Athletics @ Houston picks

The market is going this way as Over 15.5 outs is as short as -104 at Pinnacle for Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. He will be making his fifth start of the season and although he has not gone more than 13 outs, he ran his pitch count up to 91 pitches last turn, so he should have no restrictions today. He gets a home start vs. a bad Athletics offense on a getaway day. He struck out eight batters seven days ago and his .342 BABIP might indicate some bad luck with balls in play. His walk rate is also three points higher than his career average while his K% should start to trend upwards. It’s a great spot on a low total in a good matchup. THE BAT is projecting 16.3 outs on just 88 pitches, which might even be conservative.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lawrence Butler in the 88th percentile when it comes to his home run talent.. Lawrence Butler is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Lawrence Butler will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Lance McCullers Jr. in today's matchup.. Lawrence Butler has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Brent Rooker as baseball's 10th-best home run batter.. Brent Rooker is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Extreme flyball batters like Brent Rooker generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Lance McCullers Jr... This year, Brent Rooker's 13.5% Barrel%, an advanced standard for measuring power, places him in the 83rd percentile among his peers.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 88th percentile when assessing his batting average talent.. Jose Altuve is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Jose Altuve pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.8% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.. Jose Altuve will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this game.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Isaac Paredes pulls many of his flyballs (46.3% — 100th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.. Extreme groundball batters like Isaac Paredes tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Luis Severino.. Isaac Paredes will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Brent Rooker as baseball's 10th-best home run batter.. Brent Rooker is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Extreme flyball batters like Brent Rooker generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Lance McCullers Jr... This year, Brent Rooker's 13.5% Barrel%, an advanced standard for measuring power, places him in the 83rd percentile among his peers.

Minute Maid Park has the least fair ground in Major League Baseball — generally good for home runs.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. C.J. Alexander will have the handedness advantage against Lance McCullers Jr. in today's game.. C.J. Alexander's 20% Barrel% (an advanced metric to assess power) ranks in the 98th percentile since the start of last season.. When it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34° (the launch angle range that tends to best-produce home runs), C.J. Alexander and his 40% rank in the 100th percentile since the start of last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) ranks Brent Rooker as baseball's 10th-best home run batter.. Brent Rooker is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this matchup.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Extreme flyball batters like Brent Rooker generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Lance McCullers Jr... This year, Brent Rooker's 13.5% Barrel%, an advanced standard for measuring power, places him in the 83rd percentile among his peers.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this game.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Isaac Paredes pulls many of his flyballs (46.3% — 100th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.. Extreme groundball batters like Isaac Paredes tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Luis Severino.. Isaac Paredes will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

When it comes to his home run ability, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Shea Langeliers pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.8% — 91st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. Shea Langeliers's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 39.1% to 46.4%.. Shea Langeliers's footspeed has increased this year. His 27.76 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 28.36 ft/sec now.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lawrence Butler in the 88th percentile when it comes to his home run talent.. Lawrence Butler is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game.. The Minute Maid Park roof figures to be closed today, making conditions in this game 5° hotter than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for offense.. Lawrence Butler will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Lance McCullers Jr. in today's matchup.. Lawrence Butler has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.