Chicago @ Houston picks

The 31-year-old is on pace for one of the best statistical seasons of his career, and his numbers are only improving as the year wears on. Valdez owns a 2.88 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and his 2.7 WAR ranks tied for ninth in the American League.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 7th-best batter in MLB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Extreme groundball bats like Kyle Tucker generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez.. Kyle Tucker's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, increasing from 20.6% on the season to 32.3% over the last two weeks.. Kyle Tucker has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his home runs this year; his 26.6 HR per 600 plate appearances rate is deflated compared to his 31.9 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Seiya Suzuki ranks as the 18th-best batter in MLB.. Seiya Suzuki is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order today.. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Seiya Suzuki will have the upper hand today.. Bats such as Seiya Suzuki with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Framber Valdez who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum.. Seiya Suzuki has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 11.5% rate last season to 19% this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dansby Swanson in the 87th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent.. Dansby Swanson is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup.. Dansby Swanson will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez in today's matchup.. Dansby Swanson's launch angle this season (14.4°) is significantly better than his 10.2° mark last year.. Dansby Swanson has been unlucky this year, putting up a .305 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .331 — a .026 difference.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 83rd percentile when assessing his batting average talent.. Jake Meyers is penciled in 2nd in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 82% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year.. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's matchup.. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 44.4% to 51.3%.. With a .373 BABIP this year, Jake Meyers grades out in the 99th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 93rd percentile when estimating his home run talent.. Christian Walker pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.1% — 82nd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. Christian Walker will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats.. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Christian Walker's true offensive ability to be a .328, suggesting that he has been unlucky this year given the .046 deviation between that mark and his actual .282 wOBA.

When it comes to his home run ability, Pete Crow-Armstrong ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Pete Crow-Armstrong is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in today's game.. Pete Crow-Armstrong has made significant gains with his Barrel%, improving his 8% rate last season to 13.6% this year.. Pete Crow-Armstrong's launch angle this year (22.8°) is a significant increase over his 16.7° mark last season.. Checking in at the 92nd percentile, Pete Crow-Armstrong sits with a .371 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 7th-best batter in MLB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Extreme groundball bats like Kyle Tucker generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez.. Kyle Tucker's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, increasing from 20.6% on the season to 32.3% over the last two weeks.. Kyle Tucker has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his home runs this year; his 26.6 HR per 600 plate appearances rate is deflated compared to his 31.9 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 7th-best batter in MLB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Extreme groundball bats like Kyle Tucker generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez.. Kyle Tucker's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, increasing from 20.6% on the season to 32.3% over the last two weeks.. Kyle Tucker has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his home runs this year; his 26.6 HR per 600 plate appearances rate is deflated compared to his 31.9 Expected HR/600, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions in the league are found in Minute Maid Park.. Jameson Taillon will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team in today's matchup.. Jameson Taillon gave up a monstrous 6 earned runs in his last game started.. Jameson Taillon's cutter percentage has decreased by 12.7% from last year to this one (25% to 12.3%) .. Out of all starting pitchers, Jameson Taillon's fastball velocity of 91.7 mph is in the 22nd percentile this year.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-least fair ground in MLB — generally good for home runs.. Batting from the opposite that Jameson Taillon throws from, Taylor Trammell will have an edge in today's matchup.. Taylor Trammell will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.