Athletics @ Houston picks

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lawrence Butler in the 83rd percentile as it relates to his home run ability.. Lawrence Butler is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this game.. Lawrence Butler has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.8%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. Lawrence Butler's maximum exit velocity (a reliable metric to evaluate power) has been 113.6 mph this year, placing in the 83rd percentile.. Checking in at the 77th percentile, Lawrence Butler sits with a .320 BABIP this year.

Nicholas Kurtz projects as the 6th-best home run batter in the game, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Nicholas Kurtz has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (51% of the time), but he is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. Nicholas Kurtz has an 89th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.7%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. Nicholas Kurtz's 19.1% Barrel% (a reliable metric to study power) grades out in the 98th percentile this year.. This year, Nicholas Kurtz's flyball exit velocity (an advanced stat to assess power) grades out in the 98th percentile at 98.2 mph.

When estimating his home run talent, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Shea Langeliers is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today.. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Shea Langeliers will have an edge in today's game.. Shea Langeliers pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.6% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.. Shea Langeliers's quickness has increased this season. His 27.76 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 28.36 ft/sec now.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Brent Rooker ranks as the 14th-best batter in MLB.. Brent Rooker is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Brent Rooker will have an advantage in today's matchup.. Brent Rooker pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 79th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. Brent Rooker'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 42.1% to 49.2%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects J.T. Ginn to throw 73 pitches in this matchup (6th-least on the slate today), considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup.. Among all parks, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the 2nd-shallowest.. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today.. J.T. Ginn will be at a disadvantage playing away from home in today's matchup.. It may come as a surprise, but fastballs are typically a pitcher's least effective pitch. J.T. Ginn has gone to his fastball a lot since the start of last season, though: 54.6% of the time, grading out in the 100th percentile.

Taylor Trammell is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 79% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season.. Minute Maid Park has the smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for homers.. Given J.T. Ginn's large platoon split, Taylor Trammell will have a huge advantage hitting from the opposite side of the dish today.. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today.. Taylor Trammell will hold the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lawrence Butler in the 83rd percentile as it relates to his home run ability.. Lawrence Butler is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this game.. Lawrence Butler has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.8%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. Lawrence Butler's maximum exit velocity (a reliable metric to evaluate power) has been 113.6 mph this year, placing in the 83rd percentile.. Checking in at the 77th percentile, Lawrence Butler sits with a .320 BABIP this year.

When estimating his home run talent, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Shea Langeliers is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today.. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Shea Langeliers will have an edge in today's game.. Shea Langeliers pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.6% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.. Shea Langeliers's quickness has increased this season. His 27.76 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 28.36 ft/sec now.

When estimating his home run talent, Shea Langeliers ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Shea Langeliers is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today.. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Shea Langeliers will have an edge in today's game.. Shea Langeliers pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.6% — 86th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.. Shea Langeliers's quickness has increased this season. His 27.76 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 28.36 ft/sec now.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Brent Rooker ranks as the 14th-best batter in MLB.. Brent Rooker is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Brent Rooker will have an advantage in today's matchup.. Brent Rooker pulls many of his flyballs (33.6% — 79th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game.. Brent Rooker'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 42.1% to 49.2%.