Minnesota @ Houston Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brendan Rodgers in the 80th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Extreme groundball bats like Brendan Rodgers tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Chris Paddack. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Brendan Rodgers will hold that advantage in today's game. Brendan Rodgers has made significant gains with his Barrel%, improving his 5.7% rate last year to 15.9% this year.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Royce Lewis ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Royce Lewis is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today's game. Royce Lewis will have the handedness advantage against Colton Gordon in today's game. Royce Lewis pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.6% — 91st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Royce Lewis has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 12.2% seasonal rate to 18.5% over the last two weeks.

Hitting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Harrison Bader will have an advantage in today's matchup. Harrison Bader pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (37.8% — 96th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Harrison Bader has made significant gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 10.6% seasonal rate to 17.4% over the last 14 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 12.5°, Harrison Bader has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 37.5° angle in the past week's worth of games.

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations among all stadiums, which tends to lead to less offense. Hitting from the same side that Chris Paddack throws from, Yainer Diaz meets a tough challenge in today's game. Yainer Diaz hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 90th percentile) and will be challenged by MLB's 9th-deepest CF fences in today's game. In the last week's worth of games, Yainer Diaz's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 8.2% down to 0%. As it relates to plate discipline, Yainer Diaz's ability is quite bad, sporting a 4.68 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 12th percentile.

Brooks Lee pulls many of his flyballs (34.9% — 88th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Brooks Lee has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 93.2-mph average in the last week to his seasonal 88.7-mph EV. Brooks Lee's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 15.6% to 18.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 89th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card today. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.9% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jose Altuve will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Ryan Jeffers is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. In the league, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the 2nd-shallowest. Ryan Jeffers will have the handedness advantage against Colton Gordon in today's game. Ryan Jeffers has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.9-mph to 95.4-mph over the last week. In the last week's worth of games, Ryan Jeffers's 100% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 50.7%.

Carlos Correa's batting average ability is projected to be in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Carlos Correa is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today. In the league, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the 2nd-shallowest. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Carlos Correa will have an edge in today's game. Carlos Correa has made notable gains with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 6.5% seasonal rate to 14.3% over the past week.

Jake Meyers's batting average skill is projected to be in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jake Meyers has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (92% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Jake Meyers will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Over the last 14 days, Jake Meyers has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 7% to 12.9%.

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations among all stadiums, which tends to lead to less offense. Chris Paddack will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jeremy Pena in today's game. Jeremy Pena has made significant improvements with his Barrel% lately, upping his 6.8% seasonal rate to 11.8% in the past week's worth of games. Jeremy Pena's launch angle in recent games (2° in the past 14 days) is significantly lower than his 7.7° seasonal mark. Jeremy Pena's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased from last year to this one, falling from 12.3% to 8.8%.

Extreme groundball hitters like Victor Caratini are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Chris Paddack. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Victor Caratini will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Victor Caratini's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this year (13.1°) is quite a bit higher than his 7.5° angle last season. Over the past week, Victor Caratini's 38.5% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 14.2%.

Hitting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Jonah Bride will have an edge in today's matchup. Jonah Bride pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.1% — 82nd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willi Castro in the 79th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Willi Castro pulls many of his flyballs (34.1% — 82nd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Willi Castro's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved in recent games, rising from 47.7% on the season to 61.9% over the past 14 days. Placing in the 86th percentile, Willi Castro sports a .358 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year. Ranking in the 85th percentile, Willi Castro has put up a .322 BABIP since the start of last season.

HRs are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest among all major league parks. Jacob Melton will hold the platoon advantage against Chris Paddack in today's matchup. Extreme flyball batters like Jacob Melton generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Chris Paddack. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Jacob Melton will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Mauricio Dubon will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. In notching a .265 batting average since the start of last season, Mauricio Dubon is positioned in the 79th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Byron Buxton ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Byron Buxton is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in today's game. Byron Buxton will hold the platoon advantage over Colton Gordon today. Byron Buxton pulls a lot of his flyballs (42.4% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Byron Buxton has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 97.7-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal 91.3-mph EV.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ty France in the 86th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Ty France is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. In the league, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the 2nd-shallowest. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Ty France will have an edge in today's game. Over the last 14 days, Ty France's 62.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 48.1%.

Christian Walker is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Christian Walker pulls many of his flyballs (35.2% — 89th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. The Minnesota Twins infield defense projects as the worst among every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Christian Walker will hold that advantage in today's game. In the last week's worth of games, Christian Walker's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 13.6% up to 25%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt Wallner in the 92nd percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Matt Wallner has made notable gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 20.3% seasonal rate to 33.3% over the past two weeks. Matt Wallner has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.8-mph to 97.7-mph over the past 14 days. Matt Wallner's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better in recent games, increasing from 44.6% on the season to 66.7% in the past week. Placing in the 98th percentile, Matt Wallner has posted a .383 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) since the start of last season.