Minnesota @ Houston Picks & Props

As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Martin Maldonado pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.5% — 79th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today. Martin Maldonado will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Over the last 14 days, Martin Maldonado's exit velocity has notably risen, with an mark of 92.6 mph compared to his season-long 87.1 mph EV.

As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today. Chas McCormick will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Chas McCormick's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased recently, rising from 16.7% on the season to 25% over the last 14 days.

Having the shallowest fences among all parks, Minute Maid Park is usually conducive to dingers. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Lately, Willi Castro's exit velocity has notably increased, evident in his 95.6-mph average in the past week's games compared to his seasonal 88.6-mph EV. Going from 17.3% to 28.3%, Willi Castro has shown an improvement in his capacity to strike the ball at a launch angle that maximizes home runs, ranging from -4° to 26°, compared to last season. Willi Castro's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved in recent games, going from 28.3% on the season to 50% over the last week.

THE BAT X projects Carlos Correa in the 94th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Carlos Correa is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Comparing his seasonal average of 94.3-mph to his 107.7-mph average in the past 14 days, it is clear that Carlos Correa has made significant progress in his exit velocity on flyballs. Despite posting a .307 wOBA this year, THE BAT X believes Carlos Correa has experienced some negative variance given the .055 discrepancy between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .362.

Jeremy Pena's BABIP ability is projected in the 92nd percentile by THE BAT X assessment. Jeremy Pena has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (64% of the time), but he is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF fences in the majors. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today.

As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today. Mauricio Dubon will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Mauricio Dubon has compiled a .285 Expected Batting Average this year, ranking in the 86th percentile (according to THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). By putting up a .292 batting average this year, Mauricio Dubon finds himself in the 88th percentile.

As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Max Kepler will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against J.P. France today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Max Kepler can likely count on holding the advantage against every reliever all game. This season, Max Kepler has elevated his Barrel% significantly, increasing it from 7.1% in the previous season to 13.9%. Max Kepler has seen a big increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 91.5-mph average to last year's 89.1-mph figure.

In terms of his overall offensive capability, Byron Buxton ranks in the 95th percentile according to THE BAT X's projects. Byron Buxton is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Byron Buxton pulls many of his flyballs (40.5% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. A significant increase in Byron Buxton's exit velocity on flyballs has been observed in recent games, evidenced by his mark of 97.5-mph over the last 14 days in comparison to his seasonal mark of 92.7-mph.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Jose Altuve ranks in the 93rd percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.6% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today.

Per THE BAT X, it is projected that Kyle Tucker will rank as the 20th-best hitter in Major League Baseball. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Kyle Tucker will hold the platoon advantage over Sonny Gray in today's game. The Minnesota Twins have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker has a strong chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF fences in the majors. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. A significant rise in Ryan Jeffers's exit velocity on flyballs is averageident this year as his average of 98.2 mph is much lower than last year's 94.8 mph average. Ryan Jeffers's launch angle lately (38.5° over the last 14 days) is significantly higher than his 17.5° seasonal angle. Rising from 16.9% to 20.9%, Ryan Jeffers has shown an improvement in his capacity to strike the ball at a launch angle that maximizes home runs, ranging from -4° to 26°, compared to last season.

THE BAT X projects Alex Bregman in the 93rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Alex Bregman pulls many of his flyballs (38.4% — 97th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today.

Royce Lewis is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Royce Lewis pulls many of his flyballs (33.3% — 77th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Checking in at the 81st percentile with a sprint speed of 28.43 ft/sec since the start of last season, Royce Lewis displays remarkable athleticism.

As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Within the past two weeks, Christian Vazquez has displayed a significant increase in his average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls, clocking in at 25.6° compared to his seasonal angle of 14°. Christian Vazquez's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, going from 47% to 53.8%. Christian Vazquez has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .252 mark is quite a bit lower than his .290 Expected wOBA (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Christian Vazquez has put up a .271 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, checking in at the 79th percentile (according to THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).

By evaluating his BABIP ability, THE BAT X ranks Edouard Julien as the 15th-best batter in MLB. Edouard Julien is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Edouard Julien will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against J.P. France today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Edouard Julien can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game.

THE BAT X projects Jose Abreu in the 86th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. The Minnesota Twins infield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst of all teams today. Jose Abreu will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Jose Abreu has been unlucky this year, notching a .242 wOBA despite THE BAT X estimating his true talent level to be .338 — a .096 discrepancy.

Alex Kirilloff's BABIP ability is projected in the 91st percentile by THE BAT X assessment. Alex Kirilloff is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Alex Kirilloff will have the handedness advantage against J.P. France in today's game. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Alex Kirilloff stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game.

Joey Gallo has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (64% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. As far as temperature and humidity go, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Joey Gallo will hold the platoon advantage against J.P. France today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Joey Gallo can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. A significant rise in Joey Gallo's exit velocity on flyballs is EVident this year as his average of 101.8 mph is much lower than last season's 97.9 mph EV.

Michael A. Taylor has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.