Houston @ Athletics Picks & Props

The 6th-deepest LF dimensions among all major league parks are found in Sutter Health Park. Hitting from the same side that Luis Severino throws from, Jeremy Pena will be at a disadvantage in today's game. Typically, hitters like Jeremy Pena who hit a lot of flyballs are generally less successful when facing pitchers who also induce a lot of flyballs such as Luis Severino. The Athletics infield defense projects as the 4th-best among all the teams playing today. Playing on the road generally diminishes hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Jeremy Pena today.

Luis Severino will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jose Altuve today. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41.2% — 99th percentile) and will be challenged by the game's 6th-deepest LF fences today. The Athletics infield defense projects as the 4th-best among all the teams playing today. Playing on the road generally lowers batter metrics across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Jose Altuve in today's game. As it relates to his batting average, Jose Altuve has been very fortunate this year. His .270 rate has been inflated compared to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .239.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Lawrence Butler ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lawrence Butler is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Lawrence Butler will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Luis Severino will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yainer Diaz in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39% — 88th percentile) but may find it hard to clear baseball's 11th-deepest CF fences today. The Athletics infield defense projects as the 4th-best among all the teams playing today. Playing on the road generally weakens batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Yainer Diaz today. Compared to his seasonal angle of 12.5°, Yainer Diaz has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (5.4°) in the last 14 days.

The 6th-deepest LF dimensions among all major league parks are found in Sutter Health Park. Extreme groundball bats like Jacob Wilson generally hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Framber Valdez. Jacob Wilson's average exit velocity has declined recently; his 86.1-mph seasonal mark has lowered to 82.3-mph over the last week. Jacob Wilson has been cold lately, posting a 0% Barrel% (an advanced standard to study power) over the past week. Despite posting a .390 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Jacob Wilson has experienced some positive variance given the .078 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .312.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Tyler Soderstrom ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Tyler Soderstrom is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in today's game. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Tyler Soderstrom will hold that advantage today.

The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Nicholas Kurtz will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Nicholas Kurtz has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.8-mph to 95.6-mph over the past 14 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 14.6°, Nicholas Kurtz has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 35.3° figure in the last week.

Isaac Paredes is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card today. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Extreme groundball hitters like Isaac Paredes tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Luis Severino. Isaac Paredes has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 87.2-mph average to last season's 85-mph average.

The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Austin Wynns will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez today. Austin Wynns will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Austin Wynns has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 17.6% seasonal rate to 40% in the past week's worth of games.

Christian Walker is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Compared to his seasonal average of 16.8°, Christian Walker has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 23.9° angle over the past 14 days. Over the last 14 days, Christian Walker's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 13.4% up to 17.2%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 84th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Jake Meyers has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 92.2-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 88.7-mph figure. Jake Meyers'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, going from 44.4% to 51.1%.

Luis Urias is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 98% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Luis Urias will hold the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Luis Urias will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Brent Rooker projects as the 15th-best hitter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brent Rooker is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Brent Rooker will hold the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez today.

Max Schuemann has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (95% of the time), but he is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Max Schuemann will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez in today's matchup. Max Schuemann will possess the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.

Max Muncy is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in this game. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Max Muncy will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez today. Max Muncy will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats.

The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gio Urshela in the 87th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Gio Urshela will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez today. Gio Urshela will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Willie MacIver will have an edge in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Willie MacIver will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the past two weeks, Willie MacIver has been successful in optimizing the launch angle of his hardest hit balls to hit for power, notching an 18° angle.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 84th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Mauricio Dubon's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, going from 38.2% on the season to 57.1% in the past week's worth of games. When it comes to his batting average, Mauricio Dubon has been unlucky this year. His .252 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .278.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Denzel Clarke as the 10th-best batter in the majors when assessing his BABIP talent. The weather forecast projects temperatures in this matchup to reach the highest level of all games on the slate today at 94°, which is highly linked to an increase in offense (and a reduction in strikeouts). The wind projects to be blowing out to RF at 8.1-mph in this contest, the 3rd-most-favorable of the day for hitters. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Denzel Clarke will have an advantage today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Denzel Clarke will hold that advantage in today's game.