Los Angeles @ Houston Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Minute Maid Park as the 9th-worst ballpark in the game for RHB base hits. Minute Maid Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which generally leads to lower offensive output. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making conditions in this game -9° colder than the average outdoor game on the slate — favorable for pitching. River Ryan will hold the platoon advantage over Yainer Diaz today. Yainer Diaz has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35%) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards MLB's 9th-deepest RF fences today.

Nick Ahmed pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Nick Ahmed has made substantial gains with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 4% seasonal rate to 20% over the last week. Compared to his seasonal average of 12.2°, Nick Ahmed has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 35° angle in the past week. Nick Ahmed's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this year (15.8°) is a considerable increase over his 11.7° angle last season.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 2nd-best batter in the league, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this game. Hitting from the opposite that River Ryan throws from, Yordan Alvarez will have the upper hand in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage in today's game. Yordan Alvarez has made significant strides with his Barrel% of late, upping his 14.6% seasonal rate to 28.6% in the past 7 days.

When assessing his BABIP skill, 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 2nd in the batting order today. In the past 7 days, Teoscar Hernandez's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.9-mph over the course of the season to 102.8-mph lately. Teoscar Hernandez has put up a .342 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, ranking in the 83rd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Teoscar Hernandez has compiled a .342 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, checking in at the 79th percentile.

Cavan Biggio will have the handedness advantage against Spencer Arrighetti in today's game.

Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Victor Caratini will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Victor Caratini has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 91.9-mph average to last season's 88.3-mph mark. Victor Caratini's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, rising from 8.8% to 17.7%. Posting a .262 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) since the start of last season , Victor Caratini has performed in the 75th percentile. A low launch angle standard deviation tends to lead to a higher batting average on balls in play, and Victor Caratini's 24.4° mark (97th percentile) since the start of last season indicates a strong hitting profile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 95th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Jeremy Pena is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions among all parks. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage today. Over the past week, Jeremy Pena's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5% up to 12.5%.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Shohei Ohtani ranks as the 4th-best batter in MLB. Shohei Ohtani is projected to bat 1st in the lineup today. It is likely that we will see a Pitchers Umpire (Brennan Miller) behind the plate in this game. The #6 ballpark in Major League Baseball for suppressing base hits, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Among all major league stadiums, the 3rd-tallest fence height (on average) are at Minute Maid Park.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 85th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Chas McCormick will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Chas McCormick's footspeed has increased this year. His 28.09 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 28.67 ft/sec now. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Chas McCormick's true offensive skill to be a .314, suggesting that he has been unlucky this year given the .047 gap between that figure and his actual .267 wOBA. Chas McCormick has compiled a .319 BABIP since the start of last season, ranking in the 83rd percentile.

Gavin Lux's BABIP skill is projected in the 76th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Gavin Lux has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (95% of the time), but he is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Gavin Lux will have the upper hand in today's game. Gavin Lux has made big gains with his Barrel% lately, upping his 4.2% seasonal rate to 11.8% over the last 14 days. Gavin Lux's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, rising from 11.5% on the season to 17.6% over the last 14 days.

Kike Hernandez has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (88% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. Kike Hernandez has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 90.6-mph average to last year's 87.8-mph average. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Kike Hernandez's true offensive talent to be a .294, indicating that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .031 difference between that figure and his actual .263 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card today. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41.8% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be 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 in today's matchup. Checking in at the 87th percentile, Jose Altuve sports a .355 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Joey Loperfido in the 94th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Joey Loperfido will hold the platoon advantage against River Ryan in today's game. Joey Loperfido will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats. Ranking in the 91st percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.99 ft/sec this year, Joey Loperfido is remarkably fast.

Jason Heyward is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 84% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Jason Heyward will have the handedness advantage over Spencer Arrighetti in today's game. Over the last week, Jason Heyward's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 92.1-mph over the course of the season to 96.1-mph lately. Jason Heyward has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average this year; his .198 BA is significantly deflated relative to his .227 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. In terms of plate discipline, Jason Heyward's skill is quite impressive, sporting a 1.78 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 88th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 76th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions among all parks. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage today. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased lately, rising from 18.5% on the season to 26.1% over the past two weeks. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 40% to 47.7%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 93rd percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Alex Bregman is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Alex Bregman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Alex Bregman has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.5-mph to 93.7-mph in the last two weeks' worth of games. When it comes to plate discipline, Alex Bregman's skill is quite strong, putting up a 1.8 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 85th percentile.

James Outman will hold the platoon advantage against Spencer Arrighetti in today's game. This season, James Outman has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 95.7 mph compared to last year's 92.4 mph mark. As it relates to his batting average, James Outman has had bad variance on his side this year. His .147 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .211. James Outman and his 16.9° launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls rank in 88th percentile, among the highest in the majors since the start of last season.

Andy Pages is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 56% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest LF dimensions among all parks. Andy Pages's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, rising from 45.8% on the season to 65.2% in the last two weeks. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.332) implies that Andy Pages has been unlucky this year with his .300 actual wOBA. Andy Pages's 21.4° launch angle (a reliable standard to study a hitter's ability to lift the ball for power) is among the steepest in the majors: 97th percentile.

Austin Barnes's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, going from 34.1% to 52.9%.

Jon Singleton will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against River Ryan today. Jon Singleton will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Jon Singleton's average exit velocity has decreased of late; his 88.9-mph seasonal average has lowered to 85.2-mph in the last 7 days. Placing in the 93rd percentile, the hardest ball Jon Singleton has hit this year reached a maximum exit velocity of 115.4 mph -- a reliable indication of underlying power skill.