Los Angeles @ Houston Picks & Props

Minute Maid Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in the majors, which generally leads to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making the temperature in this match-up -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. J.P. France will hold the platoon advantage over Brandon Drury today. Out of every team in action today, the 4th-best infield defense belongs to the Houston Astros. Playing on the road generally diminishes batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Brandon Drury in today's game.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 15th-best batter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last 7 days, Kyle Tucker's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.5-mph over the course of the season to 99.4-mph recently. Kyle Tucker's launch angle of late (19.2° in the past week) is considerably better than his 13.5° seasonal figure.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 2nd-best hitter in baseball, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Home field advantage typically improves batter stats across the board, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage in today's game. Last year, Yordan Alvarez had an average launch angle of 12.8° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 16.6°. Yordan Alvarez's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, increasing from 42.2% on the season to 61.5% over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Chas McCormick will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Tyler Anderson in today's matchup. Chas McCormick will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Chas McCormick's launch angle in recent games (24.4° over the last two weeks) is a significant increase over his 17.1° seasonal mark. Last season, Chas McCormick had an average launch angle of 18.6° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 24.4°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Alex Bregman is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today. Alex Bregman will have the handedness advantage over Tyler Anderson today. Alex Bregman pulls a lot of his flyballs (37% — 95th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Alex Bregman will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 95th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Yainer Diaz is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today's game. Yainer Diaz will have the handedness advantage against Tyler Anderson in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has made notable improvements with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 13.4% seasonal rate to 25% in the last week's worth of games.

Shohei Ohtani projects as the 3rd-best hitter in the league, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Shohei Ohtani is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. The league's 3rd-tallest fence height (on average) can be found at Minute Maid Park. Shohei Ohtani will hold the platoon advantage against J.P. France in today's game. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed relievers in their bullpen, so Shohei Ohtani is guaranteed to hold the platoon advantage against every reliever the entire game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Rengifo in the 76th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Luis Rengifo has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (72% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today. Luis Rengifo has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 88.9-mph average to last season's 86.7-mph figure. a 1.88 K/BB rate this year, Luis Rengifo has demonstrated strong plate discipline, placing in the 78th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Jose Altuve ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is penciled in 1st in the batting order in today's game. Jose Altuve will hold the platoon advantage against Tyler Anderson in today's game. Jose Altuve pulls a lot of his flyballs (38.9% — 98th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Altuve will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Martin Maldonado will have the handedness advantage against Tyler Anderson in today's game. Martin Maldonado pulls a lot of his flyballs (35% — 89th 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 hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Over the past week, 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 year's 14.1° to 17.5° this year.

Hunter Renfroe pulls a lot of his flyballs (38.7% — 98th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. In the last 7 days, Hunter Renfroe's 25% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16.2%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. The 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. Jeremy Pena will have the handedness advantage against Tyler Anderson in today's game. Extreme groundball hitters like Jeremy Pena usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Tyler Anderson. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Matt Thaiss will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against J.P. France in today's matchup. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Matt Thaiss is guaranteed to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen the entire game. Matt Thaiss has an 82nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.1%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Matt Thaiss has made significant strides with his Barrel% lately, upping his 10.6% seasonal rate to 33.3% in the last week. Matt Thaiss has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 93.5-mph average in the last week to his seasonal 89.1-mph figure.

Mike Moustakas is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in today's game. Mike Moustakas 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 Mike Moustakas is guaranteed to never face a bullpen mismatch all game. Over the past week, Mike Moustakas's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 91.6-mph over the course of the season to 102.4-mph lately. Mike Moustakas has compiled a .324 BABIP this year, grading out in the 76th percentile.

Chad Wallach has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.

Jose Abreu has gone over 0.5 in 8 of his last 10 games.

Mauricio Dubon has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.