Houston @ Cleveland Picks & Props

The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 4th-best among all the teams on the slate today. In the past 7 days, Jose Ramirez's exit velocity on flyballs has fallen from his seasonal figure of 91 mph to 83.7 mph. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.275) suggests that Jose Ramirez has been lucky this year with his .329 actual batting average.

This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Tanner Bibee throws from, Jacob Melton will have an advantage today. Hitters such as Jacob Melton with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Tanner Bibee who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.

This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Hitters such as Bo Naylor with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Brandon Walter who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Bo Naylor will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. There has been a significant improvement in Bo Naylor's launch angle from last season's 19.5° to 25.4° this season.

Victor Caratini is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today's game. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Extreme flyball bats like Victor Caratini are generally more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Tanner Bibee. Victor Caratini has compiled a .272 batting average since the start of last season, ranking in the 84th percentile.

Jake Meyers's batting average talent is projected to be in the 79th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jake Meyers is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 93% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 44.4% to 51.6%.

Daniel Schneemann has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (77% of the time), but he is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats across the board, and Daniel Schneemann will hold that advantage today. Daniel Schneemann has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 96.5-mph average to last season's 90.5-mph EV.

Carlos Santana is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. As a switch-hitter who performs better from the 0 side of the dish, Carlos Santana will have the advantage of batting from from his good side against a pitcher with a large platoon split (Brandon Walter) today. Carlos Santana pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.3% — 98th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gabriel Arias in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Gabriel Arias will hold the platoon advantage over Brandon Walter in today's game... and even more favorably, Walter has a large platoon split. Gabriel Arias has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.8%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the game's 6th-shallowest RF fences today.

Tanner Bibee will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jeremy Pena today. The Cleveland Guardians infield defense projects as the 3rd-best out of all the teams today. Jeremy Pena will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today. Jeremy Pena's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last year to this one, decreasing from 12.3% to 9%. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jeremy Pena's true offensive talent to be a .326, indicating that he has been lucky this year given the .052 deviation between that mark and his actual .378 wOBA.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this game. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Isaac Paredes pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (46.9% — 100th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. In the last week, Isaac Paredes's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 6.2% up to 23.1%.

Jose Altuve's batting average ability is projected to be in the 88th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in today's game. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 82nd percentile when estimating his batting average ability. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Mauricio Dubon has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.8%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 6th-shallowest RF fences today. In notching a .269 batting average since the start of last season, Mauricio Dubon grades out in the 82nd percentile.

Yainer Diaz's batting average talent is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yainer Diaz is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Yainer Diaz has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.4-mph to 97.3-mph in the last 14 days.

Christian Walker is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Christian Walker pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.3% — 90th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Despite posting a .278 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Christian Walker has suffered from bad luck given the .050 deviation between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .328.

David Fry is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in today's game. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. David Fry will have the handedness advantage against Brandon Walter in today's matchup... and even more favorably, Walter has a large platoon split. David Fry pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.1% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

Angel Martinez is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 66% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. As a switch-hitter who bats better from the 0 side of the plate, Angel Martinez will get to bat from his better side against a pitcher with a large platoon split (Brandon Walter) in today's game. Angel Martinez pulls many of his flyballs (36.5% — 94th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Given Brandon Walter's large platoon split, Will Wilson will have a huge advantage hitting from the opposite side of the dish in this game. Will Wilson will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Shay Whitcomb has notched a .329 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, ranking in the 82nd percentile for offensive skills according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. By putting up a .261 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season , Shay Whitcomb finds himself in the 79th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Steven Kwan in the 95th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Steven Kwan is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Steven Kwan has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.2%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 3rd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

This game is forecasted to have the 2nd-most humidity of all games today (84%); there is a small yet noteworthy connection with increased offense (and decreased strikeouts) when the weather is humid. The wind projects to be blowing out to LF at 10.4-mph in this match-up, the 4th-most-favorable of the day for hitters. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jhonkensy Noel's true offensive ability to be a .291, suggesting that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .116 disparity between that figure and his actual .175 wOBA.