Chicago @ Houston Picks & Props

Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. By increasing his Barrel% from 3.5% in the previous season to 11.9% this season, Yan Gomes has displayed significant improvements.

Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. Matt Mervis will have the handedness advantage against Cristian Javier in today's game. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Matt Mervis has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game.

This year, Christopher Morel has mainly batted in the back-half of the order (50% of the time), however, it's expected that he will bat 3rd in the batting order for this game. Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. Over the last couple of weeks, Christopher Morel has displayed a remarkable display of power, boasting a 26.7% Barrel% which is regarded as a reliable stat for studying power. A strong indication of Christopher Morel's recent form and raw power is that he hit one of the hardest balls in the league in the past week's games, at a speed of 113.6 mph. Christopher Morel's 14.7% Barrel% (an advanced metric to measure power) grades out in the 95th percentile since the start of last season.

THE BAT X projects Seiya Suzuki in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Seiya Suzuki is penciled in 5th in the lineup today. Over the last week's worth of games, Seiya Suzuki has significantly increased his Barrel% from a seasonal rate of 5.3% to 15.4%, showcasing big strides in his performance. In the past two weeks, Seiya Suzuki's launch angle has significantly improved to 18.2°, exceeding his seasonal angle of 15.1°. Seiya Suzuki's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 42.8% to 48.7%.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 18th-best hitter in the game, via THE BAT X. Kyle Tucker is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker has a strong chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Players such as Kyle Tucker, who excel at hitting flyballs, typically have greater success when facing pitchers like Justin Steele who specialize in producing groundballs. Kyle Tucker will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 4th-best batter in MLB, according to THE BAT X. Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. The Chicago Cubs have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Yordan Alvarez has a strong chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Yordan Alvarez will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Trey Mancini has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.

Cody Bellinger is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. Cody Bellinger will hold the platoon advantage against Cristian Javier in today's game. 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. Comparing to his seasonal angle of 17.4°, Cody Bellinger has recorded a launch angle of 23.6° in the past week, showcasing a significant increase. Cody Bellinger's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 17.4% to 20.4%.

Chas McCormick will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Steele in today's matchup. Chas McCormick will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

When it comes to his BABIP capability, Miles Mastrobuoni is projected in the 81st percentile by THE BAT X. Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. Miles Mastrobuoni will hold the platoon advantage against Cristian Javier in today's matchup. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Miles Mastrobuoni stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. This year, Miles Mastrobuoni has improved his footspeed. His Statcast Sprint footspeed has increased from 27.29 ft/sec last season to 27.94 ft/sec.

THE BAT X projects Nick Madrigal in the 95th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. For 78% of the time this season, Nick Madrigal has mainly batted in the back-half of the lineup, but for this matchup, he is listed in the 1st spot in the lineup. Extreme flyball batters like Nick Madrigal generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Cristian Javier. 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 BA is deflated compared to his .277 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Nick Madrigal has shown good plate discipline since the start of last season, checking in at the 79th percentile with a 2.11 K/BB rate.

Assessing his BABIP skill, THE BAT X rates Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile. Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Steele in today's matchup. Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of 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 figure is deflated compared to his .277 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

Eric Hosmer will have the handedness advantage against Cristian Javier in today's game. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Eric Hosmer can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Eric Hosmer has an 87th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Players such as Eric Hosmer who excel at hitting groundballs are often more successful when facing pitchers like Cristian Javier who excel at inducing fly balls. Having a 2 K/BB rate, Eric Hosmer demonstrated impressive plate discipline since the start of last season, grading out in the 83rd percentile.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Alex Bregman ranks in the 94th percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Alex Bregman is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this game. Alex Bregman will hold the platoon advantage against Justin Steele in today's matchup. Alex Bregman pulls a lot of his flyballs (38% — 97th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Extreme flyball hitters like Alex Bregman tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Justin Steele.

As it relates to his BABIP captalent, Dansby Swanson is projected in the 87th percentile by THE BAT X. Dansby Swanson is penciled in 2nd in the batting order today. Dansby Swanson has made big gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 10.7% seasonal rate to 17.6% over the last week. Comparing his seasonal EV exit velocity of 89.8 mph to a recent 14-day EV of 92 mph, Dansby Swanson has shown a notable increase. Lately, Dansby Swanson's proficiency in hitting the ball at a launch angle that maximizes the Home Run count (ranging from -4° to 26°) has progressed considerably. In the previous week, this ability has been boosted from 12.5% for the season to 29.4%.

THE BAT X projects Ian Happ in the 85th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Ian Happ is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. The switch-hitting Ian Happ will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side (0) today against Cristian Javier. Ian Happ has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.1%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Ian Happ's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 41.7% to 51.9%.

Martin Maldonado will hold the platoon advantage against Justin Steele today. Martin Maldonado pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.8% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Martin Maldonado will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. 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 60%, whereas it was 42.4% earlier in the season. Up until now, Martin Maldonado has been experiencing unfavorable variance towards his wOBA this year, as his current rate of .252 is noticeably lower than his expected wOBA of .278, which has been determined through THE BAT X's analysis of Statcast data.

In terms of his batting average skill, Jose Abreu ranks in the 89th percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Jose Abreu is penciled in 5th in the lineup today. Jose Abreu will have the handedness advantage over Justin Steele in today's game. Jose Abreu will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Although THE BAT X estimates his true talent level to be .342, which is a .099 discrepancy, Jose Abreu has been unlucky this year with a .243 wOBA.

Corey Julks will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Steele in today's game. Corey Julks pulls a lot of his flyballs (36% — 93rd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Corey Julks will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Corey Julks has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 91.7-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal 88.1-mph EV.

Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to HRs. Tucker Barnhart will hold the platoon advantage over Cristian Javier today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Tucker Barnhart has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Tucker Barnhart has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 88.2-mph average to last year's 84.6-mph figure. There has been a significant improvement in Tucker Barnhart's launch angle from last season's 9.5° to 21.3° this year.

Mauricio Dubon has gone over 1.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.