Seattle @ Houston Picks & Props

Dylan Moore pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.3% — 90th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Extreme flyball bats like Dylan Moore tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Dylan Moore has made significant strides with his Barrel%, upping his 13.1% rate last year to 27.3% this season. Based on Statcast metrics, Dylan Moore ranks in the 97th percentile for offensive ability via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .379. Dylan Moore has recorded a .357 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, ranking in the 92nd percentile.

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations in the majors, which generally leads to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -14° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate — favorable for pitching. Emerson Hancock will hold the platoon advantage over Yainer Diaz in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has dropped off recently, falling from 44.2% on the season to 25% in the past week. Yainer Diaz has exhibited poor plate discipline this year, checking in at the 1st percentile with a 7.9 K/BB rate.

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations in the majors, which generally leads to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -14° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate — favorable for pitching. Hunter Brown will have the handedness advantage against Julio Rodriguez in today's matchup. The Houston Astros outfield defense profiles as the 5th-strongest among all the teams in action today. Playing on the road typically reduces batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Julio Rodriguez today.

Jose Caballero pulls many of his flyballs (33.5% — 80th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Jose Caballero has made big gains with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 3.5% seasonal rate to 9.1% in the past week. Over the last 7 days, Jose Caballero's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 87.1-mph over the course of the season to 89.4-mph of late. Jose Caballero's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls recently (22.7° over the past 14 days) is significantly better than his 16.9° seasonal mark.

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations in the majors, which generally leads to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -14° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate — favorable for pitching. Emerson Hancock will have the handedness advantage against Jose Altuve today. Jose Altuve has negatively regressed with his Barrel% in recent games; his 7.6% seasonal rate has dropped to 0% in the past week's worth of games. Jose Altuve has been cold lately, with his seasonal exit velocity of 87-mph dropping to 84.6-mph in the past two weeks.

Mike Ford is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 84% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this year. Mike Ford will hold the platoon advantage over Hunter Brown in today's matchup. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Mike Ford has a strong chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Mike Ford has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 94.3-mph average to last year's 88.8-mph average. Mike Ford's 9.9% Barrel% (an advanced stat to study power) ranks in the 76th percentile since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 83rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Chas McCormick is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 77% rate of hitting in the top-half of the lineup this year. The Seattle Mariners infield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest out of all the teams on the slate today. Chas McCormick will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Chas McCormick has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 95.6-mph average to last year's 93.4-mph figure.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Eugenio Suarez ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Eugenio Suarez is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Eugenio Suarez pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.4% — 86th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball hitters like Eugenio Suarez generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Eugenio Suarez has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 12.8% seasonal rate to 21.4% over the last 7 days.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 2nd-best batter in the league, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all major league parks. Yordan Alvarez will have the handedness advantage over Emerson Hancock in today's game. The Seattle Mariners infield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest out of all the teams on the slate today.

Cade Marlowe will hold the platoon advantage against Hunter Brown today. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Cade Marlowe can likely count on holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Cade Marlowe has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 95.4-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal mark of 88-mph. Cade Marlowe's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls in recent games (33.4° over the last 14 days) is quite a bit better than his 19.9° seasonal figure.

Cal Raleigh is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in today's game. Batters such as Cal Raleigh with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Hunter Brown who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Cal Raleigh has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, improving his 13.6% seasonal rate to 20.8% in the past two weeks. In the last two weeks, Cal Raleigh's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.6-mph over the course of the season to 99-mph lately. In the last 14 days, Cal Raleigh's 33.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 19%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. The shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. The Seattle Mariners infield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest out of all the teams on the slate today. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Over the last 14 days, Jeremy Pena's 61.5% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.7%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ty France in the 88th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Ty France is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. The shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Ty France has made notable gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 6.6% seasonal rate to 16.1% in the last two weeks. Ty France's launch angle this year (13.4°) is quite a bit better than his 9.7° figure last year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 80th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. The Seattle Mariners infield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest out of all the teams on the slate today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Mauricio Dubon will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.283) implies that Mauricio Dubon has been unlucky this year with his .266 actual batting average.

The Seattle Mariners infield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest out of all the teams on the slate today. Corey Julks will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.312) may lead us to conclude that Corey Julks has had bad variance on his side this year with his .292 actual wOBA. Corey Julks is in the 94th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize base hits (50.2% rate this year).

When it comes to his BABIP skill, Teoscar Hernandez is projected as the 14th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Teoscar Hernandez is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Teoscar Hernandez has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.5-mph to 94.1-mph in the past week. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Teoscar Hernandez this year. His .315 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .351. By putting up a .349 BABIP this year, Teoscar Hernandez grades out in the 91st percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 95th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order today. Alex Bregman pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.8% — 95th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The Seattle Mariners infield defense grades out as the 5th-weakest out of all the teams on the slate today. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage today.

Martin Maldonado pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.9% — 88th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Martin Maldonado will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Martin Maldonado has made notable gains with his Barrel% of late, improving his 9.6% seasonal rate to 33.3% in the last 7 days. Martin Maldonado has been unlucky this year, compiling a .248 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .278 — a .030 discrepancy.

Homers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all major league parks. Dominic Canzone will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Hunter Brown in today's matchup. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Dominic Canzone can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. In the last 14 days, Dominic Canzone's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.3-mph over the course of the season to 100.7-mph recently. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Dominic Canzone has had bad variance on his side this year. His .273 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .353.

Josh Rojas will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Hunter Brown in today's matchup. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Josh Rojas can likely count on holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Josh Rojas has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.1%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them out towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Josh Rojas's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 15.4% to 18.4%. Josh Rojas's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better in recent games, increasing from 18.4% on the season to 44.4% over the past week.