Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Globe Life Field as the worst venue in the league for righty batting average. Globe Life Field has the 7th-deepest CF fences among all major league parks. Jack Leiter will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yainer Diaz today. Playing on the road typically lowers hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Yainer Diaz today. In terms of plate discipline, Yainer Diaz's talent is quite bad, posting a 6.78 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 4th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Globe Life Field as the worst venue in the league for righty batting average. Globe Life Field has the 7th-deepest CF fences among all major league parks. Batting from the same side that Jack Leiter throws from, Jeremy Pena faces a tough challenge in today's game. Playing on the road generally reduces hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Jeremy Pena in today's game. Jeremy Pena's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased this year; his 91.3-mph average last season has fallen off to 88.6-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brendan Rodgers in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Extreme groundball batters like Brendan Rodgers tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Jack Leiter. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Brendan Rodgers has made significant improvements with his Barrel%, upping his 5.7% rate last year to 13.5% this year. In the last two weeks, Brendan Rodgers's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 90.4-mph over the course of the season to 98.5-mph in recent games.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Jake Burger ranks in the 91st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Hitting from the same side that Ryan Gusto throws from, Jake Burger has a tough challenge in today's matchup. Jake Burger will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Jake Burger has been unlucky this year, notching a .275 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .340 — a .065 disparity.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Wyatt Langford ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Wyatt Langford is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order today. Ryan Gusto will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Wyatt Langford today. Wyatt Langford will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. In the past week's worth of games, Wyatt Langford's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 13.2% up to 35.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 88th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers.

Victor Caratini is projected to hit 5th in the lineup today. Hitters such as Victor Caratini with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Jack Leiter who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Victor Caratini has made significant strides with his Barrel%, upping his 5.6% rate last season to 10.9% this year. Last year, Victor Caratini had an average launch angle of 7.5° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 14.5°.

The switch-hitting Jonah Heim will be at a disadvantage batting from his weak side (0) today against Ryan Gusto Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Adolis Garcia is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in today's game. Ryan Gusto will have the handedness advantage against Adolis Garcia in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Adolis Garcia will hold that advantage in today's game. There has been a significant improvement in Adolis Garcia's launch angle from last year's 14.8° to 21.8° this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 91st percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Josh Jung has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (71% of the time), but he is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup today. Ryan Gusto will hold the platoon advantage over Josh Jung today. Josh Jung will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Over the last 7 days, Josh Jung's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96.1-mph over the course of the season to 101.7-mph of late.

Sam Haggerty is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card today. As a switch-hitter who is weaker from the 0 side of the plate, Sam Haggerty will be at a disadvantage batting from his bad side against Ryan Gusto in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Sam Haggerty will hold that advantage in today's game.

Ryan Gusto will have the handedness advantage over Kyle Higashioka today. Typically, bats like Kyle Higashioka who hit a lot of flyballs usually hit worse when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Ryan Gusto. Kyle Higashioka will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 76th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Sporting a .299 batting average this year, Jake Meyers finds himself in the 88th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zachary Dezenzo in the 95th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Zachary Dezenzo has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (100% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this game. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Zachary Dezenzo's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased of late, going from 61.2% on the season to 75% in the past week. In the past two weeks, Zachary Dezenzo's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 16.3% up to 19%.

Christian Walker is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Christian Walker has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 95.3-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 90.8-mph mark. Christian Walker's launch angle of late (22.5° over the past 14 days) is considerably better than his 14.9° seasonal mark. Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, putting up a .284 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .330 — a .046 gap.

Marcus Semien is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in today's game. Ryan Gusto will have the handedness advantage against Marcus Semien in today's game. Typically, hitters like Marcus Semien who hit a lot of groundballs tend to perform worse when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of groundballs such as Ryan Gusto. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Marcus Semien will hold that advantage today. Marcus Semien has made big gains with his Barrel% recently, upping his 8.7% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the past week's worth of games.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game. Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Over the past 14 days, Isaac Paredes has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 28.5° compared to his seasonal mark of 17.9°. Based on Statcast data, Isaac Paredes grades out in the 83rd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year at .349. Placing in the 80th percentile, Isaac Paredes sits with a .363 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.

Ryan Gusto will hold the platoon advantage against Ezequiel Duran today. Ezequiel Duran will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Among every team on the slate today, the 5th-worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. With a .270 batting average since the start of last season, Mauricio Dubon has performed in the 82nd percentile.