Minnesota @ Houston Picks & Props

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Byron Buxton ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Byron Buxton is penciled in 5th in the batting order today. Byron Buxton pulls a lot of his flyballs (41% — 99th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Extreme groundball bats like Byron Buxton usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Despite posting a .299 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Byron Buxton has experienced some negative variance given the .036 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .335.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 13th-best hitter in the majors. Kyle Tucker is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game. Kyle Tucker will have the handedness advantage against Simeon Woods Richard today. Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats in all categories, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage today. Kyle Tucker has been hot in recent games, hitting his way to a .410 wOBA in the past two weeks.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Edouard Julien as the 7th-best hitter in the league when assessing his BABIP ability. Hitting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Edouard Julien will have an edge in today's game. Edouard Julien has a 98th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (41.5%) and has the good fortune of hitting them out towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. With a .364 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) since the start of last season, Edouard Julien is ranked in the 92nd percentile for hitting ability. Edouard Julien's 13% Barrel% (a reliable metric to measure power) ranks in the 88th percentile since the start of last season.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best batter in MLB. Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd in the lineup in this game. Yordan Alvarez will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Simeon Woods Richard today. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage in today's game. Despite posting a .356 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Yordan Alvarez has suffered from bad luck given the .046 discrepancy between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .402.

Mauricio Dubon is penciled in 6th in the batting order in today's game. Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest altitudes in the league, which tends to lead to less offense. Batting from the same side that Simeon Woods Richard throws from, Mauricio Dubon will not have the upper hand in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (38.6%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of baseball's 9th-deepest RF fences in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon has been lucky this year, posting a .329 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .294 — a .035 discrepancy.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 96th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. Jeremy Pena is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in today's game. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all parks. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage in today's game. Posting a .282 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) based on Statcast data) since the start of last season , Jeremy Pena finds himself in the 86th percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Ryan Jeffers ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Ryan Jeffers is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Ryan Jeffers pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.1% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Ryan Jeffers's 11.7% Barrel% (an advanced metric to measure power) is in the 82nd percentile since the start of last season. Placing in the 99th percentile, the hardest ball Ryan Jeffers has connected with since the start of last season reached a maximum exit velocity of 117.4 mph -- a reliable indication of underlying power skill.

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest altitudes in the league, which tends to lead to less offense. Simeon Woods Richard will hold the platoon advantage against Jose Altuve today. Jose Altuve's 86-mph average exit velocity is one of the worst in the game since the start of last season: 7th percentile. Hitting the ball to all fields is a crucial talent for batting average that Jose Altuve has struggled with since the start of last season, as evidenced by his ranking in the 9th percentile on THE BAT X's Spray Score.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Miranda in the 77th percentile as it relates to his batting average skill. Jose Miranda is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup today. Jose Miranda pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36% — 91st percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Jose Miranda has notched a .275 batting average this year, checking in at the 78th percentile.

Carlos Santana has gone over 0.5 in 6 of his last 10 games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 77th percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Jake Meyers has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (97% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the lineup today. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all parks. Jake Meyers will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Jake Meyers is in the 99th percentile when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to optimize home runs (21.4% rate since the start of last season).

When estimating his overall offensive skill, Max Kepler ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Max Kepler is penciled in 4th in the lineup in this matchup. Dingers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest in the majors. Hitting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Max Kepler will have an edge in today's matchup. Sporting a .354 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) since the start of last season, Max Kepler has performed in the 85th percentile for offensive ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Alex Bregman is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this game. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics across the board, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Alex Bregman has had bad variance on his side thus far when it comes to his batting average this year; his .224 BA is a good deal lower than his .255 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. In terms of the ability to lift the ball for power, Alex Bregman ranks in the 87th percentile with a 17.6° launch angle, which is among the steepest angles in MLB.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Chas McCormick will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Chas McCormick's true offensive ability to be a .311, providing some evidence that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .069 disparity between that figure and his actual .242 wOBA. Using Statcast data, Chas McCormick grades out in the 87th percentile for hitting ability via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .356. Since the start of last season, Chas McCormick's 11.1% Barrel%, a reliable metric for measuring power, places him in the 75th percentile among his peers.

Jose Abreu will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Jose Abreu's true offensive talent to be a .311, providing some evidence that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .157 deviation between that figure and his actual .154 wOBA. Jose Abreu's maximum exit velocity (an advanced standard to evaluate power) has been 113.3 mph since the start of last season, placing in the 76th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 95th percentile as it relates to his batting average ability. Out of every team on the slate today, the 5th-weakest outfield defense is that of the Minnesota Twins. Yainer Diaz will hold the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats. Yainer Diaz has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average this year; his .249 figure is deflated compared to his .264 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Since the start of last season, Yainer Diaz's 11.9% Barrel%, a reliable stat for measuring power, places him in the 80th percentile among his peers.

Posting a .336 BABIP this year, Willi Castro is ranked in the 81st percentile.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Carlos Correa ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Carlos Correa is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card today. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions among all parks. The Houston Astros infield defense profiles as the 5th-worst among every team in action today. Carlos Correa has gotten much quicker this year, improving from last year's 26.53 ft/sec to 27.01 ft/sec now (according to Statcast's Sprint Speed metric).

Dingers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest in the majors. Victor Caratini will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should bolster all of his stats. Since the start of last season, Victor Caratini has an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph, which is among the best in the majors at the 87th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Kirilloff in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill. Alex Kirilloff will hold the platoon advantage over Hunter Brown in today's matchup. Alex Kirilloff has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (39%) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Utilizing Statcast data, Alex Kirilloff ranks in the 82nd percentile for hitting ability per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .351. With a .286 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) since the start of last season , Alex Kirilloff is ranked in the 88th percentile.

Hitting from the opposite that Simeon Woods Richard throws from, Jon Singleton will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Out of every team on the slate today, the 5th-weakest outfield defense is that of the Minnesota Twins. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Jon Singleton will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Trevor Larnach ranks in the 75th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Trevor Larnach is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. Dingers are generally more common at ballparks with shallow fences, and Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest in the majors. Hitting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Trevor Larnach will have an advantage in today's matchup. Since the start of last season, Trevor Larnach's flyball exit velocity (an advanced stat to assess power) grades out in the 94th percentile at 97 mph.