Los Angeles @ Houston Picks & Props

Minute Maid Park profiles as the #21 venue in Major League Baseball for right-handed base hits, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations among all major league stadiums, which tends to lead to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Yainer Diaz has a 78th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.3%) but may find it hard to clear baseball's 9th-deepest RF fences today. Among every team today, the strongest infield defense belongs to the Los Angeles Angels.

Minute Maid Park profiles as the #21 venue in Major League Baseball for right-handed base hits, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations among all major league stadiums, which tends to lead to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this contest -7° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Among every team today, the strongest infield defense belongs to the Los Angeles Angels. Over the past week, Jose Altuve's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 6.6% down to 0%.

Minute Maid Park profiles as the #21 venue in Major League Baseball for right-handed base hits, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations among all major league stadiums, which tends to lead to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate — favorable for pitching. Among every team today, the strongest infield defense belongs to the Los Angeles Angels. Jeremy Pena has negatively regressed with his Barrel% of late; his 5.7% seasonal rate has fallen off to 0% in the last week's worth of games.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Logan O'Hoppe ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Logan O'Hoppe is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. Logan O'Hoppe will hold the platoon advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's game. Over the past two weeks, Logan O'Hoppe's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.7-mph over the course of the season to 97.6-mph recently. Over the past two weeks, Logan O'Hoppe's 31.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 18.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Schanuel in the 85th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Nolan Schanuel is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Dingers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all parks. Nolan Schanuel's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, increasing from 47.1% on the season to 52.9% over the past 14 days. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.273) may lead us to conclude that Nolan Schanuel has suffered from bad luck this year with his .253 actual batting average.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Eric Wagaman will hold the platoon advantage over Yusei Kikuchi in today's matchup. In the past week's worth of games, Eric Wagaman has displayed impressive power, recording a an 18.8% Barrel% (a reliable standard to evaluate power). Eric Wagaman has been hot in recent games, notching a 96.4-mph average exit velocity in the last week. In the past week, Eric Wagaman's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 31.3% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 12th-best batter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. Dingers are generally more common at venues with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all parks. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage in today's game. Kyle Tucker has seen a big gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 98.4-mph average in the last week to his seasonal average of 94.2-mph.

Brandon Drury is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 56% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Batting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Brandon Drury will have the upper hand in today's game. Brandon Drury has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .166 rate is a fair amount lower than his .222 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 Zach Neto in the 84th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Zach Neto is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 70% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Batting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Zach Neto will have an edge in today's matchup. Zach Neto pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.3% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Taylor Ward ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Taylor Ward is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card today. Hitting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Taylor Ward will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Barrel% of Taylor Ward has significantly improved, with an increase from 8.3% last year to 13.7% this season. Taylor Ward's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 17.8% to 22.5%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 84th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Mauricio Dubon will hold the platoon advantage over Jose Suarez in today's game. Mauricio Dubon will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. With a .270 batting average this year, Mauricio Dubon grades out in the 80th percentile.

Jon Singleton will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best batter in MLB. Yordan Alvarez is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage in today's game. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Yordan Alvarez's 52.4% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 44.2%. Using Statcast metrics, Yordan Alvarez ranks in the 98th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .388.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Home field advantage generally improves batter stats across the board, and Victor Caratini will hold that advantage today. In notching a .263 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) this year , Victor Caratini has performed in the 80th percentile. Grading out in the 79th percentile, Victor Caratini has put up a .328 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year. With a .277 batting average this year, Victor Caratini finds himself in the 87th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 75th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Hitting from the opposite that Jose Suarez throws from, Jake Meyers will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Jake Meyers will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Jake Meyers has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 29.1° compared to his seasonal mark of 12°.

Jordyn Adams will hold the platoon advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's game. Jordyn Adams has been zeroed in on the ideal launch angle for base hits in recent games, striking balls between -4° and 26° 52.9% of the time in the past 14 days.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all major league parks. Jack Lopez will have the handedness advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's matchup. Jack Lopez's launch angle recently (32.5° over the last week) is a considerable increase over his 12.6° seasonal angle.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Alex Bregman ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is penciled in 1st in the batting order today. Alex Bregman will hold the platoon advantage against Jose Suarez in today's matchup. Alex Bregman pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.4% — 83rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage in today's game.

Mickey Moniak has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.