Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Alejandro Osuna will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Alejandro Osuna has had some very poor luck this year. His .259 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .335. Alejandro Osuna is very toolsy, ranking in the 81st percentile in Sprint Speed at 28.53 ft/sec this year.

As a switch-hitter who performs worse from the 0 side of the dish, Jonah Heim will be at a disadvantage batting from his weak side against Hunter Brown today. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Jonah Heim will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jonah Heim's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 11.1% to 15.8%.

Over the last 14 days, Ramon Urias has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 8% to 18.8%. Ramon Urias has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.4-mph to 96.8-mph in the past week. Ramon Urias's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, increasing from 14.4% on the season to 31.3% in the last 14 days.

The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Josh Smith will hold that advantage today. As it relates to plate discipline, Josh Smith's talent is quite good, putting up a 1.78 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 78th percentile.

Despite posting a .305 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Christian Walker has had some very poor luck given the .026 difference between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .331.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Wyatt Langford ranks in the 96th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Wyatt Langford is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. Hitting from the same side that Hunter Brown throws from, Wyatt Langford meets a tough challenge in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Wyatt Langford will hold that advantage today.

Hunter Brown will hold the platoon advantage over Dylan Moore in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Dylan Moore will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Dylan Moore's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 18% to 22.5%. Grading out in the 81st percentile of THE BAT X's Spray Score this year, Dylan Moore demonstrated exceptional skill in hitting the ball to all fields - a key skill for achieving a high batting average.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 3rd-best batter in the game, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Yordan Alvarez will hold the platoon advantage against Merrill Kelly in today's matchup. Yordan Alvarez has made notable strides with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 14.2% seasonal rate to 22.7% in the past two weeks. In comparison to his 93.1-mph average last year, Yordan Alvarez's exit velocity has noticeably risen this season, now sitting at 95.5 mph.

The switch-hitting Victor Caratini will have the advantage of batting from from his good side (0) today against Merrill Kelly. Victor Caratini's average launch angle on his hardest-hit balls this season (13.6°) is significantly higher than his 7.5° mark last season. Victor Caratini has put up a .272 batting average this year, grading out in the 77th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jesus Sanchez in the 88th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Jesus Sanchez is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Merrill Kelly throws from, Jesus Sanchez will have an edge today. Jesus Sanchez has made notable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 11.1% seasonal rate to 16.7% over the last 14 days. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Jesus Sanchez's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.7-mph over the course of the season to 109.7-mph recently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carlos Correa in the 94th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Carlos Correa is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Carlos Correa has made significant improvements with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 6.8% seasonal rate to 14.3% over the last week. Carlos Correa has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.8-mph to 96.1-mph in the last 7 days. Despite posting a .316 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Carlos Correa has had some very poor luck given the .018 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .334.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 89th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Hunter Brown will have the handedness advantage against Josh Jung in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Josh Jung will hold that advantage in today's game. Josh Jung has made notable gains with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 9.2% seasonal rate to 24% in the past 7 days.

Taylor Trammell will have the handedness advantage over Merrill Kelly in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 91st percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card today. Jose Altuve's launch angle this year (17.4°) is significantly better than his 14° figure last season. Checking in at the 81st percentile, Jose Altuve has posted a .274 batting average this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Joc Pederson in the 92nd percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Joc Pederson is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this game. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats across the board, and Joc Pederson will hold that advantage in today's game. Joc Pederson's launch angle lately (20.6° over the past 14 days) is a considerable increase over his 17.5° seasonal mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Burger in the 92nd percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Jake Burger has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (75% of the time), but he is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. Hunter Brown will have the handedness advantage against Jake Burger in today's matchup. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Jake Burger will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats.

When assessing his batting average skill, Jeremy Pena is projected as the 18th-best hitter in the league by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jeremy Pena is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in today's game. Jeremy Pena has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 94.7-mph average over the last week to his seasonal 88.5-mph average. Jeremy Pena's average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this season (11.6°) is a considerable increase over his 7.2° angle last year. Jeremy Pena's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, increasing from 11.2% on the season to 27.8% in the last week.

Kyle Higashioka is penciled in 5th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 91% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year. Hunter Brown will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Kyle Higashioka today. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Kyle Higashioka will possess the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Over the past week, Kyle Higashioka's 59.1% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.3%.

Yainer Diaz's batting average ability is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yainer Diaz has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 8.2% seasonal rate to 15% in the past 7 days. Compared to his seasonal average of 11.2°, Yainer Diaz has significantly improved his launch angle in recent games, posting a 15.9° figure in the last 14 days. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Yainer Diaz's true offensive skill to be a .329, providing some evidence that he has had some very poor luck this year given the .031 deviation between that mark and his actual .298 wOBA.

Hunter Brown will have the handedness advantage against Ezequiel Duran in today's game. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Ezequiel Duran will hold that advantage in today's game. Sporting a .314 BABIP since the start of last season, Ezequiel Duran grades out in the 79th percentile.

Michael Helman has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (77% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Hunter Brown will have the handedness advantage over Michael Helman today. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Michael Helman will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to boost all of his stats. Michael Helman's quickness has increased this year. His 28.55 ft/sec Statcast Sprint Speed last season sits at 29.49 ft/sec now.

Cody Freeman is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Hunter Brown will have the handedness advantage against Cody Freeman today. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-weakest out of every team on the slate today. Cody Freeman will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Cody Freeman has made substantial improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 6.2% seasonal rate to 13% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

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