to result the most in base hits (44.3% rate this year).

Connor Joe is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card today.

Aaron Nola will hold the platoon advantage over Connor Joe in today’s matchup.

Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Connor Joe will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Very few of Connor Joe’s balls in play have a “too-high” (above 38°) launch angle, which helps him to avoid making easy outs. His 23.8% “too-high” rate this year grades out in the 89th percentile.

Because of Luis Ortiz’s huge platoon split, Bryce Harper will have a gigantic advantage batting from the opposite side of the dish today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryson Stott in the 87th percentile when estimating his batting average skill.

Bryson Stott is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nick Castellanos in the 85th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill.

In the past week’s worth of games, Nick Castellanos’s Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.6% up to 40%.

Nick Castellanos’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 15% to 19.6%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alec Bohm in the 96th percentile when assessing his batting average ability.

Alec Bohm is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in today’s game.

Alec Bohm has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.4-mph to 92.9-mph in the last 14 days.

When estimating his BABIP skill, Brandon Marsh is projected as the best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Considering Luis Ortiz’s huge platoon split, Brandon Marsh will have an enormous advantage hitting from the opposite side of the plate in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kyle Schwarber in the 97th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

When estimating his home run ability, Jack Suwinski ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Jack Suwinski will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Nick Castellanos ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Nick Castellanos’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved lately, going from 19.6% on the season to 40% in the past week.

Cristopher Sanchez has recorded 17.2 outs per outing this year, checking in at the 80th percentile.

Nick Gonzales’s BABIP talent is projected in the 94th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Nick Gonzales is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today.

Aaron Nola will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Nick Gonzales today.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Andrew McCutchen ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this game.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today.

Batting from the same side that Aaron Nola throws from, Ke’Bryan Hayes meets a tough challenge in today’s game.

Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Ke’Bryan Hayes will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has been unlucky this year, compiling a .268 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .301 — a .033 disparity.

Given Luis Ortiz’s huge platoon split, Garrett Stubbs will have an enormous advantage hitting from the opposite side of the plate today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Trea Turner as the 14th-best hitter in the majors as it relates to his batting average skill.

Trea Turner is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.

Trea Turner has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.5-mph to 97.4-mph in the past 7 days.

Jack Suwinski has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .255 rate is a good deal lower than his .302 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ke’Bryan Hayes in the 80th percentile when estimating his batting average ability.

Aaron Nola will hold the platoon advantage over Joey Bart in today’s game.

Joey Bart 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 Brandon Marsh in the 77th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent.

In the last 14 days, Brandon Marsh’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.5-mph over the course of the season to 98.4-mph of late.

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

Cristopher Sanchez’s fastball velocity has increased 2.2 mph this season (93.8 mph) over where it was last season (91.6 mph).

As it relates to his home run ability, Joey Bart ranks in the 77th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Because of Luis Ortiz’s huge platoon split, Bryson Stott will have a massive advantage batting from the opposite side of the plate in today’s game.

In the past two weeks’ worth of games, Bryson Stott’s 26.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 15.1%.

Luis Ortiz has utilized his cutter 22.8% more often this season (23.1%) than he did last season (0.3%).

Among all SPs, Luis Ortiz’s fastball velocity of 95.2 mph grades out in the 89th percentile since the start of last season.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Trea Turner ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Over the past week, Trea Turner’s Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.4% up to 20%.

Bryan Reynolds will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

Bryan Reynolds has made significant improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 11% seasonal rate to 25% in the past week’s worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alec Bohm in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability.

Based on Statcast data, Alec Bohm grades out in the 90th percentile for hitting ability via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .354.

Nick Gonzales will hold the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Nick Gonzales has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his home runs this year; his 12.6 HR per 600 plate appearances mark is a fair amount lower than his 22.2 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Hitting from the same side that Aaron Nola throws from, Andrew McCutchen will have a tough challenge today.

Saturday Series Game 2 player match stat slumps with Phillies vs Pirates Matchup

The league’s 6th-highest fence height (on average) can be found at PNC Park.

Homers are generally less common at fields with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 8th-deepest among all stadiums.

Kyle Schwarber will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today.

Over the last 7 days, Kyle Schwarber’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 11.4% down to 0%.

Compared to his seasonal mark of 11.7°, Kyle Schwarber’s average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls has dropped significantly in recent games (4.3° in the past 14 days).

The leading projection system (THE BAT) forecasts Cristopher Sanchez in the 91st percentile when estimating his overall pitching talent level.

The #3 stadium in Major League Baseball for suppressing walks, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is PNC Park.

Among all stadiums, PNC Park’s LF fences are the 9th-deepest.

Cristopher Sanchez was rolling in his last game started and gave up 2 ER.

When it comes to his home run talent, Johan Rojas ranks in the 8th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Johan Rojas is projected to hit 8th in the lineup today.

14% of the time that Johan Rojas has started against a right-handed pitcher this year, he has been lifted for a pinch-hitter.

Bryce Harper has an 81st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) and will be challenged by the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences in today’s game.

Bryce Harper will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today’s game.

Bryce Harper’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased lately, decreasing from 46.9% on the season to 20% over the last week.

Bryce Harper has been very fortunate when it comes to his home runs this year; his 34.8 HR per 600 plate appearances rate is quite a bit higher than his 23.6 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the dish, Bryan Reynolds will have the advantage of batting from from his good side against Aaron Nola in this game.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average (.272) provides evidence that Bryan Reynolds has been lucky this year with his .288 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 8th-worst stadium in MLB for left-handed home runs.

It may be smart to expect weaker performance for the Philadelphia Phillies offense in future games, considering that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) views them as the 4th-luckiest offense in the majors this year.

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

17% of the time that Connor Joe has started against a left-handed pitcher this year, he has been pinch hit for.

The #8 ballpark in the league for suppressing home runs to right-handed hitters, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is PNC Park.

Connor Joe’s average exit velocity has fallen off this year; his 88.9-mph average last year has dropped to 85.3-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Ortiz to throw 81 pitches in this game (2nd-least on the slate), considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup.

Today, Bryson Stott is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 42.1% rate (99th percentile).

Bryson Stott will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s game.

Bryson Stott’s average exit velocity has declined this year; his 88.1-mph EV last season has fallen off to 86.1-mph.

Bryson Stott’s average exit velocity has dropped off of late; his 86.1-mph seasonal average has fallen off to 81.9-mph over the last 14 days.

Nick Castellanos is penciled in 6th in the batting order in this matchup.

Because of Luis Ortiz’s huge platoon split, Nick Castellanos will be at a colossal disadvantage batting from the same side of the plate in today’s game.

Playing on the road typically lessens hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Nick Castellanos in today’s matchup.

Luis Ortiz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Alec Bohm in today’s game… and it’s a particular mismatch considering Ortiz’s huge platoon split.

Playing on the road typically diminishes batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Alec Bohm today.

Over the last two weeks, Alec Bohm’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 8.4% down to 0%.

Brandon Marsh is penciled in 7th on the lineup card today.

Brandon Marsh has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.8%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the game’s 9th-deepest LF fences in today’s game.

Playing on the road generally weakens batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Brandon Marsh in today’s game.

In the last two weeks, Brandon Marsh’s 40% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 52.3%.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (.338) implies that Kyle Schwarber has had some very good luck this year with his .358 actual wOBA.

Jack Suwinski is penciled in 8th in the lineup in this game.

Batting from the opposite that Aaron Nola throws from, Jack Suwinski will have the upper hand in today’s matchup.

Jack Suwinski’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined of late; his 91.9-mph seasonal figure has fallen to 89.5-mph in the last two weeks.

Alec Bohm’s launch angle in recent games (0.9° over the last two weeks) is quite a bit worse than his 12° seasonal angle.

Nick Gonzales has struggled with his Barrel% recently; his 9.6% seasonal rate has decreased to 0% in the last week’s worth of games.

Over the last week, Nick Gonzales’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal figure of 91.8 mph to 82.2 mph.

Compared to his seasonal mark of 13°, Nick Gonzales’s average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls has dropped significantly in recent games (2.9° in the past 14 days).

Andrew McCutchen pulls many of his flyballs (33.8% — 80th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Andrew McCutchen’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined in recent games; his 93.3-mph seasonal figure has fallen off to 83.2-mph in the last 7 days.

Andrew McCutchen’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has dropped off in recent games, going from 18.3% on the season to 0% in the last week.

When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Bryce Harper has had some very good luck this year. His .406 rate has been a good deal higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .375.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has negatively regressed with his Barrel%; his 7.5% rate last season has dropped to 2.3% this season.

Ke’Bryan Hayes’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last year to this one, decreasing from 15.6% to 6%.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (.304) suggests that Connor Joe has been very fortunate this year with his .317 actual wOBA.

A high launch angle standard deviation tends to lead to a lower batting average on balls in play, and Connor Joe’s 31.4° mark (7th percentile) this year indicates a weak hitting profile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Garrett Stubbs in the 2nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

Garrett Stubbs is projected to bat 9th in the lineup in today’s game.

Garrett Stubbs has been pinch hit for 10% of the time when starting against a righty hurler this year.

Considering Luis Ortiz’s huge platoon split, Trea Turner will be at a tremendous disadvantage batting from the same side of the dish in today’s game.

Playing on the road generally lessens batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Trea Turner today.

In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Trea Turner has had some very good luck this year. His .406 rate has been considerably higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .339.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has notched a .272 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, checking in at the 10th percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has put up a .264 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, grading out in the 10th percentile.

With a 4.300 Expected Home Runs per 600 plate appearances (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) this year , Ke’Bryan Hayes is positioned in the 3rd percentile for power.

Sporting a 4.5 K/BB rate this year, Nick Gonzales has shown bad plate discipline, placing in the 12th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Joey Bart in the 23rd percentile when assessing his batting average ability.

Joey Bart is projected to hit 6th on the lineup card in today’s game.

When starting against a southpaw this year, Joey Bart has been lifted for a pinch-hitter 13% of the time.

Joey Bart pulls many of his flyballs (33.5% — 78th percentile) and will be challenged by the league’s 9th-deepest LF fences today.

As it relates to his wOBA and overall offense, Joey Bart has been very fortunate this year. His .346 figure has been quite a bit higher than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .301.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Johan Rojas ranks in the 17th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Luis Ortiz will have the handedness advantage over Johan Rojas today… and it’s a particular mismatch considering Ortiz’s huge platoon split.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects PNC Park as the 5th-worst park in the league for strikeouts.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jack Suwinski in the 12th percentile when estimating his batting average talent.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryson Stott in the 19th percentile as it relates to his home run talent.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Brandon Marsh’s true offensive skill to be a .317, suggesting that he has had some very good luck this year given the .020 gap between that figure and his actual .337 wOBA.

Bryson Stott’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has dropped off lately, going from 44.6% on the season to 26.3% over the past 14 days.

Garrett Stubbs will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s game.