Globe Life Field
Chas McCormick will have the handedness advantage against Andrew Heaney today... and even better, Heaney has a large platoon split. Chas McCormick has posted a .316 BABIP since the start of last season, grading out in the 78th percentile.
Jonah Heim will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Jonah Heim has seen a significant increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 94.4-mph average in the past 7 days to his seasonal 89.2-mph average. Jonah Heim's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 13.4% to 21.4%. Jonah Heim's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better in recent games, rising from 21.4% on the season to 28.1% in the last 14 days. In notching a .282 batting average this year, Jonah Heim grades out in the 84th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Leody Taveras in the 80th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Leody Taveras will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Leody Taveras's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 41.4% to 49%. Leody Taveras's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, rising from 49% on the season to 58.8% in the past 14 days. Based on Statcast metrics, Leody Taveras ranks in the 98th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .311.
According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 17th-best hitter in the game. Kyle Tucker is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in today's game. Kyle Tucker has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 94.1-mph average in the last two weeks to his seasonal 91.4-mph EV. Kyle Tucker has recorded a .376 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, ranking in the 94th percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Using Statcast data, Kyle Tucker is in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .293.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 90th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Yainer Diaz will have the handedness advantage over Andrew Heaney in today's game... and the cherry on top, Heaney has a large platoon split. In the past 7 days, Yainer Diaz's exit velocity on flyballs has decreased from his seasonal mark of 94.4 mph to 87.9 mph. Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, increasing from 41% on the season to 73.3% over the last 7 days. In terms of his wOBA and overall offense, Yainer Diaz has suffered from bad luck this year. His .328 figure falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected wOBA (xwOBA) at .351.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Abreu in the 86th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Jose Abreu is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Jose Abreu will have the handedness advantage over Andrew Heaney today... and moreover, Heaney has a large platoon split. Jose Abreu has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 96.7-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal 89.7-mph average. Over the past 14 days, Jose Abreu's 63.3% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 44.5%.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 94th percentile when estimating his overall offensive ability. Jose Altuve is penciled in 1st on the lineup card today. Jose Altuve will have the handedness advantage against Andrew Heaney in today's matchup... and the cherry on top, Heaney has a large platoon split. Jose Altuve's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved of late, going from 12.6% on the season to 33.3% over the past 7 days. With a .353 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season, Jose Altuve has performed in the 91st percentile for hitting ability.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Corey Seager as the 10th-best hitter in MLB when assessing his batting average ability. Corey Seager is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in today's game. Corey Seager will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Shawn Dubin in today's matchup. The Houston Astros don't have any same-handed relievers in their bullpen, so Corey Seager is guaranteed to hold the advantage against every reliever the whole game. Corey Seager will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ezequiel Duran in the 86th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Ezequiel Duran will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Ezequiel Duran has made notable gains with his Barrel%, improving his 4.6% rate last season to 13% this year. Over the last week, Ezequiel Duran's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 13% up to 29.4%. Over the last 7 days, Ezequiel Duran's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.5-mph over the course of the season to 102-mph of late.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Alex Bregman will have the handedness advantage against Andrew Heaney today... and even better, Heaney has a large platoon split. Alex Bregman's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better of late, rising from 40.1% on the season to 52.6% over the last 14 days. Posting a 0.97 K/BB rate this year, Alex Bregman has demonstrated strong plate discipline, placing in the 98th percentile.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 83rd percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Mauricio Dubon is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this game. Mauricio Dubon will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Heaney in today's game... and even better, Heaney has a large platoon split. Mauricio Dubon's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better lately, going from 46.1% on the season to 64.3% over the past 7 days. Mauricio Dubon has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .283 figure is a fair amount lower than his .307 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 95th percentile when it comes to his BABIP ability. Josh Jung is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card today. Josh Jung will benefit from the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Josh Jung has made significant improvements with his Barrel% of late, improving his 12.4% seasonal rate to 27.3% in the past week's worth of games. Over the past 7 days, Josh Jung's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96-mph over the course of the season to 102.6-mph lately.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Adolis Garcia in the 79th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability. Adolis Garcia is projected to bat 4th in the lineup in this game. Adolis Garcia will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Over the last 14 days, Adolis Garcia's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96.3-mph over the course of the season to 99.5-mph recently. Adolis Garcia's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls of late (20.3° over the past two weeks) is a considerable increase over his 14.2° seasonal angle.
The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 94th percentile when it comes to his BABIP talent. Jeremy Pena will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Heaney in today's game... and even better, Heaney has a large platoon split. Over the last week, Jeremy Pena's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.9% up to 12.5%. In the last 14 days, Jeremy Pena's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 91.1-mph over the course of the season to 95.5-mph lately. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.271) provides evidence that Jeremy Pena has experienced some negative variance this year with his .253 actual batting average.
Corey Julks will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Andrew Heaney in today's game... and even better, Heaney has a large platoon split. Over the past week, Corey Julks's 63.6% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 49%. Corey Julks has notched a .338 BABIP this year, checking in at the 82nd percentile.
When estimating his overall offensive talent, Marcus Semien ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is penciled in 1st in the lineup in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Marcus Semien will hold that advantage in today's game. In the past week, Marcus Semien's 27.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 19.3%. Compared to last year, Marcus Semien 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 38.2% to 43.2% this season.
Nathaniel Lowe has gone over 0.5 in 8 of his last 10 games.
Travis Jankowski has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.
Martin Maldonado has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.
Josh H. Smith has gone over 0.5 in 2 of his last 10 games.
