Los Angeles @ Houston Picks & Props

Assessing his BABIP ability, THE BAT X rates Zach Neto in the 81st percentile. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions in MLB. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. Of late, it has been observed that Zach Neto's exit velocity on flyballs has significantly increased, as he now has an average of 97.3-mph in the past 14 days, compared to his seasonal average of 95-mph. Lately, Zach Neto has shown an improvement in hitting the ball with a launch angle that maximizes home runs (ranging from -4° to 26°), as his percentage has risen from 19.1% over the season to 30% in the past 7 days.

Framber Valdez will hold the platoon advantage over Jared Walsh today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jared Walsh has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today.

The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. When it comes to his batting average, Luis Rengifo this year. His .198 figure falls considerably below THE BAT X's version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .238.

When it comes to his batting average talent, Yainer Diaz is ranked in the 82nd percentile by THE BAT X projects. Yainer Diaz will hold the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers today... and even more favorably, Detmers has a large platoon split. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today. Yainer Diaz will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Based on Statcast metrics, THE BAT X's version of Expected wOBA (.312) suggests that Yainer Diaz has had bad variance on his side since the start of last season with his .259 actual wOBA.

Martin Maldonado will have the handedness advantage over Reid Detmers in today's game... and even more favorably, Detmers has a large platoon split. Martin Maldonado pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.7% — 81st percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-worst of all teams today. Martin Maldonado will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Martin Maldonado's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased of late, increasing from 16.3% on the season to 50% in the past week's worth of games.

Chas McCormick will hold the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers today... and even more favorably, Detmers has a large platoon split. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the 2nd-worst of all teams today. Chas McCormick will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. In recent times, Chas McCormick's Barrel% has shown a decline, with his seasonal rate of 7.1% plummeting to 0% in the past week.

Mike Trout projects as the 5th-best batter in the league, according to THE BAT X. Mike Trout is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup today. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. Recently, Mike Trout has witnessed a notable enhancement in his exit velocity, evident by the contrast between his seasonal 91.9-mph marks and his current 94.9-mph average in the last two weeks. In the past 14 days, Mike Trout has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes home runs, which has increased from 18.7% to 25.9% during the current season.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Taylor Ward ranks in the 93rd percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Taylor Ward is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this game. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. Of late, Taylor Ward's exit velocity has notably gaind, evident in his 95.6-mph average in the past week's games compared to his seasonal 90.2-mph figure. Despite posting a .294 wOBA this year, THE BAT X believes Taylor Ward has had bad variance on his side given the .066 discrepancy between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .360.

Projected by THE BAT X, Shohei Ohtani is expected to be the 8th-best hitter in the league. Shohei Ohtani is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Per THE BAT projection system, Minute Maid Park is ranked as the 21th park in MLB for batting average. The league's 3rd-tallest fences can be found at Minute Maid Park. Framber Valdez will hold the platoon advantage against Shohei Ohtani today.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Brandon Drury ranks in the 75th percentile according to THE BAT X projects. Brandon Drury has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (60% of the time), but he is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game. Brandon Drury pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.1% — 76th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. In recent times, Brandon Drury's exit velocity has noticeably surged; evident from his 14-day mark of 92.4 mph which is a significant jump from his seasonal 89.6 mph EV.

The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. This year, Chad Wallach has improved his footspeed. His Statcast Sprint footspeed has increased from 24.17 ft/sec last season to 24.64 ft/sec.

THE BAT X projects Jose Altuve in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Jose Altuve will hold the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers today... and even better, Detmers has a large platoon split. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (40.6% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today.

This year, Matt Thaiss has mainly batted in the back-half of the order (88% of the time), however, it's expected that he will bat 5th in the lineup for this game. Homers are generally more common at Minute Maid Park due to its fences being the shallowest among all parks. Framber Valdez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Matt Thaiss today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Matt Thaiss stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today.

THE BAT X projects Gio Urshela in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today. Gio Urshela's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better in recent games, going from 49.1% on the season to 56.3% over the past week. Gio Urshela has put up a .309 batting average this year, grading out in the 94th percentile.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 20th-best hitter in the league, via THE BAT X. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today. Los Angeles's worst outfield defense on the slate today creates a favorable matchup for Kyle Tucker, who tends to hit a lot of flyballs. Kyle Tucker will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Hunter Renfroe pulls many of his flyballs (38.7% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-worst of all teams on the slate today.

THE BAT X projects Alex Bregman in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Alex Bregman is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Alex Bregman will have the handedness advantage over Reid Detmers in today's matchup... and even better, Detmers has a large platoon split. Alex Bregman pulls many of his flyballs (38.5% — 97th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today.

Projected by THE BAT X, Yordan Alvarez is expected to be the 2nd-best hitter in MLB. Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. Homers are generally more common at Minute Maid Park due to its fences being the shallowest among all parks. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today. Yordan Alvarez will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

Corey Julks will hold the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers in today's game... and the cherry on top, Detmers has a large platoon split. Corey Julks pulls many of his flyballs (37.7% — 97th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today. Corey Julks will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. When it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, which is the launch angle range that tends to result the most in base hits (50% rate this year), Corey Julks is in the 93rd percentile.

In terms of his BABIP talent, Jeremy Pena ranks in the 91st percentile according to THE BAT X projects. In this upcoming game, Jeremy Pena is predicted to bat 2nd on the lineup, despite the fact that he has mainly batted in the latter half of the batting order (60%) throughout the year. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions in MLB. Jeremy Pena will have the handedness advantage against Reid Detmers in today's game... and even more favorably, Detmers has a large platoon split. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today.

As it relates to his batting average skill, Jose Abreu is ranked in the 86th percentile by THE BAT X projects. Jose Abreu will have the handedness advantage over Reid Detmers in today's matchup... and the cherry on top, Detmers has a large platoon split. The Los Angeles Angels outfield defense profiles as the worst of all teams today. Jose Abreu will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Despite posting a .243 wOBA this year, THE BAT X believes Jose Abreu has had bad variance on his side given the .097 gap between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .340.