Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Globe Life Field as the worst venue in the majors for righty BABIP. Among all stadiums, Globe Life Field's centerfield fences are the 6th-deepest. The Globe Life Field roof projects to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -9° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Batting from the opposite that Andrew Heaney throws from, Yainer Diaz will have the upper hand in today's game. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 2nd-best infield defense is that of the the Texas Rangers.

Corey Seager projects as the 8th-best batter in the game, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Corey Seager is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Corey Seager will hold that advantage in today's game. Corey Seager has made big gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 15.5% seasonal rate to 26.3% in the past week's worth of games. Corey Seager has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.3-mph to 96.9-mph in the last two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Leody Taveras in the 77th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Leody Taveras will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the past week, Leody Taveras's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 5.4% down to 0%. Leody Taveras's launch angle recently (27° in the past 7 days) is considerably better than his 12.4° seasonal figure. Leody Taveras has been unlucky in regards to his batting average this year; his .227 figure is a good deal lower than his .266 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 88th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Nathaniel Lowe will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In terms of plate discipline, Nathaniel Lowe's ability is quite impressive, posting a 1.69 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 88th percentile. Ranking in the 77th percentile, Nathaniel Lowe has posted a .321 BABIP this year.

Josh Smith is penciled in 1st in the lineup in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Josh Smith will hold that advantage today. Josh Smith's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased recently, going from 14.8% on the season to 27.3% in the last two weeks' worth of games. Josh Smith has posted a .353 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 86th percentile. Placing in the 85th percentile, Josh Smith has notched a .335 BABIP this year.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 3rd-best hitter in baseball. Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. Hitting from the same side that Andrew Heaney throws from, Yordan Alvarez encounters a tough challenge in today's game. In the last week, Yordan Alvarez has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 21.5° compared to his seasonal mark of 12°. Yordan Alvarez has been unlucky this year, putting up a .381 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .409 — a .028 gap.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 83rd percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Chas McCormick has gotten much quicker this season, improving from last season's 28.09 ft/sec to 28.69 ft/sec now (according to Statcast's Sprint Speed metric). The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Chas McCormick's true offensive talent to be a .313, implying that he has had some very poor luck this year given the .052 deviation between that mark and his actual .261 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 86th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Wyatt Langford is penciled in 5th in the lineup in today's game. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Wyatt Langford will have an advantage in today's matchup. Wyatt Langford will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Wyatt Langford has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% of late, upping his 7.2% seasonal rate to 12.5% over the last week.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Marcus Semien ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Marcus Semien will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Bats such as Marcus Semien with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Framber Valdez who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Marcus Semien will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The switch-hitting Robbie Grossman will get to bat from his better side (0) today against Framber Valdez. Bats such as Robbie Grossman with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Framber Valdez who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Robbie Grossman will hold that advantage in today's game. When it comes to plate discipline, Robbie Grossman's skill is quite strong, sporting a 1.52 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 94th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 93rd percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. Jose Altuve has posted a .352 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 86th percentile. Jose Altuve has notched a .362 BABIP this year, placing in the 98th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 76th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. 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% this season. Jake Meyers has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .300 rate is deflated compared to his .347 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game. Adolis Garcia will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to improve all of his stats. Adolis Garcia has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.6-mph to 95.3-mph over the past two weeks. Despite posting a .283 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Adolis Garcia has suffered from bad luck given the .039 difference between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .322.

Josh Jung's BABIP skill is projected in the 97th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Josh Jung is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 50% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Josh Jung will hold the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Josh Jung will hold that advantage in today's game. Based on Statcast data, Josh Jung is in the 80th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .266.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Alex Bregman ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card today. Alex Bregman has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.7-mph to 91.6-mph over the past 14 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 18.2°, Alex Bregman has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 25° angle in the last two weeks' worth of games. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Alex Bregman's true offensive ability to be a .340, providing some evidence that he has had some very poor luck this year given the .029 discrepancy between that mark and his actual .311 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Jeremy Pena is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. Jeremy Pena has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .308 figure is a good deal lower than his .326 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Jeremy Pena has posted a .284 Expected Batting Average this year, checking in at the 90th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. With a .280 batting average this year, Jeremy Pena is positioned in the 86th percentile.

The Texas Rangers outfield defense grades out as the 3rd-worst out of every team playing today.

As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Jonah Heim will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side against Framber Valdez in this game. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Andrew Heaney will have the handedness advantage over Jon Singleton in today's matchup. Jon Singleton has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 7.4% seasonal rate to 12.5% in the last two weeks. Jon Singleton has seen a substantial increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 93.5-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 89.4-mph mark.

Ezequiel Duran's BABIP talent is projected in the 79th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Ezequiel Duran will have an edge in today's game. Ezequiel Duran will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats. Ezequiel Duran has put up a .321 BABIP this year, ranking in the 77th percentile.