Houston @ Miami Picks & Props

The #8 venue in the majors for suppressing batting average to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is LoanDepot Park. LoanDepot Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league stadiums, which often leads to worse offense. The LoanDepot Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Hitting from the same side that Sandy Alcantara throws from, Jose Altuve will have a tough challenge in today's matchup. Jose Altuve pulls a lot of his flyballs (41% — 99th percentile) but may find it hard to clear the league's 10th-deepest LF fences in today's game.

The #8 venue in the majors for suppressing batting average to right-handed batters, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is LoanDepot Park. LoanDepot Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league stadiums, which often leads to worse offense. The LoanDepot Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Hitting from the same side that Sandy Alcantara throws from, Jeremy Pena encounters a tough challenge in today's matchup. Extreme groundball bats like Jeremy Pena generally hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Sandy Alcantara.

The #8 park in the majors for suppressing batting average to left-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is LoanDepot Park. LoanDepot Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league stadiums, which often leads to worse offense. The LoanDepot Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Xavier Edwards has a 97th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39.3%) but may find it hard to clear the game's 10th-deepest LF fences today. Xavier Edwards's launch angle recently (5.1° in the past 14 days) is quite a bit lower than his 8.8° seasonal mark.

Taylor Trammell will hold the platoon advantage against Sandy Alcantara in today's game.

Graham Pauley will hold the platoon advantage over Jason Alexander in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats in all categories, and Graham Pauley will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Graham Pauley has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 5.7% seasonal rate to 11.1% over the last 7 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 16.7°, Graham Pauley has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 37.7° angle in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dane Myers in the 91st percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Dane Myers hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.2% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing MLB's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Dane Myers will hold that advantage in today's game. Dane Myers has made substantial strides with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 7.4% seasonal rate to 20% in the past week's worth of games.

Liam Hicks has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (82% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in today's game. Liam Hicks will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jason Alexander in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Liam Hicks will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. In terms of plate discipline, Liam Hicks's ability is quite strong, sporting a 1.45 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 90th percentile.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Kyle Stowers ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Kyle Stowers is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Kyle Stowers will have the handedness advantage over Jason Alexander in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Kyle Stowers will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Otto Lopez in the 95th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Otto Lopez is projected to bat 5th in the batting order today. Otto Lopez hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.9% — 97th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards baseball's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Otto Lopez will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Jesus Sanchez ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jesus Sanchez is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Sandy Alcantara throws from, Jesus Sanchez will have an advantage in today's matchup. Jesus Sanchez has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 92.1-mph dropping to 89.6-mph in the past week. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.338) may lead us to conclude that Jesus Sanchez has had bad variance on his side this year with his .320 actual wOBA.

Hitting from the opposite that Jason Alexander throws from, Jakob Marsee will have the upper hand today. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Jakob Marsee will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Posting a 98.7-mph average exit velocity over the past 7 days, Jakob Marsee has been in great form recently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Correa in the 93rd percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Carlos Correa is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in today's game. Among all stadiums, LoanDepot Park's CF fences are the 6th-shallowest. Carlos Correa has negatively regressed with his Barrel% recently; his 6.2% seasonal rate has fallen off to 0% in the past week. Carlos Correa has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 105.2-mph average in the last week to his seasonal mark of 92.2-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Agustin Ramirez in the 77th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Agustin Ramirez is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today. Among all stadiums, LoanDepot Park's CF fences are the 6th-shallowest. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Agustin Ramirez will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

Troy Johnston will hold the platoon advantage against Jason Alexander in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Troy Johnston will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Eric Wagaman hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.2% — 91st percentile) and is fortunate to face the game's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense grades out as the 9th-weakest out of every team in action today. Eric Wagaman will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Eric Wagaman has been unlucky this year, notching a .270 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .302 — a .032 deviation.

Christian Walker is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. In the last week's worth of games, Christian Walker's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 10.9% up to 18.8%. Over the past week, Christian Walker's exit velocity on flyballs has lowered from his seasonal average of 91.9 mph to 87.7 mph. Despite posting a .304 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Christian Walker has experienced some negative variance given the .024 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .328.

Victor Caratini hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 89th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting out towards the game's 6th-shallowest CF fences in today's game. Checking in at the 76th percentile, Victor Caratini has posted a .271 batting average this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz as the 18th-best batter in baseball when assessing his batting average skill. Yainer Diaz hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league's 6th-shallowest CF fences today. Yainer Diaz has made significant improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 8.3% seasonal rate to 17.6% over the last 7 days. In the past 7 days, Yainer Diaz's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.2-mph over the course of the season to 95.2-mph in recent games. Despite posting a .300 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Yainer Diaz has been unlucky given the .030 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .330.

Mauricio Dubon has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.