Texas @ Houston Picks & Props

Minute Maid Park projects as the #22 ballpark in the majors for righty BABIP, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). Minute Maid Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all stadiums, which often leads to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -11° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Nathan Eovaldi will hold the platoon advantage against Yainer Diaz today. Today, Yainer Diaz is at a disadvantage facing the league's 9th-deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 35.2% rate (84th percentile).

Minute Maid Park profiles as the #22 stadium in the majors for lefty BABIP, per the leading projection system (THE BAT). Minute Maid Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all stadiums, which often leads to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -11° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Corey Seager hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.1% — 78th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league's 8th-deepest CF fences today. The Houston Astros outfield defense grades out as the best out of all the teams on the slate today.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best hitter in MLB. Yordan Alvarez is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Nathan Eovaldi throws from, Yordan Alvarez will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Yordan Alvarez has a strong chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Yordan Alvarez will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 85th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Chas McCormick will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. In the past week, Chas McCormick's 66.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 46.6%.

Josh Smith is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Josh Smith will have the handedness advantage over Spencer Arrighetti today. Checking in at the 90th percentile, Josh Smith has notched a .364 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year. Posting a .353 BABIP this year, Josh Smith is positioned in the 94th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 87th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Wyatt Langford is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card today. The 2nd-shallowest left field fences in MLB are found in Minute Maid Park. Wyatt Langford has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.7-mph to 92.6-mph in the last 14 days. Wyatt Langford has compiled a .320 BABIP this year, grading out in the 75th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 92nd percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (41.6% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Jose Altuve will hold that advantage today. Jose Altuve's launch angle of late (3.3° in the past week's worth of games) is a significant dropoff from his 14.6° seasonal angle.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Marcus Semien ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Marcus Semien pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (37.9% — 96th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Marcus Semien's launch angle of late (31.2° in the past week's worth of games) is quite a bit higher than his 16.2° seasonal figure. Based on Statcast metrics, Marcus Semien is in the 87th percentile for offensive skills via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .347.

Jake Meyers's BABIP ability is projected in the 78th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The 2nd-shallowest left field fences in MLB are found in Minute Maid Park. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's game. Jake Meyers has made significant strides with his Barrel% lately, upping his 9.7% seasonal rate to 20% over the past 7 days. Jake Meyers has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 100.4-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal mark of 93.2-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 90th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Batting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Nathaniel Lowe will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Nathaniel Lowe has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (43%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Over the last 14 days, Nathaniel Lowe's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 88.8-mph over the course of the season to 96.5-mph of late. In the past week, Nathaniel Lowe's 66.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 41.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 83rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Adolis Garcia is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. The 2nd-shallowest left field fences in MLB are found in Minute Maid Park. Adolis Garcia has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.3-mph to 96.8-mph in the past two weeks. Compared to his seasonal average of 14.9°, Adolis Garcia has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 24.4° mark over the last 14 days.

Jonah Heim has made notable improvements with his Barrel% of late, upping his 8% seasonal rate to 17.9% over the last 14 days. In the last week's worth of games, Jonah Heim's 64.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 41.6%.

Batting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Travis Jankowski will have an edge in today's game. Travis Jankowski has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (40.5%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. In the last week, Travis Jankowski's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal figure of 83.7 mph to 78 mph. Last season, Travis Jankowski had an average launch angle of 1.1° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 5.4°. Travis Jankowski's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased lately, rising from 41.7% on the season to 50% in the last week's worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 93rd percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Alex Bregman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Alex Bregman has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 91.9-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal EV of 89.8-mph. Alex Bregman's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls lately (19.7° in the past week) is significantly higher than his 13.1° seasonal angle.

Jeremy Pena's batting average talent is projected to be in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The 2nd-shallowest left field fences in MLB are found in Minute Maid Park. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the past week's worth of games, Jeremy Pena's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 91-mph over the course of the season to 100.4-mph in recent games. Jeremy Pena's launch angle this year (8.9°) is a considerable increase over his 5.5° figure last year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Leody Taveras in the 78th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Leody Taveras has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.1%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Leody Taveras's launch angle this year (13.1°) is a considerable increase over his 9.9° mark last year.

Joey Loperfido's BABIP ability is projected in the 94th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Joey Loperfido will hold the platoon advantage over Nathan Eovaldi today. Joey Loperfido is apt to have an advantage against every reliever for the whole game, since the bullpen of the Texas Rangers only has 1 same-handed RP. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Joey Loperfido will hold that advantage today. Joey Loperfido has made significant improvements with his Barrel% recently, improving his 3.9% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the past week's worth of games.

Jon Singleton is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Nathan Eovaldi throws from, Jon Singleton will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Texas Rangers have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jon Singleton can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Jon Singleton will hold that advantage in today's game. Jon Singleton has made substantial gains with his Barrel% lately, improving his 7.4% seasonal rate to 12.5% over the last week.

Mauricio Dubon has gone over 0.5 in 6 of his last 10 games.