Colorado @ Houston Picks & Props

Corey Julks is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 95% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Corey Julks will hold the platoon advantage over Kyle Freeland in today's matchup. Corey Julks pulls many of his flyballs (35.2% — 90th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Corey Julks will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Corey Julks has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% recently, improving his 5.1% seasonal rate to 11.1% over the past 7 days.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 16th-best batter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage today. Kyle Tucker has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 94.8-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 91.5-mph EV. Posting a .381 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) this year, Kyle Tucker has performed in the 95th percentile for offensive ability.

Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to lower offensive output. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Jose Abreu hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40.8% — 100th percentile) and but may find it hard to clear baseball's 8th-deepest CF fences in today's game. The Colorado Rockies infield defense projects as the 3rd-strongest out of all the teams playing today. Jose Abreu's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined from last season to this one, falling from 16.2% to 12.7%.

Martin Maldonado will hold the platoon advantage over Kyle Freeland in today's matchup. Martin Maldonado pulls many of his flyballs (33.8% — 82nd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Martin Maldonado will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. In the last week, Martin Maldonado's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 6.7% up to 20%. Martin Maldonado has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 99-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal figure of 90-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 88th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Yainer Diaz will hold the platoon advantage against Kyle Freeland today. Yainer Diaz will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 97.1-mph average in the last week to his seasonal mark of 94.6-mph. Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, increasing from 41.3% on the season to 68.4% in the past week.

Jurickson Profar is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Jurickson Profar's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 13.4% to 16.9%. Over the last 14 days, Jurickson Profar's 27.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16.9%.

Elias Diaz is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in today's game. In the league, Minute Maid Park's left field fences are the 2nd-shallowest. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Elias Diaz's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.7-mph over the course of the season to 95.1-mph of late. In the last two weeks, Elias Diaz's 21.7% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 15%. Compared to last year, Elias Diaz has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 41.2% to 48.1% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Jones as the 12th-best hitter in Major League Baseball when estimating his BABIP skill. Long-balls are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all parks. Nolan Jones will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Brandon Bielak in today's matchup. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Nolan Jones has a strong chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. By putting up a .333 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) since the start of last season, Nolan Jones is ranked in the 81st percentile.

Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league stadiums, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to lower offensive output. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. The Colorado Rockies infield defense projects as the 2nd-strongest out of all the teams playing today. Jose Altuve has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 87.6-mph dropping to 85.5-mph in the past 7 days. Jose Altuve's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased from last season to this one, going from 15.7% to 12.2%.

In the league, Minute Maid Park's left field fences are the 2nd-shallowest. Randal Grichuk has compiled a .341 BABIP this year, checking in at the 85th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kris Bryant in the 78th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Kris Bryant is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Kris Bryant pulls many of his flyballs (35.7% — 91st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Alex Bregman ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this game. Alex Bregman will have the handedness advantage against Kyle Freeland today. Alex Bregman pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38.4% — 97th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Alex Bregman will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ezequiel Tovar in the 83rd percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Ezequiel Tovar's launch angle in recent games (20.6° over the last 14 days) is quite a bit higher than his 13.3° seasonal angle. Ezequiel Tovar is in the 96th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce base hits (51.7% rate this year).

Chas McCormick will have the handedness advantage over Kyle Freeland in today's matchup. Chas McCormick will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Chas McCormick's launch angle this season (17.1°) is a significant increase over his 12.6° angle last season. Compared to his seasonal average of 17.1°, Chas McCormick has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 23.1° mark in the last two weeks' worth of games. Chas McCormick has compiled a .363 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, checking in at the 86th percentile.

Ryan McMahon is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Ryan McMahon will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Brandon Bielak in today's game. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Ryan McMahon has a strong chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Ryan McMahon has a 94th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.9%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Last year, Ryan McMahon had an average launch angle of 11.9° on his hardest-hit balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 15.4°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Harold Castro in the 92nd percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Harold Castro will have the handedness advantage over Brandon Bielak in today's game. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Harold Castro has a strong chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Harold Castro has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.5%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

Grae Kessinger will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Kyle Freeland in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Grae Kessinger will hold that advantage today.

C.J. Cron has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.

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