Tampa Bay @ Houston Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Siri in the 88th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Jose Siri pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.3% — 88th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Siri has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% of late, upping his 15.8% seasonal rate to 23.5% in the past 14 days. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Jose Siri's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96.7-mph over the course of the season to 102.6-mph of late. As it relates to his wOBA and overall offense, Jose Siri has experienced some negative variance this year. His .284 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .331.

The #8 venue in the league for suppressing base hits to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making the temperature in this match-up -10° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Zack Littell will have the handedness advantage over Jeremy Pena in today's game. Among all the teams in action today, the 4th-best infield defense belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christopher Morel in the 85th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Christopher Morel is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Christopher Morel pulls many of his flyballs (37.9% — 95th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Christopher Morel has made significant strides with his Barrel% of late, improving his 12.3% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the last week's worth of games. Over the past 7 days, Christopher Morel's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.7-mph over the course of the season to 106.1-mph lately.

The #8 venue in the league for suppressing base hits to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making the temperature in this match-up -10° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Zack Littell will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jose Altuve in today's game. Among all the teams in action today, the 4th-best infield defense belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The #8 venue in the league for suppressing base hits to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making the temperature in this match-up -10° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Batting from the same side that Zack Littell throws from, Yainer Diaz will have a disadvantage today. Yainer Diaz has an 85th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.2%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league's 9th-deepest RF fences in today's matchup.

The #8 park in the game for suppressing base hits to LHB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making the temperature in this match-up -10° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Yordan Alvarez hits many of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 93rd percentile) but may find it hard to clear the game's 8th-deepest CF fences today. Among all the teams in action today, the 4th-best infield defense belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yandy Diaz as the 12th-best batter in baseball when assessing his batting average ability. Yandy Diaz is projected to bat 1st in the lineup today. Yandy Diaz has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 99.5-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal average of 92.2-mph. Yandy Diaz has notched a .270 Expected Batting Average this year, checking in at the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Yandy Diaz has displayed strong plate discipline this year, checking in at the 78th percentile with a 1.94 K/BB rate.

Jose Caballero is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 95% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Jose Caballero pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (37.9% — 95th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. With a .324 BABIP this year, Jose Caballero is positioned in the 78th percentile.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Brandon Lowe ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Brandon Lowe is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order today. Brandon Lowe will have the handedness advantage over Ronel Blanco today. Brandon Lowe has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.5-mph to 92.9-mph over the last 14 days. Brandon Lowe's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (20.9°) is quite a bit higher than his 13.9° angle last year.

Long-balls are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all major league stadiums. Ben Rortvedt will hold the platoon advantage against Ronel Blanco today. With a .354 BABIP this year, Ben Rortvedt grades out in the 91st percentile.

In Major League Baseball, Minute Maid Park's LF fences are the shallowest. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's game. Compared to last year, Jake Meyers has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 40% to 47.2% this season. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Jake Meyers has experienced some negative variance this year. His .301 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .350.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Alex Bregman ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage in today's game. Alex Bregman has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.6-mph to 92-mph in the last two weeks' worth of games. Alex Bregman's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, rising from 15.4% on the season to 22.2% over the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 84th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Mauricio Dubon will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Grading out in the 77th percentile, Mauricio Dubon has put up a .270 batting average this year.

Long-balls are generally more common at stadiums with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all major league stadiums.

Hitting from the opposite that Zack Littell throws from, Jon Singleton will have an advantage in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Jon Singleton will hold that advantage today. Jon Singleton has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 92.2-mph average over the past two weeks to his seasonal 89.2-mph mark. Grading out in the 93rd percentile, the hardest ball Jon Singleton has connected with this year reached a maximum exit velocity of 115.4 mph -- an advanced indication of underlying power ability.

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

Victor Caratini has gone over 0.5 in 8 of his last 10 games.

Chas McCormick has gone over 0.5 in 6 of his last 10 games.