Arizona @ Houston Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Minute Maid Park as the 10th-worst venue in Major League Baseball for righty BABIP. Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest altitudes among all stadiums, which tends to lead to less offense. Batting from the same side that Ryne Nelson throws from, Yainer Diaz will have a disadvantage in today's matchup. In today's matchup, 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 34.3% rate (80th percentile). Yainer Diaz has negatively regressed with his Barrel% in recent games; his 7.8% seasonal rate has dropped off to 0% over the past week.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 11th-best hitter in baseball. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Kyle Tucker will hold the platoon advantage over Ryne Nelson today. Kyle Tucker will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 79th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Chas McCormick will hold that advantage today. Chas McCormick's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased in recent games, going from 20% on the season to 30.8% in the past 14 days. Chas McCormick has been unlucky this year, putting up a .251 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .308 — a .057 discrepancy.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Victor Caratini will hold the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Posting a .273 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year , Victor Caratini grades out in the 87th percentile. With a .336 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Victor Caratini has performed in the 83rd percentile. In notching a .281 batting average this year, Victor Caratini has performed in the 90th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 94th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st in the lineup today. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (42% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats across the board, and Jose Altuve will hold that advantage today.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 2nd-best batter in the majors, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Yordan Alvarez will have the handedness advantage over Ryne Nelson in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Alex Bregman ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in today's game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Alex Bregman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Alex Bregman's launch angle recently (28.9° in the last two weeks) is quite a bit better than his 19.1° seasonal mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 94th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Jeremy Pena will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Utilizing Statcast data, Jeremy Pena grades out in the 88th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .278.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 93rd percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Christian Walker is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Christian Walker pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.6% — 78th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Christian Walker has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 98.4-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 91-mph mark. With a .346 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Christian Walker is positioned in the 85th percentile for offensive ability.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Ketel Marte ranks as the 15th-best batter in the game. Ketel Marte is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this game. Ketel Marte has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 93.8-mph average to last year's 91.1-mph average. Ketel Marte's 11.5% Barrel% (an advanced metric to measure power) ranks in the 81st percentile this year. Posting a .388 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Ketel Marte finds himself in the 96th percentile.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Adrian Del Castillo will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Verlander in today's game. Adrian Del Castillo has a 77th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Adrian Del Castillo's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased lately; his 92.5-mph seasonal figure has decreased to 83.4-mph in the last week's worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Corbin Carroll in the 91st percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Corbin Carroll is projected to hit 1st in the lineup today. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Batting from the opposite that Justin Verlander throws from, Corbin Carroll will have the upper hand in today's game. Corbin Carroll has an 81st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

Jon Singleton will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Ryne Nelson today. Jon Singleton will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Jon Singleton has made substantial strides with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 9% seasonal rate to 40% over the past 7 days. Jon Singleton has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.1-mph to 95.1-mph in the past week. Jon Singleton's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, rising from 17.1% on the season to 50% in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 79th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved of late, going from 20.1% on the season to 23.8% over the past two weeks. Jake Meyers has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .290 mark is significantly deflated relative to his .331 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake McCarthy in the 89th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Jake McCarthy is projected to hit 5th in the lineup today. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Jake McCarthy will have the handedness advantage over Justin Verlander in today's matchup. Jake McCarthy has an 81st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

HRs are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest in the majors. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Ben Gamel will hold the platoon advantage over Ryne Nelson today. Ben Gamel will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. In the past 7 days, Ben Gamel's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 90.7-mph over the course of the season to 95-mph lately.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Eugenio Suarez ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Eugenio Suarez pulls many of his flyballs (37.5% — 95th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. In the last week's worth of games, Eugenio Suarez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 10.5% up to 25%. Eugenio Suarez has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.7-mph to 91.7-mph in the past two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Bell in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Josh Bell is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in today's game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Josh Bell has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Batters such as Josh Bell with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Justin Verlander who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.

Geraldo Perdomo is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 82% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. HRs are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest in the majors. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Geraldo Perdomo's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, rising from 42.7% on the season to 57.9% in the last 7 days. As it relates to plate discipline, Geraldo Perdomo's talent is quite impressive, sporting a 1.85 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 84th percentile.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Pavin Smith will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Verlander in today's matchup. In the past week's worth of games, Pavin Smith's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 11% up to 33.3%. Pavin Smith has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 101.8-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal 90.5-mph average. Pavin Smith's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased lately, going from 49.3% on the season to 66.7% in the past week's worth of games.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Joc Pederson ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Joc Pederson is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this game. According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Joc Pederson will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Verlander in today's game. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Joc Pederson's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96.1-mph over the course of the season to 102.7-mph lately.

According to the weather report, the temperature and humidity for this matchup will be the 5th-most suitable for hitting on the slate today. Hitting from the opposite that Justin Verlander throws from, Luis Guillorme will have an edge in today's game. Luis Guillorme has a 96th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Bats such as Luis Guillorme with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Justin Verlander who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. In terms of plate discipline, Luis Guillorme's skill is quite good, sporting a 1.58 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 92nd percentile.