Houston @ Seattle Picks & Props

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 3rd-best batter in Major League Baseball, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. Dingers are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and T-Mobile Park has the 3rd-shallowest among all parks. Yordan Alvarez will have the handedness advantage over Bryce Miller in today's game. Among all the teams on the slate today, the 4th-worst infield defense is that of the Seattle Mariners.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 15th-best hitter in MLB. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. Kyle Tucker will have the handedness advantage over Bryce Miller in today's game. Kyle Tucker pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.1% — 79th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 4th-shallowest RF fences today. Among all the teams on the slate today, the 4th-worst infield defense is that of the Seattle Mariners.

The switch-hitting Cal Raleigh will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side (0) today against Framber Valdez. Cal Raleigh pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (38.7% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 9th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball hitters like Cal Raleigh are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Cal Raleigh will hold that advantage in today's game. Cal Raleigh has made big strides with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 13.4% seasonal rate to 25% over the last week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Sam Haggerty in the 79th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Dingers are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and T-Mobile Park has the 3rd-shallowest among all parks. The switch-hitting Sam Haggerty will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Framber Valdez. Sam Haggerty will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Sam Haggerty has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .305 figure is a good deal lower than his .327 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Martin Maldonado pulls many of his flyballs (35% — 90th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Among all the teams on the slate today, the 4th-worst infield defense is that of the Seattle Mariners. Martin Maldonado's launch angle this season (17.9°) is significantly higher than his 14.1° figure last season. Martin Maldonado has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last season's 22.31 ft/sec to 23.1 ft/sec now (according to Statcast's Sprint Speed metric).

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Eugenio Suarez ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Eugenio Suarez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. Eugenio Suarez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez today. Eugenio Suarez pulls many of his flyballs (34.6% — 88th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest LF fences today. Bats such as Eugenio Suarez with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Framber Valdez who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.

When assessing his batting average ability, Michael Brantley is projected as the 16th-best hitter in Major League Baseball by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Dingers are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and T-Mobile Park has the 3rd-shallowest among all parks. Michael Brantley will hold the platoon advantage against Bryce Miller in today's matchup. Among all the teams on the slate today, the 4th-worst infield defense is that of the Seattle Mariners. Michael Brantley's launch angle this year (16°) is considerably better than his 10.3° figure last year.

When assessing his BABIP ability, Teoscar Hernandez is projected as the 10th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Teoscar Hernandez is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Dingers are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and T-Mobile Park has the 3rd-shallowest among all parks. Teoscar Hernandez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game. Teoscar Hernandez will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Jose Caballero will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game. Jose Caballero pulls many of his flyballs (34% — 84th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Extreme flyball hitters like Jose Caballero usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Framber Valdez. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Jose Caballero will hold that advantage today. Jose Caballero's 21.4° launch angle (an advanced standard to study a hitter's ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the steepest in the game: 94th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 85th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Chas McCormick has an 89th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.5%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 4th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Among all the teams on the slate today, the 3rd-worst infield defense is that of the Seattle Mariners. Chas McCormick has made notable strides with his Barrel% lately, improving his 11.8% seasonal rate to 26.7% over the past week. Chas McCormick's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased in recent games, going from 21.8% on the season to 40% in the past 7 days.

Ty France's batting average ability is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Dingers are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and T-Mobile Park has the 3rd-shallowest among all parks. Ty France will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez in today's matchup. Ty France will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Over the last two weeks, Ty France's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 90.2-mph over the course of the season to 97.6-mph lately.

Dylan Moore has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (97% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. Dylan Moore will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez today. Dylan Moore pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.9% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 9th-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Extreme flyball hitters like Dylan Moore tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Framber Valdez. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Dylan Moore will hold that advantage today.

Josh Rojas has gone over 0.5 in 5 of his last 10 games.