New York @ Houston props

THE BAT X projects Brandon Nimmo in the 95th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Brandon Nimmo is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this game. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed relievers in their bullpen, so Brandon Nimmo is guaranteed to never face a bullpen mismatch the entire game. Brandon Nimmo has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Brandon Nimmo has made notable gains with his Barrel% recently, upping his 7.6% seasonal rate to 33.3% in the last week's worth of games.

THE BAT X projects Jeff McNeil in the 97th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed RPs in their bullpen, so Jeff McNeil is guaranteed to never lose the platoon advantage against the bullpen the entire game. Jeff McNeil has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 89.9-mph average in the past week to his seasonal 87.1-mph EV. Jeff McNeil has notched a .270 Expected Batting Average this year, grading out in the 75th percentile (according to THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). Jeff McNeil has exhibited strong plate discipline this year, checking in at the 97th percentile with a 1.14 K/BB rate.

THE BAT X projects Jose Altuve in the 94th percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this game. Jose Altuve pulls a lot of his flyballs (40.4% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Altuve will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jose Altuve has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 88.2-mph average to last year's 85.9-mph figure.

Kyle Tucker projects as the 18th-best hitter in MLB, per THE BAT X. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card today. Kyle Tucker will hold the platoon advantage over Justin Verlander today. Kyle Tucker will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Kyle Tucker's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better recently, going from 45.4% on the season to 56.1% in the last 14 days.

THE BAT X projects Starling Marte in the 95th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Starling Marte is projected to hit 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Starling Marte will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez in today's matchup. Starling Marte has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 99-mph average in the past week to his seasonal average of 90.7-mph. Starling Marte's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls this year (13.8°) is considerably better than his 8.9° mark last season.

Martin Maldonado pulls a lot of his flyballs (33% — 77th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Martin Maldonado will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Martin Maldonado has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 104.2-mph average in the last week's worth of games to his seasonal EV of 88-mph.

THE BAT X projects Mark Canha in the 84th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all parks. Mark Canha will have the handedness advantage over Framber Valdez today. Mark Canha has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% lately, upping his 5.9% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the last 7 days. Mark Canha's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, rising from 14.6% to 20.1%.

THE BAT X projects Yainer Diaz in the 89th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Yainer Diaz will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which ought to improve all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has made big improvements with his Barrel% of late, improving his 15.1% seasonal rate to 21.4% in the past 7 days. Yainer Diaz has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 101.1-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal EV of 95.2-mph.

THE BAT X projects Jose Abreu in the 86th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Jose Abreu is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this game. Jose Abreu will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Jose Abreu has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 95.7-mph average over the last week to his seasonal 88.6-mph average. Jose Abreu's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased lately, increasing from 41.7% on the season to 57.1% over the past 7 days.

THE BAT X projects Francisco Lindor in the 91st percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Francisco Lindor is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in this game. The switch-hitting Francisco Lindor will hold the platoon advantage while batting from from his better side (0) today against Framber Valdez. Francisco Lindor pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.9% — 88th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Francisco Lindor has made notable improvements with his Barrel% of late, bettering his 11% seasonal rate to 16.7% over the last two weeks.

THE BAT X projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile when estimating his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is projected to hit 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Alex Bregman pulls a lot of his flyballs (38% — 97th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Alex Bregman will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should improve all of his stats. Alex Bregman has been unlucky this year, notching a .322 wOBA despite THE BAT X estimating his true talent level to be .357 — a .035 gap.

THE BAT X projects Francisco Alvarez in the 83rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all parks. Francisco Alvarez will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez today. Francisco Alvarez has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 96.5-mph average in the past two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal figure of 93.3-mph. Francisco Alvarez's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better lately, rising from 20.4% on the season to 33.3% in the past week's worth of games.

THE BAT X projects Tommy Pham in the 89th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Tommy Pham is penciled in 5th in the lineup today. Tommy Pham will hold the platoon advantage over Framber Valdez today. Tommy Pham has made notable gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 16.2% seasonal rate to 23.1% over the last 14 days. Tommy Pham has seen a big gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 96.3-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 93.9-mph figure.

The switch-hitting Eduardo Escobar will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side (0) today against Framber Valdez. Eduardo Escobar pulls many of his flyballs (37.5% — 97th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme groundball batters like Eduardo Escobar generally hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Framber Valdez. Eduardo Escobar has been unlucky in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .239 rate is a good deal lower than his .260 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data). The standard deviation of Eduardo Escobar's launch angle since the start of last season (25.3°) is in the 93rd percentile. A low deviation like this tends to lead to a higher batting average on balls in play.

Corey Julks has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (94% of the time), but he is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Corey Julks pulls a lot of his flyballs (36% — 92nd 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 game. Corey Julks will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Corey Julks's launch angle recently (32° in the past week) is quite a bit higher than his 18.5° seasonal figure.

THE BAT X projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all parks. Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should boost all of his stats. Jeremy Pena has been unlucky in regards to his batting average this year; his .252 rate is a fair amount lower than his .272 Expected Batting Average (based on THE BAT X's interpretation of Statcast data).