Los Angeles @ Houston Picks & Props

The 2nd-shallowest LF fences in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. As it relates to his batting average, Chad Wallach has suffered from bad luck this year. His .197 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .217. Chad Wallach's 10.7% Barrel% (an advanced stat to assess power) grades out in the 80th percentile since the start of last season. Chad Wallach grades out in the 95th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce home runs (22.9% rate since the start of last season).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 94th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Yainer Diaz is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this game. Yainer Diaz will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Yainer Diaz will hold that advantage today. Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined of late, falling from 22.2% on the season to 18.2% in the last week's worth of games.

Martin Maldonado will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers in today's matchup. Martin Maldonado pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35% — 89th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Martin Maldonado will possess the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Over the last 7 days, Martin Maldonado's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 9.4% up to 25%. There has been a significant improvement in Martin Maldonado's launch angle from last season's 14.1° to 17.5° this year.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Alex Bregman ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today. Alex Bregman will hold the platoon advantage over Reid Detmers today. Alex Bregman pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.1% — 96th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage in today's game.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 15th-best hitter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage today. In the last week, Kyle Tucker's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.5-mph over the course of the season to 100.2-mph in recent games. Kyle Tucker's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has decreased of late, falling from 45.6% on the season to 40% in the past week's worth of games.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Jose Altuve ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in today's game. Jose Altuve will have the handedness advantage over Reid Detmers today. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (38.9% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Jose Altuve will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best batter in MLB. Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Yordan Alvarez will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Last year, Yordan Alvarez had an average launch angle of 12.8° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 16.8°. Yordan Alvarez's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better lately, rising from 18.5% on the season to 24.2% in the past 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. Jeremy Pena will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Reid Detmers in today's game. Extreme groundball hitters like Jeremy Pena tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Reid Detmers. Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Drury in the 79th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Brandon Drury is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Brandon Drury pulls many of his flyballs (32.9% — 76th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Brandon Drury has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 93.2-mph average in the last 14 days to his seasonal 90.1-mph average. In the last 14 days, Brandon Drury's 20% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16.4%.

Luis Rengifo's batting average ability is projected to be in the 76th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Luis Rengifo has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (73% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st in the lineup today. Luis Rengifo has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 88.9-mph average to last year's 86.7-mph figure. Luis Rengifo has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.9-mph to 91.9-mph in the past two weeks' worth of games. In terms of plate discipline, Luis Rengifo's ability is quite strong, posting a 1.88 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 78th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 79th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Mauricio Dubon will have the handedness advantage against Reid Detmers today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Mauricio Dubon will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon has been unlucky in regards to his batting average this year; his .261 rate is quite a bit lower than his .283 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Hunter Renfroe pulls many of his flyballs (38.7% — 98th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Hunter Renfroe's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, going from 16.2% on the season to 20% over the last week.

Shohei Ohtani projects as the 3rd-best batter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Shohei Ohtani is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today. In MLB, the 3rd-highest fence height (on average) are at Minute Maid Park. Shohei Ohtani will have the handedness advantage over Justin Verlander today. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Shohei Ohtani is guaranteed to never face a bullpen mismatch the whole game.

Mike Moustakas is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today. Mike Moustakas will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Verlander in today's matchup. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Mike Moustakas is guaranteed to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen the entire game. Mike Moustakas has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 96.3-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal EV of 91.6-mph. By putting up a .331 BABIP this year, Mike Moustakas is ranked in the 79th percentile.

Matt Thaiss will hold the platoon advantage against Justin Verlander in today's game. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Matt Thaiss is guaranteed to hold the advantage against every reliever all game. Matt Thaiss has an 81st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the worst out of every team in action today. In the last week, Matt Thaiss's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 10.8% up to 27.3%.

Grae Kessinger has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.