Colorado @ Houston Picks & Props

Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Braxton Fulford will have an edge today. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Braxton Fulford has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.8-mph to 90.9-mph in the last 14 days. In the past 14 days, Braxton Fulford has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 21.4° compared to his seasonal mark of 16.4°. Braxton Fulford is notably quick, checking in at the 87th percentile in Sprint Speed at 28.82 ft/sec this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ezequiel Tovar in the 85th percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. The shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Ezequiel Tovar will have an advantage in today's matchup. Extreme flyball bats like Ezequiel Tovar generally hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Framber Valdez. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today.

Warming Bernabel is penciled in 5th in the batting order in today's game. Warming Bernabel will have the handedness advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Ritter in the 88th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. The shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Ryan Ritter will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Ryan Ritter has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 92.7-mph average over the past two weeks to his seasonal average of 86-mph.

Kyle Karros's BABIP ability is projected in the 92nd percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Kyle Karros will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez today. Kyle Karros pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.2% — 77th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Over the last week, Kyle Karros's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 2.9% up to 11.1%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Tyler Freeman in the 94th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Tyler Freeman is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this game. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Tyler Freeman will have an advantage in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Tyler Freeman has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 90.4-mph average to last year's 87.7-mph EV.

Hunter Goodman is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Hunter Goodman will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Framber Valdez in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Hunter Goodman has made big improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 12.6% seasonal rate to 19.2% in the past two weeks. Hunter Goodman has seen a big gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 98.2-mph average in the past two weeks to his seasonal mark of 94.9-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jordan Beck in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Jordan Beck is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. The shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Jordan Beck will have the upper hand in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Brenton Doyle in the 83rd percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Brenton Doyle is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today. Batting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Brenton Doyle will have the upper hand in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Over the last week, Brenton Doyle's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.3% up to 21.1%.

Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Kyle Farmer will have an edge today. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Kyle Farmer has been very good at hitting the ball to all fields (a core skill for batting average), ranking in the 79th percentile in THE BAT X's Spray Score this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 81st percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Mauricio Dubon will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to bolster all of his stats. In the past week, Mauricio Dubon's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 86.8-mph over the course of the season to 88.9-mph in recent games. Compared to his seasonal average of 12.7°, Mauricio Dubon has significantly improved his launch angle recently, posting a 29° angle in the last week's worth of games. 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 19.9% this season.

Yainer Diaz's batting average talent is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yainer Diaz is penciled in 5th in the lineup in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Yainer Diaz will hold that advantage in today's matchup. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Yainer Diaz's true offensive ability to be a .328, implying that he has been unlucky this year given the .025 deviation between that mark and his actual .303 wOBA. Using Statcast data, Yainer Diaz ranks in the 77th percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .270.

Carlos Correa's batting average talent is projected to be in the 95th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Carlos Correa is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card in this game. The shallowest LF dimensions among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Carlos Correa will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Carlos Correa has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 94.6-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 90.9-mph figure.

Hitting from the opposite that Framber Valdez throws from, Orlando Arcia will have an edge in today's matchup. Orlando Arcia pulls many of his flyballs (34.1% — 83rd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense projects as the 5th-weakest out of every team playing today. Despite posting a .231 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Orlando Arcia has had some very poor luck given the .043 deviation between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .274.

Jose Altuve's batting average skill is projected to be in the 90th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (41.5% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Jose Altuve will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Jose Altuve has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 94.9-mph average over the last two weeks to his seasonal average of 89.9-mph.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 4th-best batter in Major League Baseball. Yordan Alvarez is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Yordan Alvarez will have the handedness advantage over Chase Dollander today. Yordan Alvarez has a good chance to have an advantage against every reliever for the game's entirety, since the bullpen of the Colorado Rockies only has 1 same-handed RP. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jesus Sanchez in the 87th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Jesus Sanchez is penciled in 4th in the lineup in today's game. Jesus Sanchez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Chase Dollander today. The Colorado Rockies have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jesus Sanchez stands a good chance of holding the advantage against every reliever all game. Jesus Sanchez has a 90th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.9%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them in the direction of the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.

Christian Walker is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game. Christian Walker pulls many of his flyballs (33.4% — 78th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Christian Walker will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last 7 days, Christian Walker's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 12.1% up to 27.8%. Christian Walker has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.7-mph to 99.3-mph in the last week.

When estimating his batting average skill, Jeremy Pena is projected as the 20th-best hitter in Major League Baseball by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jeremy Pena is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today. Jeremy Pena pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (33% — 76th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jeremy Pena has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs recently; just compare his 93.2-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal figure of 90.8-mph.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-smallest outfield among all major league parks — generally good for home runs. Batting from the opposite that Chase Dollander throws from, Jacob Melton will have an edge today. Jacob Melton is apt to have the upper hand against every reliever for the duration of the game, since the bullpen of the Colorado Rockies has just 1 same-handed RP. Jacob Melton will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Jacob Melton's launch angle in recent games (1° in the past two weeks' worth of games) is significantly higher than his -8.8° seasonal angle.