Cincinnati @ Houston Picks & Props

THE BAT X projects Kevin Newman in the 83rd percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Kevin Newman has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (64% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game. Kevin Newman has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 89.7-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal average of 86.4-mph. Kevin Newman's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved lately, rising from 13.2% on the season to 23.7% over the past two weeks. Kevin Newman's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 45.2% to 51.4%.

THE BAT X projects Jose Altuve in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card today. Jose Altuve will have the handedness advantage against Andrew Abbott in today's game. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.6% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Jose Altuve will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.

Chas McCormick will have the handedness advantage over Andrew Abbott in today's matchup. Chas McCormick will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Chas McCormick has taken a step back with his Barrel% recently; his 7.8% seasonal rate has lowered to 0% in the past week's worth of games. Chas McCormick's launch angle in recent games (4° in the last 7 days) is significantly lower than his 14° seasonal figure.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 20th-best hitter in Major League Baseball, per THE BAT X. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this game. The Cincinnati Reds have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker can likely count on never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Kyle Tucker will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Kyle Tucker has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 93.8-mph average in the last week to his seasonal 91-mph figure.

THE BAT X projects Tyler Stephenson in the 96th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Tyler Stephenson's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls in recent games (21.5° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is quite a bit higher than his 17.5° seasonal angle. Tyler Stephenson has posted a .333 BABIP this year, grading out in the 79th percentile.

THE BAT X projects Elly De La Cruz as the 10th-best batter in the league when it comes to his BABIP ability. Elly De La Cruz is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this game. Elly De La Cruz has exhibited some good exit velocity benchmarks lately, averaging 114.8-mph on his flyballs over the last 14 days.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. Luke Maile has made notable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 5.4% rate last season to 15.2% this year. Luke Maile has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 94.3-mph average to last season's 90.3-mph EV. Luke Maile's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this season (21.5°) is a considerable increase over his 17.6° mark last year.

Martin Maldonado will have the handedness advantage over Andrew Abbott in today's game. Martin Maldonado pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.1% — 77th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Martin Maldonado will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

THE BAT X projects Yainer Diaz in the 86th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Yainer Diaz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Abbott in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 96.7-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal figure of 93.8-mph. Yainer Diaz's launch angle lately (33.3° in the last week) is considerably higher than his 13.8° seasonal figure.

THE BAT X projects Matt McLain in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Matt McLain is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. Matt McLain has made significant gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 10.8% seasonal rate to 17.6% over the past 7 days. Matt McLain's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better of late, rising from 20.5% on the season to 47.1% in the past week.

THE BAT X projects Jose Abreu in the 86th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Jose Abreu is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this game. Jose Abreu will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Abbott in today's matchup. Jose Abreu will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Jose Abreu has been unlucky this year, compiling a .270 wOBA despite THE BAT X estimating his true talent level to be .343 — a .073 gap.

THE BAT X projects Stuart Fairchild in the 76th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. Stuart Fairchild has made significant improvements with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 8.1% seasonal rate to 20% over the last 7 days. Stuart Fairchild has seen a big gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 90.9-mph average in the last week to his seasonal 87.3-mph figure. Stuart Fairchild's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better lately, rising from 17% on the season to 26.7% over the past week.

THE BAT X projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Alex Bregman is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup today. Alex Bregman will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Abbott in today's game. Alex Bregman pulls a lot of his flyballs (38.2% — 97th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Alex Bregman will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Spencer Steer is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Spencer Steer pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.2% — 78th 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 matchup. Spencer Steer's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased lately, rising from 18.7% on the season to 27.8% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

THE BAT X projects Jonathan India in the 85th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive talent. Jonathan India is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today. Jonathan India pulls many of his flyballs (36.1% — 93rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jonathan India has seen a big gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 89.1-mph average to last year's 85-mph mark. Jonathan India's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better recently, going from 14.7% on the season to 31.6% over the last week.

THE BAT X projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. Jeremy Pena will hold the platoon advantage over Andrew Abbott in today's matchup. Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest fences in the league — generally good for homers. Will Benson will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against J.P. France in today's matchup. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Will Benson stands a good chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Will Benson's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better of late, going from 43.5% on the season to 57.1% in the past week.

Nick Senzel has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.

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

TJ Friedl has gone over 0.5 in 10 of his last 10 games.