Chicago @ Houston Picks & Props

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Martin Maldonado pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.9% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Martin Maldonado will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Martin Maldonado has made notable strides with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 3.5% seasonal rate to 20% in the last week. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Martin Maldonado's capability of hitting the ball at an ideal launch angle for a BABIP (ranging between -4° and 26°) has elevated to 54.5%, whereas it was 42.1% earlier in the season.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Chas McCormick will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats.

According to THE BAT X, it is projected that Yordan Alvarez will rank as the 4th-best batter in the league. Yordan Alvarez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Having the least fair ground among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to long-balls. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Yordan Alvarez will have the handedness advantage against Jameson Taillon in today's game.

THE BAT X projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all parks. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Jeremy Pena will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Jeremy Pena has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average this year; his .255 BA is deflated compared to his .277 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Cody Bellinger can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Extreme groundball batters like Cody Bellinger are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez. From last year to this one, Cody Bellinger has improved his ability to hit the ball with a launch angle between -4° and 26°, which optimizes for a home run. His percentage has risen from 17.4% to 20.4%. Cody Bellinger has put up a .359 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, grading out in the 78th percentile.

THE BAT X projections rank Kyle Tucker as the 15th-best batter in Major League Baseball. Kyle Tucker is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Kyle Tucker will have the handedness advantage over Jameson Taillon in today's matchup. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game.

THE BAT X projects Ian Happ in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Ian Happ is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all parks. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Compared to last season, Ian Happ has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for BABIP optimization, increasing his percentage from 41.7% to 52.9% this season.

Christopher Morel has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (60% of the time), but he is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all parks. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Christopher Morel will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez today. In the past week, Christopher Morel's power has been impressive as shown by his reliable standardistic of a 25% Barrel%.

Mauricio Dubon is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this matchup. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Mauricio Dubon will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Mauricio Dubon's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, rising from 10.9% on the season to 25% in the last week's worth of games. Mauricio Dubon has put up a .289 Expected Batting Average this year, grading out in the 90th percentile (according to THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

Assessing his overall offensive capskill, Alex Bregman scores in the 93rd percentile in THE BAT X projects. Alex Bregman is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Alex Bregman pulls many of his flyballs (37.8% — 97th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Alex Bregman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

When estimating his batting average skill, Nick Madrigal is ranked in the 95th percentile by THE BAT X projects. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Nick Madrigal will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez today. Nick Madrigal has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average since the start of last season; his .250 figure is a good deal lower than his .278 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Nick Madrigal has exhibited strong plate discipline since the start of last season, grading out in the 80th percentile with a 2.05 K/BB rate.

Jose Abreu's batting average talent is estimated to be in the 88th percentile by THE BAT X projects. Jose Abreu is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Jose Abreu will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Even though THE BAT X estimates Jose Abreu' true talent level to be .341, a .110 gap, he has unfortunately posted a .231 wOBA this year.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Trey Mancini will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Corey Julks pulls a lot of his flyballs (36% — 93rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The Chicago Cubs outfield defense projects as the 3rd-worst of all teams on the slate. Corey Julks will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. A significant increase in Corey Julks's exit velocity on flyballs has been observed of late, evidenced by his average of 90.5-mph over the past 14 days in comparison to his seasonal average of 88.3-mph.

In terms of his overall offensive capskill, Seiya Suzuki ranks in the 92nd percentile according to THE BAT X's projects. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Seiya Suzuki will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez in today's game. Compared to last year, Seiya Suzuki has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hit optimization, increasing his percentage from 42.8% to 48.6% this season.

THE BAT X projects Dansby Swanson in the 88th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Dansby Swanson is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all parks. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Dansby Swanson will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez in today's matchup.

When it comes to his batting average ability, Yan Gomes is ranked in the 78th percentile by THE BAT X projects. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity predict the 4th-best hitting weather of the slate. Yan Gomes will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez in today's matchup. Yan Gomes pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.8% — 82nd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. From last year's 3.5%, Yan Gomes has impressively increased his Barrel% to 12.3% this season.