Houston @ Chicago picks

The Astros are struggling at the dish and plate a run in the opening frame just 16.7% of the time — the worst number in the majors. The White Sox are second in the majors in run first inning percentage (41.9%) which is shocking when you consider that they are dead-last in OPS (.621). There's going to be major regression in that RFI number over the rest of the year. Today, they are facing Framber Valdez (4.00 ERA). Valdez pitched to a 3.06 ERA with three Top-10 Cy Young finishes over the last three years which suggests positive regression. Chicago has been even worse against lefties like Valdez, posting an OPS of .569. 

Miguel Vargas is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers.. Miguel Vargas will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez today.. Extreme flyball bats like Miguel Vargas generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Framber Valdez.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Andrew Vaughn ranks in the 86th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Andrew Vaughn is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Andrew Vaughn will have the upper hand in today's game.. Andrew Vaughn has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his home run skill.. Christian Walker is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Christian Walker pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.4% — 76th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. Over the past 7 days, Christian Walker's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.7% up to 20%.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best batter in the game.. Yordan Alvarez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today.. The #3 field in the game for boosting offensive stats to left-handed batters, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Guaranteed Rate Field.. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers.. Hitting from the opposite that Jonathan Cannon throws from, Yordan Alvarez will have the upper hand in today's matchup.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Isaac Paredes pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (46% — 100th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. Isaac Paredes's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 39.7% to 49.4%.. In the last week's worth of games, Isaac Paredes's 66.7% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 49.4%.

Miguel Vargas is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers.. Miguel Vargas will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez today.. Extreme flyball bats like Miguel Vargas generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Framber Valdez.

Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers.. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Brooks Baldwin will hold that advantage in today's matchup.. Brooks Baldwin has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 93.5-mph average to last year's 90.6-mph average.. Brooks Baldwin's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, rising from 48% on the season to 58.3% in the past week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 96th percentile when assessing his batting average skill.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Yainer Diaz has a 79th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.9%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences today.. Extreme flyball batters like Yainer Diaz usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Jonathan Cannon.. Yainer Diaz has made substantial strides with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 9.7% seasonal rate to 15.4% over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 89th percentile when assessing his batting average talent.. Jose Altuve is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this game.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (41.1% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. In the last 7 days, Jose Altuve's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.1-mph over the course of the season to 98-mph recently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 93rd percentile as it relates to his home run skill.. Christian Walker is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup.. Guaranteed Rate Field ranks as the #3 stadium in baseball for overall right-handed offense, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).. Christian Walker pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.4% — 76th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 5th-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. Over the past 7 days, Christian Walker's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.7% up to 20%.