Houston @ Pittsburgh Picks & Props

Michael Burrows will have the handedness advantage over Jose Altuve in today's matchup. In today's matchup, Jose Altuve is at a disadvantage facing the league's 11th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 41.4% rate (99th percentile). Out of all the teams in action today, the strongest infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing on the road generally diminishes batter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Jose Altuve in today's game. In terms of his batting average, Jose Altuve has experienced some positive variance this year. His .263 BA has been significantly inflated relative to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .230.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa's batting average ability is projected to be in the 90th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Batters such as Isiah Kiner-Falefa with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Ryan Gusto who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.

Ke'Bryan Hayes is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Extreme groundball bats like Ke'Bryan Hayes usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Ryan Gusto.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Extreme flyball batters like Tommy Pham tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Ryan Gusto. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Tommy Pham will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Home runs are generally less common at stadiums with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 7th-deepest among all parks. Michael Burrows will hold the platoon advantage against Yainer Diaz in today's matchup. Out of all the teams in action today, the strongest infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing on the road generally diminishes hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Yainer Diaz today. Posting a 4.52 K/BB rate this year, Yainer Diaz has shown bad plate discipline, grading out in the 14th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 87th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.

PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Adam Frazier will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Ryan Gusto in today's game. Adam Frazier will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Home runs are generally less common at stadiums with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 7th-deepest among all parks. Hitting from the same side that Michael Burrows throws from, Jeremy Pena will be in a tough position in today's matchup. Out of all the teams in action today, the strongest infield defense is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jeremy Pena will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today's matchup. Jeremy Pena's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has declined from last season to this one, decreasing from 12.3% to 8.5%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Henry Davis will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last 7 days, Henry Davis's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.3% up to 27.3%.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Oneil Cruz ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game. PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 79th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, increasing from 44.4% to 51.4%.

PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Endy Rodriguez will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Alexander Canario is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Alexander Canario will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.

PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Extreme flyball hitters like Victor Caratini tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Michael Burrows. Victor Caratini has notched a .333 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, grading out in the 77th percentile.

Bryan Reynolds's BABIP ability is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Bryan Reynolds is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup. PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Spencer Horwitz in the 79th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Spencer Horwitz is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this game. PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.

Christian Walker is penciled in 4th in the lineup in today's game. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Christian Walker's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better in recent games, rising from 17.5% on the season to 25% over the past 7 days.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks PNC Park as the 5th-best park in MLB for RHB base hits. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Pittsburgh's 3rd-worst outfield defense of the day creates a favorable matchup for Isaac Paredes, who tends to hit a lot of flyballs.

PNC Park projects as the #5 field in Major League Baseball for LHB base hits, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT). PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°. Jacob Melton will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Michael Burrows in today's game. Extreme flyball batters like Jacob Melton usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Michael Burrows.