Cincinnati @ Houston props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt McLain in the 94th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Matt McLain is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Matt McLain has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.9-mph to 96.5-mph in the past week's worth of games. Matt McLain's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, rising from 43.5% on the season to 53.3% in the past two weeks' worth of games. Despite posting a .264 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Matt McLain has been unlucky given the .067 gap between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .331.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today. Isaac Paredes pulls a lot of his flyballs (45.5% — 100th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Extreme flyball batters like Isaac Paredes generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Brady Singer. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Isaac Paredes will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats.

The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics across the board, and Victor Caratini will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Victor Caratini's launch angle in recent games (26.5° in the past week's worth of games) is quite a bit higher than his 15.7° seasonal figure. Ranking in the 80th percentile, Victor Caratini sports a .267 batting average since the start of last season.

TJ Friedl is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in today's game. TJ Friedl will hold the platoon advantage over Lance McCullers Jr. in today's matchup. In the last week's worth of games, TJ Friedl's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 88.1-mph over the course of the season to 97.8-mph lately. Compared to last season, TJ Friedl has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 39.6% to 48.2% this season. TJ Friedl's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, going from 48.2% on the season to 71.4% in the last week.

Jose Altuve's batting average ability is projected to be in the 90th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this game. Jose Altuve pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.7% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and Jose Altuve will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zachary Dezenzo in the 95th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest left field dimensions among all stadiums. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Zachary Dezenzo will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Zachary Dezenzo has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 14.3% seasonal rate to 33.3% in the last week's worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Elly De La Cruz as the best batter in MLB as it relates to his BABIP ability. Elly De La Cruz is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. The switch-hitting Elly De La Cruz will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Lance McCullers Jr.. Elly De La Cruz has put up a .350 BABIP since the start of last season, placing in the 97th percentile.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest left field dimensions among all stadiums. In the past week, Rece Hinds has displayed impressive power, recording a a 33.3% Barrel% (a reliable metric to assess power). Rece Hinds has been hot recently, notching a 99.4-mph average exit velocity in the last week. In the past week's worth of games, Rece Hinds's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 66.7% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°. Utilizing Statcast metrics, Rece Hinds is in the 91st percentile for offensive skills via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .346.

Austin Hays is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Austin Hays pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.7% — 79th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Austin Hays has made big strides with his Barrel%, bettering his 6.8% rate last year to 20.5% this season. Austin Hays has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 96.7-mph average to last season's 91.6-mph figure. Austin Hays's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 11.8% to 20.5%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 97th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Yainer Diaz is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Yainer Diaz will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 100.3-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal figure of 91.9-mph.

Spencer Steer pulls many of his flyballs (36.1% — 92nd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Compared to his seasonal average of 15.8°, Spencer Steer has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 26.2° angle in the last 7 days. Spencer Steer has been unlucky this year, posting a .248 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .315 — a .067 deviation. In terms of plate discipline, Spencer Steer's skill is quite impressive, posting a 2.06 K/BB rate since the start of last season while ranking in in the 75th percentile.

Jake Meyers's batting average skill is projected to be in the 76th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jake Meyers has made significant strides with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 6.2% seasonal rate to 18.8% over the last week. Jake Meyers has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.2-mph to 94.5-mph over the last week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brendan Rodgers in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Brendan Rodgers will hold that advantage today. Brendan Rodgers has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 15.6% seasonal rate to 37.5% in the past week. Brendan Rodgers has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.1-mph to 97.5-mph in the last week's worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Santiago Espinal in the 82nd percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Santiago Espinal is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Santiago Espinal has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 86.9-mph to 92.8-mph over the last 14 days. Santiago Espinal's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, rising from 14.3% to 17.9%. In the past two weeks, Santiago Espinal's 63.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 42.9%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Stephenson in the 87th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Tyler Stephenson has been hot recently, compiling a a 25% Barrel% (a reliable stat to measure power) in the past week. Over the past 14 days, Tyler Stephenson has averaged an impressive 97.5-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced measure of home run potential. In the past 14 days, Tyler Stephenson's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 36.4% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 95th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jeremy Pena is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card today. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest left field dimensions among all stadiums. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Jeremy Pena will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gavin Lux in the 87th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Gavin Lux is penciled in 4th in the lineup in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Lance McCullers Jr. throws from, Gavin Lux will have the upper hand in today's game. Gavin Lux has put up a .264 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, ranking in the 76th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Gavin Lux grades out in the 98th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between -4° and 26°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce base hits (49.6% rate since the start of last season).

Christian Walker is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Christian Walker pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.2% — 84th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Cincinnati Reds outfield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Christian Walker will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Compared to his seasonal average of 11.6°, Christian Walker has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 26.2° angle in the last week's worth of games.

Jose Trevino has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.

Chas McCormick has gone over 0.5 in 4 of his last 10 games.