Houston @ Los Angeles Picks & Props

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 18.2% this season.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Taylor Ward ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Taylor Ward is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Taylor Ward will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Taylor Ward has made substantial gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 14.2% seasonal rate to 23.1% over the past 14 days. Taylor Ward has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 100.5-mph average over the past two weeks to his seasonal figure of 93.1-mph.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mike Trout in the 96th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Mike Trout is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Mike Trout will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats. Over the last week, Mike Trout's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 14.6% up to 57.1%. Mike Trout has seen a big increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 104-mph average over the past week to his seasonal 90.1-mph figure.

Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Denzer Guzman will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the past 14 days, Denzer Guzman's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 25% up to 25%. In the past week's worth of games, Denzer Guzman has averaged an impressive 103-mph exit velocity on his flyballs, an advanced proxy for home run potential. Over the past two weeks, Denzer Guzman's swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 33.3% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Luis Rengifo in the 78th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Luis Rengifo is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Luis Rengifo will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Luis Rengifo has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 91-mph average to last season's 87.5-mph average. Compared to last season, Luis Rengifo has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for base hits, increasing his percentage of balls hit between -4° and 26° from 41.4% to 46.9% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Moore in the 87th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Christian Moore will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Over the last 14 days, Christian Moore has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 7.2% to 15%. Christian Moore has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.7-mph to 95.3-mph in the past two weeks' worth of games. Over the past 14 days, Christian Moore has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 18.3° compared to his seasonal mark of 12.4°.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Logan O'Hoppe ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Logan O'Hoppe will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. This season, Logan O'Hoppe has experienced a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 96.7 mph compared to last year's 94.6 mph mark. Logan O'Hoppe's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this year (20.3°) is quite a bit higher than his 16° angle last year. Over the last 7 days, Logan O'Hoppe's 72.7% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 51%.

Ramon Urias's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, increasing from 38.1% to 44.8%.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Yoan Moncada ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Yoan Moncada is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. The switch-hitting Yoan Moncada will get to bat from his good side (0) today against Jason Alexander. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Yoan Moncada will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the last week, Yoan Moncada's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 14.3% up to 25%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 90th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card today. Jose Altuve's launch angle this season (17.8°) is a considerable increase over his 14° mark last year. Jose Altuve's launch angle in recent games (20.9° in the last 14 days) is considerably better than his 17.8° seasonal figure. By putting up a .270 batting average this year, Jose Altuve grades out in the 76th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 84th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Ranking in the 97th percentile, Jake Meyers sports a .354 BABIP this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jo Adell in the 89th percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Jo Adell is projected to hit 4th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 55% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Jo Adell will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jo Adell has made notable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 11.8% rate last season to 18.2% this year. Jo Adell has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 95.5-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal 91.9-mph mark.

Bryce Teodosio will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Bryce Teodosio has made sizeable gains with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 4.3% seasonal rate to 10% in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Correa in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Carlos Correa is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. Utilizing Statcast metrics, Carlos Correa grades out in the 88th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .280. Grading out in the 84th percentile, Carlos Correa sports a .325 BABIP this year.

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 bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Despite posting a .296 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Yainer Diaz has been unlucky given the .032 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .328.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nolan Schanuel in the 91st percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Nolan Schanuel is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this game. Nolan Schanuel will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jason Alexander in today's matchup. Nolan Schanuel will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Nolan Schanuel's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this year (16.8°) is significantly higher than his 13° figure last year.

Christian Walker is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Christian Walker has seen a big improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 99.3-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal average of 92.5-mph. Christian Walker's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better of late, going from 15.1% on the season to 26.7% over the last week. Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, putting up a .305 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .329 — a .024 deviation.

When estimating his BABIP talent, Zach Cole is projected as the 18th-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Zach Cole will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Kyle Hendricks today. Zach Cole will probably have an edge against every reliever for the duration of the game, since the bullpen of the Los Angeles Angels only has 1 same-handed RP. Zach Cole has been hot in recent games, notching a a 15% Barrel% (a reliable metric to measure power) in the last 14 days. In the last two weeks, Zach Cole's maximum exit velocity (a good measure of recent form and raw power) has been 114.3-mph, which qualifies as one of the hardest-hit balls in baseball.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jesus Sanchez in the 86th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Batting from the opposite that Kyle Hendricks throws from, Jesus Sanchez will have an edge in today's game. The Los Angeles Angels have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jesus Sanchez can likely count on holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Jesus Sanchez has made big gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 10.9% seasonal rate to 18.2% over the past 7 days. In the past 7 days, Jesus Sanchez's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.6-mph over the course of the season to 99.5-mph of late.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card today. Isaac Paredes has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 87.4-mph average to last season's 85-mph EV. Isaac Paredes has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.4-mph to 90.1-mph in the last 14 days. Isaac Paredes's launch angle lately (41.2° in the last two weeks) is quite a bit higher than his 24° seasonal angle. Placing in the 90th percentile, Isaac Paredes has posted a .363 wOBA (widely regarded as the top measure of overall offense) this year.