Baltimore @ Houston picks

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Jordan Westburg ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Jordan Westburg is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card today.. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Jordan Westburg will have the upper hand in today's game.. Jordan Westburg has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 11.3% seasonal rate to 21.7% in the last week.. Jordan Westburg has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 101.9-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal EV of 93.7-mph.

Gunnar Henderson projects as the 18th-best batter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Gunnar Henderson is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. Gunnar Henderson has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 9.4% seasonal rate to 19% over the last week.. In the past 7 days, Gunnar Henderson's 28.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 11.1%.. By putting up a .352 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Gunnar Henderson finds himself in the 85th percentile for offensive ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adley Rutschman in the 87th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent.. Adley Rutschman is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this matchup.. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all stadiums.. The switch-hitting Adley Rutschman will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his strong side (0) today against Framber Valdez.. Adley Rutschman has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.8-mph to 92.6-mph over the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jesus Sanchez in the 88th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.. Jesus Sanchez is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup.. Jesus Sanchez will hold the platoon advantage against Brandon Young in today's matchup.. Jesus Sanchez has an 88th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup.. Jesus Sanchez will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 93rd percentile when assessing his home run talent.. Christian Walker is penciled in 4th on the lineup card today.. Christian Walker pulls many of his flyballs (33.2% — 77th percentile) 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.. Christian Walker will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.. Christian Walker has made notable strides with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 11.5% seasonal rate to 28.6% over the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Mountcastle in the 94th percentile when estimating his batting average skill.. Ryan Mountcastle is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today.. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Ryan Mountcastle will have an edge in today's game.. Ryan Mountcastle has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% of late, upping his 12.3% seasonal rate to 22.2% over the last 7 days.. Ryan Mountcastle has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 97.4-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal average of 94.3-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 97th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent.. Yainer Diaz is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card today.. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Yainer Diaz will hold that advantage in today's game.

Daniel Johnson is remarkably quick, grading out in the 97th percentile in Sprint Speed at 29.6 ft/sec this year.

Minute Maid Park has the least fair ground in Major League Baseball — generally good for long-balls.. Taylor Trammell will hold the platoon advantage against Brandon Young today.. Taylor Trammell will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats.. Over the past two weeks, Taylor Trammell has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 38.8° compared to his seasonal mark of 5.6°.. The standard deviation of Taylor Trammell's launch angle has been very consistent recently (39.2° over the last two weeks), which is a proxy for reliable bat control and seeing the ball well.

Gunnar Henderson projects as the 18th-best batter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Gunnar Henderson is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. Gunnar Henderson has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 9.4% seasonal rate to 19% over the last week.. In the past 7 days, Gunnar Henderson's 28.6% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 11.1%.. By putting up a .352 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Gunnar Henderson finds himself in the 85th percentile for offensive ability.