Washington @ Houston props

Yainer Diaz is projected to hit 6th in the batting order in today's game. The #6 park in Major League Baseball for suppressing batting average to right-handed hitters, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -11° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Brad Lord will hold the platoon advantage against Yainer Diaz in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Daylen Lile in the 81st percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Daylen Lile has a 75th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (33.6%) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Daylen Lile's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved in recent games, going from 52.2% on the season to 83.3% in the last 7 days. Daylen Lile has had some very poor luck with his wOBA this year; his .290 rate is considerably lower than his .343 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The #6 park in Major League Baseball for suppressing batting average to right-handed hitters, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations in Major League Baseball, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making weather conditions in this contest -11° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching. Brad Lord will have the handedness advantage against Jose Altuve today. Over the past 14 days, Jose Altuve's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 6.2% down to 0%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects CJ Abrams in the 79th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. CJ Abrams is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game. CJ Abrams has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.3-mph to 92.6-mph over the past week. CJ Abrams'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 14.6% to 18%. In the past week, CJ Abrams's 35.7% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 18%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects James Wood as the best batter in Major League Baseball when estimating his BABIP ability. James Wood is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today. James Wood has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.8%) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. James Wood has made big gains with his Barrel%, upping his 10.7% rate last season to 17.9% this year. James Wood has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 99.6-mph average to last season's 96.6-mph figure.

Paul DeJong is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 91% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Paul DeJong will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez today. Paul DeJong pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.2% — 89th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Extreme groundball bats like Paul DeJong usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 78th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Nathaniel Lowe is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Nathaniel Lowe has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (41.3%) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. This season, Nathaniel Lowe has experienced a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 93 mph compared to last year's 90.8 mph mark.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Josh Bell ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Josh Bell is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Josh Bell has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 92.3-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal 89.8-mph figure. Josh Bell has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 94.9-mph average to last season's 92.8-mph average. In the last two weeks, Josh Bell's 31.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 14.7%.

Riley Adams will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez today. Despite posting a .230 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Riley Adams has been unlucky given the .055 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .285.

Taylor Trammell is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 73% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Minute Maid Park has the smallest outfield among all stadiums — generally good for dingers. Batting from the opposite that Brad Lord throws from, Taylor Trammell will have an edge in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Taylor Trammell will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Taylor Trammell has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 16.2% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the past two weeks.

Brady House's BABIP skill is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions in the league. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Brady House will have an advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Young in the 86th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Jacob Young will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez today. Jacob Young's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, rising from 43.8% on the season to 83.3% in the past 7 days. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.272) suggests that Jacob Young has had some very poor luck this year with his .245 actual batting average. Jacob Young has shown strong plate discipline this year, ranking in the 79th percentile with a 1.72 K/BB rate.

Christian Walker is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Christian Walker pulls many of his flyballs (33.4% — 78th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Christian Walker will hold that advantage today. Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, posting a .296 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .326 — a .030 discrepancy.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 83rd percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Mauricio Dubon will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats. Compared to last season, Mauricio Dubon has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 12.1% to 20.8% this season. In terms of plate discipline, Mauricio Dubon's talent is quite good, sporting a 1.65 K/BB rate this year while checking in at in the 82nd percentile.

Alex Call is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Alex Call will have an edge in today's matchup. Over the last 7 days, Alex Call's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.1% up to 16.7%. Alex Call has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.4-mph to 91.1-mph over the last week. In the past week, Alex Call's 50% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 40.3%.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions in the league. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Brice Matthews will hold that advantage today. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Brice Matthews's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 26.3% up to 29.4%.

Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats across the board, and Cooper Hummel will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Cooper Hummel has made significant improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 12.5% seasonal rate to 20% in the last week's worth of games. Cooper Hummel has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 99.4-mph average in the last week to his seasonal EV of 96.1-mph. Cooper Hummel's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved in recent games, going from 21.4% on the season to 33.3% over the last week. As it relates to his wOBA and overall offense, Cooper Hummel has been unlucky this year. His .247 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .310.

Zack Short will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Zack Short has exhibited some good exit velocity metrics in recent games, averaging 96.8-mph on his flyballs in the past week's worth of games. Zack Short has been lifting the ball well lately, putting up a 32.5° launch angle over the past 7 days.

Victor Caratini is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today, which would be an upgrade from his 52% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and Victor Caratini will hold that advantage in today's game. In the past 7 days, Victor Caratini's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.1-mph over the course of the season to 97.1-mph recently. Victor Caratini's launch angle this year (15.2°) is considerably higher than his 9.1° mark last year.

Jacob Melton is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Minute Maid Park has the smallest outfield among all stadiums — generally good for dingers. Hitting from the opposite that Brad Lord throws from, Jacob Melton will have the upper hand today. Jacob Melton will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Luis Garcia has not yet played a game this season.