Houston @ Chicago props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 95th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jeremy Pena is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this game. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers. Extreme groundball hitters like Jeremy Pena tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jonathan Cannon. Jeremy Pena has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 102.4-mph average over the last week to his seasonal EV of 89.9-mph.

Brendan Rodgers's BABIP ability is projected in the 77th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brendan Rodgers has an 86th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35%) and will have a big advantage hitting them in the direction of MLB's 9th-shallowest RF fences in today's matchup. Extreme flyball hitters like Brendan Rodgers generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Jonathan Cannon. Brendan Rodgers has made substantial gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 5.7% rate last year to 11.4% this year. Placing in the 83rd percentile, Brendan Rodgers has notched a .318 BABIP since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Edgar Quero in the 84th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Edgar Quero is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers. The switch-hitting Edgar Quero will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side (0) today against Framber Valdez. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Edgar Quero will hold that advantage today.

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. 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. Yainer Diaz has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 101-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal EV of 90.9-mph.

Christian Walker is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. 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%. Christian Walker has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 93.6-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 90.9-mph figure. Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, putting up a .281 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .331 — a .050 disparity.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Robert Jr. in the 88th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability. Luis Robert Jr. is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup today. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers. Luis Robert Jr. will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez today. Luis Robert Jr. will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats.

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. 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. Checking in at the 85th percentile, Jose Altuve has notched a .344 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) since the start of last season.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers. As it relates to his batting average, Jake Meyers has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season. His .224 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .259.

Miguel Vargas is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game. 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. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Miguel Vargas will hold that advantage today.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game. 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%. In terms of plate discipline, Isaac Paredes's skill is quite good, posting a 1.34 K/BB rate since the start of last season while placing in in the 96th percentile.

Chase Meidroth is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers. Chase Meidroth will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Chase Meidroth will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

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. 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. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Andrew Vaughn will hold that advantage in today's game.

Guaranteed Rate Field has the 4th-smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for dingers. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Bobby Dalbec will have an edge in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Bobby Dalbec will hold that advantage in today's game. Ranking in the 84th percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.56 ft/sec since the start of last season, Bobby Dalbec is very athletic.

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. 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. This season, Yordan Alvarez has experienced a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 96.1 mph compared to last year's 93.9 mph mark.

Lenyn Sosa will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez in today's matchup. Lenyn Sosa has a 91st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.7%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them out towards baseball's 9th-shallowest RF fences today. Lenyn Sosa will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Lenyn Sosa has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.2-mph to 93.4-mph in the past 7 days. Lenyn Sosa's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, rising from 54.5% on the season to 65.3% in the past two weeks.

Mauricio Dubon has gone over 0.5 in 8 of his last 10 games.