Houston @ St. Louis Picks & Props

Corey Julks is projected to bat 6th on the lineup card in this game. Adam Wainwright will have the handedness advantage against Corey Julks in today's game. In today's matchup, Corey Julks is at a disadvantage facing the league's 6th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 35.4% rate (90th percentile). Playing on the road generally lowers batter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Corey Julks in today's matchup.

J.P. France will hold the platoon advantage against Paul Goldschmidt in today's game. Paul Goldschmidt has a 77th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.3%) but may find it hard to clear the game's 2nd-deepest RF fences today. Over the last week, Paul Goldschmidt's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 13.5% down to 0%. Over the last 7 days, Paul Goldschmidt's 0% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 13.5%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tommy Edman in the 89th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Tommy Edman will hold that advantage in today's game. Tommy Edman's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 11.4% to 16.1%. In terms of his batting average, Tommy Edman has had bad variance on his side this year. His .235 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .260.

Brendan Donovan's batting average skill is projected to be in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brendan Donovan is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today. This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Brendan Donovan will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against J.P. France today. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed relief pitchers in their bullpen, so Brendan Donovan is guaranteed to never face a bullpen mismatch all game.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Lars Nootbaar ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lars Nootbaar is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game. This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Lars Nootbaar will have the handedness advantage over J.P. France in today's game. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed relievers in their bullpen, so Lars Nootbaar is guaranteed to hold the platoon advantage against every reliever the whole game.

The weather forecast temperatures in this game to reach the highest level on the schedule today at 96°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts).

This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Paul DeJong will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Over the past 7 days, Paul DeJong's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11.4% up to 28.6%. Paul DeJong's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last season to this one, going from 13.5% to 19.5%.

This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Nolan Gorman will hold the platoon advantage over J.P. France in today's matchup. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed relief pitchers in their bullpen, so Nolan Gorman is guaranteed to never face a bullpen mismatch the whole game. Nolan Gorman will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. In the past 14 days, Nolan Gorman has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 41.8° compared to his seasonal mark of 19.2°.

This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Chas McCormick's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls lately (29.6° over the last two weeks) is considerably better than his 21.4° seasonal angle. Grading out in the 77th percentile, Chas McCormick sports a .350 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jordan Walker in the 95th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Jordan Walker hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 82nd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the game's 7th-shallowest CF fences today. Jordan Walker will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Jordan Walker has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.6-mph to 95.3-mph in the past two weeks.

Nolan Arenado is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Nolan Arenado will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Nolan Arenado has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 95.5-mph average in the past week to his seasonal 89.2-mph mark. In the past two weeks, Nolan Arenado's 27.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.7%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willson Contreras in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Willson Contreras is penciled in 5th in the lineup today. This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Willson Contreras will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Willson Contreras has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 100.3-mph average over the last two weeks to his seasonal average of 95.4-mph.

This matchup is forecasted to have the 15th-most suitable weather for pitching among all the games scheduled today. Bligh Madris will have the handedness advantage against Adam Wainwright in today's game. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Bligh Madris has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season. His .237 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .287.

Dylan Carlson has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.

Jose Abreu has gone over 1.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.

Yainer Diaz has gone over 1.5 in 0 of his last 10 games.

Jose Altuve has gone over 1.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.

Alex Bregman has gone over 1.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.

Jeremy Pena has gone over 1.5 in 1 of his last 10 games.

Kyle Tucker has gone over 1.5 in 1 of his last 10 games.