Athletics @ Houston props

The #8 ballpark in the league for suppressing batting average to RHB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in MLB, which often leads to lower offensive output. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this game -15° colder than the average outdoor game of all games today — favorable for pitching. Hitting from the same side that Luis Severino throws from, Jose Altuve faces a tough challenge today. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.236) may lead us to conclude that Jose Altuve has been lucky this year with his .280 actual batting average.

Taylor Trammell is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 85% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Dingers are generally more common at fields with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the shallowest among all parks. Taylor Trammell will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Luis Severino today. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Taylor Trammell will hold that advantage in today's game.

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Lawrence Butler ranks in the 77th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Batting from the opposite that Jason Alexander throws from, Lawrence Butler will have the upper hand today. Lawrence Butler has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.4%) and will have a big advantage hitting them out towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. This year, the hardest ball Lawrence Butler has connected with reached a maximum exit velocity of 113.6 mph (an advanced standard to evaluate power), ranking in the 83rd percentile. Lawrence Butler has compiled a .321 BABIP this year, grading out in the 79th percentile.

The #8 ballpark in the league for suppressing batting average to RHB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in MLB, which often leads to lower offensive output. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this game -15° colder than the average outdoor game of all games today — favorable for pitching. Jason Alexander will hold the platoon advantage over Jacob Wilson in today's matchup. Extreme groundball bats like Jacob Wilson generally hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Jason Alexander.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Gio Urshela in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Gio Urshela's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, increasing from 47.5% to 53.9%. When it comes to his batting average, Gio Urshela has experienced some negative variance this year. His .220 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .261.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Shea Langeliers is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this game. Shea Langeliers pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.3% — 84th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Shea Langeliers's footspeed has gotten better this season. His 27.76 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 28.35 ft/sec now. In terms of his batting average, Shea Langeliers has been unlucky this year. His .245 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .269.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Brent Rooker ranks as the 14th-best batter in MLB. Brent Rooker is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. Brent Rooker pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.6% — 79th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Extreme groundball hitters like Brent Rooker generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Jason Alexander. Brent Rooker's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 42.1% to 48.3%.

Max Schuemann is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 92% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Max Schuemann's footspeed has gotten better this season. His 27.85 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 28.35 ft/sec now.

Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Cooper Hummel will hold that advantage today. When it comes to his wOBA and overall offense, Cooper Hummel has had bad variance on his side this year. His .263 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .305.

Miguel Andujar's batting average ability is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Miguel Andujar is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. Miguel Andujar has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 88.3-mph average to last year's 84.1-mph figure. Last season, Miguel Andujar had an average launch angle of 2.4° on his hardest-hit balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 7.3°. Miguel Andujar has compiled a .286 batting average this year, placing in the 89th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 97th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Yainer Diaz is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this game. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Yainer Diaz will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. There has been a significant improvement in Yainer Diaz's launch angle from last season's 8.7° to 12.2° this year.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Tyler Soderstrom ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Tyler Soderstrom is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Jason Alexander throws from, Tyler Soderstrom will have an edge today. Tyler Soderstrom has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Sporting a .340 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year, Tyler Soderstrom is ranked in the 76th percentile for offensive skills.

Victor Caratini has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (54% of the time), but he is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this game. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Victor Caratini will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Victor Caratini has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 92.7-mph average to last season's 89.9-mph figure. There has been a significant improvement in Victor Caratini's launch angle from last year's 9.1° to 15.1° this year.

Luis Urias pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.1% — 93rd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Luis Urias has displayed good plate discipline this year, ranking in the 91st percentile with a 1.36 K/BB rate.

Extreme groundball batters like Zack Short are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Luis Severino. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Sacramento's 3rd-worst outfield defense on the slate today creates a favorable matchup for Zack Short, who tends to hit a lot of flyballs. Zack Short will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Mauricio Dubon's batting average ability is projected to be in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Mauricio Dubon will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Mauricio Dubon's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 12.1% to 21.5%. Mauricio Dubon has shown strong plate discipline this year, checking in at the 84th percentile with a 1.59 K/BB rate.

Christian Walker is penciled in 4th in the batting order in this game. Christian Walker pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33.3% — 77th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Christian Walker will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, notching a .298 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .327 — a .029 deviation.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field fences in the majors. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Brice Matthews will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Chas McCormick will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Chas McCormick's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 19.5% to 24.4%. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.285) suggests that Chas McCormick has suffered from bad luck since the start of last season with his .257 actual wOBA.

Jon Singleton will have the handedness advantage against Luis Severino in today's game. Among every team today, the weakest outfield defense belongs to the Athletics. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Jon Singleton will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jon Singleton's maximum exit velocity (a reliable stat to evaluate power) has been 115.4 mph since the start of last season, placing in the 89th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Nicholas Kurtz ranks in the 89th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Nicholas Kurtz is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 53% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Hitting from the opposite that Jason Alexander throws from, Nicholas Kurtz will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Nicholas Kurtz's 19.3% Barrel% (an advanced standard to study power) grades out in the 98th percentile this year. This year, Nicholas Kurtz's flyball exit velocity (a reliable stat to study power) grades out in the 98th percentile at 98.2 mph.