Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 95th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Nathaniel Lowe is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. Nathaniel Lowe will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Verlander in today's game. The Houston Astros have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Nathaniel Lowe has a strong chance of never facing a bullpen mismatch all game. Nathaniel Lowe will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

As it relates to his overall offensive skill, Mitch Garver ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Mitch Garver is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Mitch Garver will hold that advantage today. Mitch Garver has made significant improvements with his Barrel%, improving his 8.8% rate last season to 16.1% this year. Mitch Garver has made significant strides with his Barrel% lately, bettering his 16.1% seasonal rate to 25.9% in the last two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 85th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Last year, Chas McCormick had an average launch angle of 18.6° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this season it has significantly increased to 23°. Chas McCormick has notched a .385 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, ranking in the 96th percentile. Chas McCormick has recorded a .288 batting average this year, placing in the 91st percentile.

Martin Maldonado's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls recently (29.5° in the last two weeks' worth of games) is considerably higher than his 19.4° seasonal mark.

Robbie Grossman will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Robbie Grossman has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 88.6-mph to 90.7-mph over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 94th percentile when estimating his overall offensive talent. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Jose Altuve has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% of late, upping his 9.7% seasonal rate to 18.2% in the past two weeks' worth of games. In the past 7 days, Jose Altuve's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.6-mph over the course of the season to 104.7-mph of late. Jose Altuve's launch angle in recent games (2° over the past 7 days) is quite a bit lower than his 10.6° seasonal angle.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Michael Brantley as the 14th-best batter in the league as it relates to his batting average talent. Michael Brantley will hold the platoon advantage over Max Scherzer in today's matchup. When it comes to his batting average, Michael Brantley since the start of last season. His .286 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .315. Launch angles in the range of -4° to 26° tend to become base hits at a high rate; Michael Brantley and his 52.4% since the start of last season rank in the 99th percentile by this measure. When it comes to plate discipline, Michael Brantley's skill is quite impressive, sporting a 0.97 K/BB rate since the start of last season while checking in at in the 99th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Abreu in the 85th percentile when estimating his batting average talent. Jose Abreu has been unlucky this year, notching a .283 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .345 — a .062 difference.

Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats across the board, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage in today's game. Jonah Heim's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, going from 13.4% to 18.9%.