Minnesota @ Houston Picks & Props

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Matt Wallner ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Matt Wallner is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this game. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Matt Wallner will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Hitters such as Matt Wallner with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Hunter Brown who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Matt Wallner has made significant improvements with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 20.3% seasonal rate to 33.3% in the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ty France in the 86th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. Ty France's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, going from 48.1% on the season to 62.7% over the past two weeks. Ty France has been unlucky in regards to his batting average this year; his .277 rate is considerably lower than his .296 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Ranking in the 75th percentile, Ty France has put up a .274 batting average this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Correa in the 92nd percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Carlos Correa is penciled in 5th in the batting order today. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. In the last week's worth of games, Carlos Correa's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 6.5% up to 14.3%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Byron Buxton in the 94th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Byron Buxton is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in today's game. Byron Buxton pulls a lot of his flyballs (42.4% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Extreme flyball bats like Byron Buxton are generally more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Byron Buxton has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 97.7-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal 91.3-mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Trevor Larnach in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Trevor Larnach is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Home runs are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest among all major league stadiums. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Trevor Larnach will have an edge in today's matchup. Trevor Larnach's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased of late, increasing from 47.8% on the season to 53.7% over the last 14 days.

As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Brooks Lee will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his good side against Hunter Brown today. Brooks Lee has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 93.2-mph average over the last week to his seasonal 88.7-mph EV. Compared to last year, Brooks Lee has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 15.6% to 18.8% this season.

Victor Caratini is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Extreme groundball batters like Victor Caratini tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Joe Ryan. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Victor Caratini will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Last year, Victor Caratini had an average launch angle of 7.5° on his hardest-hit balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 13.1°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willi Castro in the 79th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Willi Castro has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (70% of the time), but he is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order today. The switch-hitting Willi Castro will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his better side (0) today against Hunter Brown. In the past two weeks, Willi Castro's 61.9% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 47.7%. Willi Castro has notched a .322 BABIP since the start of last season, grading out in the 85th percentile.

Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Mauricio Dubon will hold that advantage today. In notching a .265 batting average since the start of last season, Mauricio Dubon is ranked in the 79th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 97th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Jeremy Pena is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this game. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. Hitters such as Jeremy Pena with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Joe Ryan who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins.

The 2nd-shallowest LF fences in the league are found in Minute Maid Park. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.233) provides evidence that Christian Vazquez has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .217 actual batting average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 82nd percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Jake Meyers will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Jake Meyers has made significant strides with his Barrel% recently, upping his 7% seasonal rate to 12.9% in the last two weeks. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 44.4% to 51.7%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brendan Rodgers in the 80th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Extreme groundball hitters like Brendan Rodgers tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Joe Ryan. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Brendan Rodgers will hold the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Brendan Rodgers has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel%, improving his 5.7% rate last season to 15.9% this year.

As it relates to his batting average skill, Yainer Diaz is projected as the 20th-best hitter in MLB by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yainer Diaz is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Yainer Diaz will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.6-mph to 95.5-mph over the past two weeks.

Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Kody Clemens will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Kody Clemens has made substantial strides with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 13% seasonal rate to 21.4% in the past week's worth of games. Kody Clemens has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 96.4-mph average to last season's 93.8-mph mark. Compared to his seasonal average of 17.2°, Kody Clemens has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 22.1° figure over the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 89th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Jose Altuve pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.9% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Jose Altuve will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Christian Walker is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Christian Walker pulls many of his flyballs (35.2% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Out of every team in action today, the 3rd-worst infield defense belongs to the Minnesota Twins. Christian Walker will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Christian Walker has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 13.6% seasonal rate to 25% in the past 7 days.

Shay Whitcomb has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.