Houston @ Baltimore Picks & Props

The deepest left field dimensions among all major league stadiums are found in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Out of all the teams playing today, the 2nd-best infield defense is that of the Baltimore Orioles. Playing on the road typically weakens batter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Jeremy Pena today. Jeremy Pena has been cold lately, with his seasonal exit velocity of 87.6-mph dropping to 81-mph over the past week. Jeremy Pena's launch angle of late (2.9° over the past two weeks) is a considerable dropoff from his 7.3° seasonal angle.

Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (41.6% — 99th percentile) but may find it hard to clear baseball's deepest LF fences today. Out of all the teams playing today, the 2nd-best infield defense is that of the Baltimore Orioles. Playing on the road generally diminishes batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Jose Altuve in today's matchup. Jose Altuve's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off this year; his 92.9-mph EV last season has dropped off to 90.5-mph. Jose Altuve's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased recently, decreasing from 15.6% on the season to 5.9% in the past 7 days.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best batter in the league. Yordan Alvarez is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Yordan Alvarez hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.7% — 89th percentile) and is fortunate to face baseball's 4th-shallowest CF fences today. Over the last 7 days, Yordan Alvarez's 15.4% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 19.7%.

Out of all the teams playing today, the 2nd-best infield defense is that of the Baltimore Orioles. Yainer Diaz will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today's game. Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last year to this one, falling from 21.6% to 11.8%.

The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Cedric Mullins II will hold the platoon advantage over Hunter Brown today. Cedric Mullins II pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.3% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's shallowest RF fences today. Cedric Mullins II will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Cedric Mullins II's 21.7% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 17.2%.

The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Shay Whitcomb will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cade Povich today. Shay Whitcomb has been hot lately, putting up a a 20% Barrel% (a reliable stat to evaluate power) in the past week. In the past week, Shay Whitcomb has averaged an impressive 103.8-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced indicator of home run potential. Shay Whitcomb has been honed in on the ideal launch angle for base hits recently, angling balls between -4° and 26° 60% of the time in the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 78th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Jake Meyers has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (84% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Jake Meyers will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cade Povich in today's matchup. Jake Meyers has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.2-mph to 92.1-mph over the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zachary Dezenzo in the 80th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Batting from the opposite that Cade Povich throws from, Zachary Dezenzo will have an edge today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 80th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Batting from the opposite that Cade Povich throws from, Chas McCormick will have an advantage today. Chas McCormick has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them in the direction of the league's shallowest RF fences in today's game. In terms of his batting average, Chas McCormick has been unlucky this year. His .193 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .219.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan O'Hearn in the 94th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Ryan O'Hearn is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in today's game. The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Ryan O'Hearn will have an advantage today. Ryan O'Hearn hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.2% — 80th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the game's 4th-shallowest CF fences today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adley Rutschman in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Adley Rutschman is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Among all major league stadiums, Oriole Park at Camden Yards's RF dimensions are the shallowest. Adley Rutschman will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game. The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Batting from the opposite that Cade Povich throws from, Alex Bregman will have an edge in today's matchup. Alex Bregman hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.4% — 85th percentile) and is fortunate to face the league's 4th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup.

Anthony Santander is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card today. The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Anthony Santander pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.3% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball batters like Anthony Santander tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Anthony Santander will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Victor Caratini is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 91% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. As far as temperature and humidity are concerned, the 5th-best hitting weather on the schedule is expected for this game. Victor Caratini hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.5% — 86th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing baseball's 4th-shallowest CF fences today. Victor Caratini's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this year (8.4°) is significantly better than his 4.7° angle last season. Utilizing Statcast metrics, Victor Caratini grades out in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .286.

Gunnar Henderson projects as the 17th-best batter in the league, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Gunnar Henderson is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Gunnar Henderson will have the handedness advantage against Hunter Brown in today's game. Gunnar Henderson will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Jackson Holliday's BABIP ability is projected in the 93rd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Jackson Holliday will have the upper hand today. Jackson Holliday will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Jackson Holliday has had some very poor luck with his wOBA this year; his .248 rate is a good deal lower than his .320 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Mountcastle in the 93rd percentile when assessing his batting average ability. The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Ryan Mountcastle has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.8%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Ryan Mountcastle will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Ryan Mountcastle's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better in recent games, increasing from 46.1% on the season to 60% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 82nd percentile when assessing his batting average talent. The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mauricio Dubon will hold the platoon advantage over Cade Povich in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon has a 94th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of baseball's shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 92.8-mph average in the past week to his seasonal 86.8-mph EV.

When it comes to his BABIP ability, Colton Cowser is projected as the 18th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Colton Cowser has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (72% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this game. The #7 park in Major League Baseball for boosting base hits to left-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Colton Cowser will have the handedness advantage against Hunter Brown in today's game. Colton Cowser will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats.

The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Ramon Urias has an 84th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.2%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's shallowest RF fences today. Ramon Urias will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Over the past 7 days, Ramon Urias's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.6% up to 28.6%. Over the last two weeks, Ramon Urias's 29.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 16%.

The #7 park in the game for boosting BABIP to RHB, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. James McCann hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.4% — 95th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards MLB's 4th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. James McCann will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.318) may lead us to conclude that James McCann has experienced some negative variance this year with his .275 actual wOBA.