Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

As it relates to his batting average ability, Jeremy Pena is projected as the 18th-best batter in the league by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jeremy Pena is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. In the past 7 days, Jeremy Pena's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 7.9% up to 17.6%. Jeremy Pena has seen a big gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 91.8-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 88.5-mph figure.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 97th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. In the last week, Yainer Diaz's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.4% up to 22.2%. Yainer Diaz has seen a big gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 96-mph average in the last 7 days to his seasonal average of 93.4-mph. Yainer Diaz's launch angle lately (16.2° in the past week's worth of games) is a significant increase over his 11.2° seasonal angle.

Kyle Higashioka has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (89% of the time), but he is projected to hit 5th in the lineup in this game. Extreme flyball hitters like Kyle Higashioka tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Hunter Brown. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Kyle Higashioka will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. In the past 14 days, Kyle Higashioka's 51.4% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.3%.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 3rd-best batter in the game, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Jacob deGrom throws from, Yordan Alvarez will have an advantage in today's matchup. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Yordan Alvarez has seen a big increase in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 95.3-mph average to last season's 93.1-mph average.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Jesus Sanchez ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Jesus Sanchez is penciled in 5th in the batting order today. Hitting from the opposite that Jacob deGrom throws from, Jesus Sanchez will have an advantage today. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Jesus Sanchez has made notable strides with his Barrel% of late, upping his 11.3% seasonal rate to 21.1% over the past two weeks.

As a switch-hitter who is stronger from the 0 side of the dish, Victor Caratini will have the advantage of batting from from his good side against Jacob deGrom in today's matchup. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Last year, Victor Caratini had an average launch angle of 7.5° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 13.6°. Victor Caratini has put up a .279 batting average this year, placing in the 86th percentile.

Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Christian Walker's true offensive talent to be a .330, providing some evidence that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .026 disparity between that mark and his actual .304 wOBA.

The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage today. Over the last 14 days, Jonah Heim's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 91.1-mph over the course of the season to 93.5-mph recently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 86th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 44.4% to 51.4%. Jake Meyers has posted a .311 batting average this year, grading out in the 99th percentile.

Josh Smith is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Josh Smith will have an advantage today. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Josh Smith will hold that advantage today. Josh Smith has shown good plate discipline this year, checking in at the 78th percentile with a 1.78 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 91st percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. There has been a significant improvement in Jose Altuve's launch angle from last year's 14° to 17.4° this season. By putting up a .273 batting average this year, Jose Altuve is ranked in the 79th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 96th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Wyatt Langford is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats across the board, and Wyatt Langford will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Compared to his seasonal average of 17.7°, Wyatt Langford has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 22.4° mark in the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Burger in the 92nd percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Jake Burger is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 74% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Jake Burger will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Jake Burger's launch angle this season (16.4°) is a considerable increase over his 12.8° angle last year.

The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Ezequiel Duran will hold the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Ezequiel Duran has compiled a .320 BABIP since the start of last season, checking in at the 85th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 89th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Josh Jung will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. In the last 7 days, Josh Jung's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 9.2% up to 31.6%. Josh Jung has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89-mph to 93-mph in the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Correa in the 94th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Carlos Correa is penciled in 4th in the batting order in today's game. Among all the teams on the slate today, the worst infield defense belongs to the Texas Rangers. By putting up a .281 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) this year , Carlos Correa is positioned in the 87th percentile. Carlos Correa has notched a .276 batting average this year, checking in at the 83rd percentile.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Joc Pederson ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Joc Pederson is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Joc Pederson will have the handedness advantage against Hunter Brown in today's matchup. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Joc Pederson will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Michael Helman is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this game, which would be an upgrade from his 71% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Michael Helman will hold that advantage today. Michael Helman's speed has improved this year. His 28.55 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last year sits at 29.49 ft/sec now.

Alejandro Osuna will hold the platoon advantage against Hunter Brown today. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Alejandro Osuna will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Alejandro Osuna has experienced some negative variance in regards to his wOBA this year; his .258 mark is quite a bit lower than his .335 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Ranking in the 81st percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.53 ft/sec this year, Alejandro Osuna is remarkably quick.

Rowdy Tellez is projected to bat 4th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 83% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Rowdy Tellez will have the handedness advantage against Hunter Brown in today's game. The Houston Astros outfield defense projects as the 2nd-worst among every team playing today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Rowdy Tellez will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Rowdy Tellez has made big strides with his Barrel%, bettering his 8.1% rate last year to 14.8% this year.

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

Ramon Urias has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 10 games.