Vol. I · Issue 19
Sunday, April 19, 2026

The Dinger Almanac

··· Baseball Statistics & Analysis ···


Matchup · Sunday, April 19, 2026

New York Mets
at Chicago Cubs

2:20 PM EDTWrigley Field, Chicagoopen roof

The Headline

Ian Happ enters this game with a 14.9% model-estimated probability of homering at Wrigley Field, the strongest HR spot on the board. Below: full lineups for both teams, ranked by expected HR output, alongside detailed profiles of both probable starters.

Park Factors
LHB HR factor104
RHB HR factor103

Probable Starters


Away Starter · RHP

Tobias Myers

HR VulnerabilityVulnerable
Contact Quality AllowedElite suppression
ERA3.46
WHIP0.77
IP13.0
HR/91.40
K/96.2
xwOBA0.264
Barrel%5.3%
Hard-hit%39.5%
Home Starter · RHP

Javier Assad

HR VulnerabilityVery HR-prone
Contact Quality AllowedElite suppression
ERA8.10
WHIP1.60
IP10.0
HR/91.80
K/95.4
xwOBA0.343
Barrel%5.7%
Hard-hit%37.1%

The Lineups

Each batter's probability of homering in the game, ranked.


Away Lineup

New York Mets

Francisco Alvarez
RHB·4 HR / 67 PA·Brl 20.0%
vs SP: 1-for-2 · .500 · 0 HR · 0 K · 2 PA
14.7%
Jorge Polanco
SHB·0 HR / 0 PA
vs SP: 1-for-3 · .333 · 1 HR · 2 K · 3 PA
12.5%
Hayden Senger
RHB·0 HR / 0 PA
12.4%
Tyrone Taylor
RHB·1 HR / 28 PA·Brl 8.7%
vs SP: 0-for-3 · .000 · 0 HR · 0 K · 3 PA
12.3%
Tommy Pham
RHB·0 HR / 8 PA·Brl 0.0%
vs SP: 1-for-7 · .143 · 1 HR · 1 K · 7 PA
12.2%
Mark Vientos
RHB·2 HR / 53 PA·Brl 2.8%
vs SP: 0-for-2 · .000 · 0 HR · 0 K · 2 PA
12.1%
MJ Melendez
LHB·0 HR / 12 PA·Brl 50.0%
vs SP: 0-for-3 · .000 · 0 HR · 0 K · 3 PA
11.8%
Luis Torrens
RHB·0 HR / 19 PA·Brl 0.0%
11.7%
Luis Robert Jr.
RHB·2 HR / 78 PA·Brl 4.3%
vs SP: 1-for-2 · .500 · 0 HR · 0 K · 3 PA
11.7%
Francisco Lindor
SHB·1 HR / 95 PA·Brl 9.4%
vs SP: 3-for-7 · .429 · 1 HR · 0 K · 9 PA
11.2%
Marcus Semien
RHB·1 HR / 82 PA·Brl 5.4%
vs SP: 1-for-2 · .500 · 0 HR · 0 K · 2 PA
11.1%
Bo Bichette
RHB·1 HR / 94 PA·Brl 1.6%
vs SP: 2-for-4 · .500 · 0 HR · 0 K · 5 PA
10.7%
Home Lineup

Chicago Cubs

Ian Happ
SHB·6 HR / 84 PA·Brl 18.6%
vs SP: 2-for-6 · .333 · 1 HR · 1 K · 9 PA
14.9%
Moisés Ballesteros
LHB·3 HR / 46 PA·Brl 15.6%
14.6%
Dansby Swanson
RHB·4 HR / 82 PA·Brl 13.3%
vs SP: 2-for-7 · .286 · 0 HR · 0 K · 8 PA
14.4%
Matt Shaw
RHB·2 HR / 57 PA·Brl 9.3%
vs SP: 0-for-1 · .000 · 0 HR · 0 K · 1 PA
12.9%
Nico Hoerner
RHB·3 HR / 92 PA·Brl 2.9%
vs SP: 2-for-8 · .250 · 1 HR · 1 K · 8 PA
12.5%
Miguel Amaya
RHB·1 HR / 40 PA·Brl 4.8%
vs SP: 1-for-2 · .500 · 0 HR · 0 K · 3 PA
11.9%
Carson Kelly
RHB·2 HR / 60 PA·Brl 12.2%
vs SP: 0-for-4 · .000 · 0 HR · 1 K · 4 PA
11.9%
Michael Conforto
LHB·0 HR / 28 PA·Brl 8.3%
vs SP: 0-for-2 · .000 · 0 HR · 0 K · 2 PA
11.3%
Pete Crow-Armstrong
LHB·1 HR / 84 PA·Brl 3.8%
vs SP: 2-for-6 · .333 · 0 HR · 3 K · 7 PA
11.2%
Seiya Suzuki
RHB·0 HR / 37 PA·Brl 0.0%
vs SP: 0-for-8 · .000 · 0 HR · 4 K · 8 PA
11.2%
Alex Bregman
RHB·2 HR / 93 PA·Brl 6.2%
10.6%
Michael Busch
LHB·0 HR / 80 PA·Brl 3.9%
vs SP: 5-for-9 · .556 · 1 HR · 1 K · 9 PA
10.5%
A Note on These Numbers

HR probabilities come from our calibrated probability model combining season stats, recent form, Statcast quality, handedness splits, and park effects. Even the top pick on any given day misses 75-80% of the time — home runs are genuinely rare events. See the calibration page for how accurate these numbers have been historically.