Athletics @ Houston props

Minute Maid Park projects as the #21 ballpark in the majors for righty batting average, via the leading projection system (THE BAT). Minute Maid Park's elevation is near sea-level, one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, which tends to lead to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this game -12° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Miguel Andujar hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.3% — 92nd percentile) and will be challenged by the game's 9th-deepest CF fences in today's game. Miguel Andujar will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Lawrence Butler ranks in the 76th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). 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 assessing his batting average skill, Jacob Wilson is projected as the 15th-best hitter in the league by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Among all parks, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the 2nd-shallowest. Jacob Wilson will have the handedness advantage against Colton Gordon today. Posting a 1.47 K/BB rate this year, Jacob Wilson has displayed favorable plate discipline, grading out in the 87th percentile. Posting a .310 batting average this year, Jacob Wilson has performed in the 95th 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 Shea Langeliers in the 88th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. 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.

Minute Maid Park has the smallest outfield in MLB — generally good for homers. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Cooper Hummel will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. As it relates to his wOBA and overall offense, Cooper Hummel has been unlucky this year. His .251 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .302.

Austin Wynns has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (93% of the time), but he is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Austin Wynns will have an advantage today. Austin Wynns pulls many of his flyballs (33.2% — 76th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.

Luis Urias will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Colton Gordon in today's game. Luis Urias pulls many of his flyballs (36.2% — 93rd percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. In terms of plate discipline, Luis Urias's talent is quite impressive, putting up a 1.4 K/BB rate this year while placing in in the 90th percentile.

Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Max Schuemann will have the upper hand in today's game. Max Schuemann's speed has increased this year. His 27.85 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 28.4 ft/sec now.

Victor Caratini is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 52% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Victor Caratini will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Victor Caratini has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 92.7-mph average to last year's 89.9-mph average. There has been a significant improvement in Victor Caratini's launch angle from last year's 9.1° to 15.3° this season.

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%.

Gio Urshela's batting average talent is projected to be in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Gio Urshela will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Colton Gordon in today's game. Compared to last season, Gio Urshela has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 47.5% to 54.6% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nicholas Kurtz in the 94th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. 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 2nd 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.

Christian Walker is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. Christian Walker pulls many of his flyballs (33.3% — 76th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Christian Walker will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Christian Walker ranks in the 77th percentile with a 16.8° launch angle, which is one of the most flyball-inducing angles in the majors.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Mauricio Dubon will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last season to this one, increasing from 12.1% to 20.8%. In terms of plate discipline, Mauricio Dubon's talent is quite impressive, sporting a 1.66 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 83rd percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 91st percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (40.9% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Jose Altuve will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Extreme flyball batters like Zack Short generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like J.T. Ginn. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Zack Short is an extreme flyball hitter and faces the weak outfield defense of Sacramento (#3-worst of all teams today). Zack Short will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Zack Short's footspeed has increased this season. His 26.81 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 27.28 ft/sec now.

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. Brice Matthews will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Ranking in the 85th percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.68 ft/sec this year, Brice Matthews is notably toolsy.

Among all parks, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the 2nd-shallowest. Batting from the opposite that Colton Gordon throws from, Colby Thomas will have an edge in today's game.

Jon Singleton is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Because of J.T. Ginn's large platoon split, Jon Singleton will have a gigantic advantage hitting from the opposite side of the plate in today's game. The Athletics outfield defense profiles as the 3rd-weakest among all the teams on the slate today. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jon Singleton will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Since the start of last season, the hardest ball Jon Singleton has made contact with reached a maximum exit velocity of 115.4 mph (a reliable standard to study power), ranking in the 89th percentile.

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