Houston @ Tampa Bay picks

The Tampa Bay Rays’ pitching staff as a whole has been solid this season, but the rotation isn’t the most consistent. Ryan Pepiot has emerged as their most reliable starter outside of Drew Rasmussen. The righty is 2-5 with a 3.93 ERA in nine outings, striking out 45 in 50 1/3 innings of work while walking 17. 

George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Extreme groundball bats like Victor Caratini usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Ryan Pepiot.. Victor Caratini has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 102.8-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal average of 91.5-mph.. Victor Caratini has recorded a .332 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, checking in at the 76th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brandon Lowe in the 88th percentile when estimating his home run talent.. Brandon Lowe is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in this matchup.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Brandon Lowe pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (37.4% — 95th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 88th percentile when assessing his batting average talent.. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jose Altuve's true offensive talent to be a .322, suggesting that he has been unlucky this year given the .041 difference between that mark and his actual .281 wOBA.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Over the last 14 days, Isaac Paredes has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 26.1° compared to his seasonal mark of 18.3°.. Isaac Paredes has notched a .348 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, placing in the 81st percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

When assessing his home run talent, Christian Walker ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Christian Walker is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Christian Walker has made significant strides with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 12.1% seasonal rate to 25% in the past 7 days.

Junior Caminero's batting average ability is projected to be in the 90th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Junior Caminero is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Junior Caminero will hold the platoon advantage against Colton Gordon in today's matchup.

Yainer Diaz's batting average ability is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Yainer Diaz is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Extreme flyball bats like Yainer Diaz tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Ryan Pepiot.

Junior Caminero's batting average ability is projected to be in the 90th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Junior Caminero is projected to hit 4th on the lineup card in this game.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Junior Caminero will hold the platoon advantage against Colton Gordon in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 88th percentile when assessing his batting average talent.. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jose Altuve's true offensive talent to be a .322, suggesting that he has been unlucky this year given the .041 difference between that mark and his actual .281 wOBA.

George M. Steinbrenner Field has the lowest fence height (on average) in the majors.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast predicts the 2nd-highest temperatures on the slate at 87°.. Chas McCormick has an 88th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.6%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards the league's 5th-shallowest RF fences in today's game.. Chas McCormick has been unlucky in regards to his home runs since the start of last season; his 9.8 HR per 600 plate appearances mark is a good deal lower than his 13.3 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.. Chas McCormick is in the 91st percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to best-produce home runs (20.3% rate since the start of last season).