Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

The #1 park in baseball for suppressing BABIP to RHB, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Globe Life Field. Among all major league parks, Globe Life Field's CF fences are the 6th-deepest. The Globe Life Field roof figures to be closed today, making the temperature in this game -14° colder than the average outdoor game of the day — favorable for pitching. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 2nd-best among every team playing today. Playing on the road generally reduces batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Yainer Diaz in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nathaniel Lowe in the 88th percentile when estimating his BABIP ability. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Nathaniel Lowe will have an advantage in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Nathaniel Lowe will hold that advantage today. By putting up a 1.69 K/BB rate this year, Nathaniel Lowe has displayed favorable plate discipline, grading out in the 88th percentile. Checking in at the 77th percentile, Nathaniel Lowe has put up a .321 BABIP this year.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Marcus Semien ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Marcus Semien is penciled in 3rd in the batting order in today's game. Extreme flyball batters like Marcus Semien tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Marcus Semien will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Marcus Semien has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 92.3-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 87.5-mph average.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Adolis Garcia has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 94.6-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal 91.7-mph average. Despite posting a .283 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Adolis Garcia has been unlucky given the .039 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .322.

Josh Smith is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Josh Smith will have an advantage today. Josh Smith will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Josh Smith's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved of late, rising from 14.2% on the season to 25% in the last two weeks. With a .352 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Josh Smith grades out in the 85th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in this game. Max Scherzer will have the handedness advantage over Jose Altuve in today's game. Posting a .353 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Jose Altuve finds himself in the 86th percentile. Checking in at the 97th percentile, Jose Altuve sits with a .310 batting average this year.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Corey Seager ranks as the 8th-best batter in the majors. Corey Seager is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Corey Seager will have the upper hand today. Corey Seager will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats. Corey Seager has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 92.2-mph to 96.4-mph over the last 14 days.

Carson Kelly will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should bolster all of his stats. Carson Kelly has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 93.4-mph average to last season's 90.3-mph EV.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 86th percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Wyatt Langford is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this game. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter stats across the board, and Wyatt Langford will hold that advantage in today's game. Wyatt Langford has had some very poor luck with his wOBA this year; his .296 figure is significantly deflated relative to his .325 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Jonah Heim will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 2nd-best batter in the majors, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 3rd in the batting order today. In the last two weeks, Yordan Alvarez has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 18.3° compared to his seasonal mark of 12.1°. Yordan Alvarez has notched a .377 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, grading out in the 96th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. With a .393 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Yordan Alvarez is positioned in the 96th percentile.

Jon Singleton has seen a sizeable increase in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 92.9-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal 89.4-mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 97th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Josh Jung is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 56% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Josh Jung will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Josh Jung has compiled a .266 Expected Batting Average since the start of last season, placing in the 80th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Ranked in the 90th percentile, Josh Jung has one of the highest average exit velocities in the league since the start of last season (91.5-mph).

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Alex Bregman ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this game. Hitting from the same side that Max Scherzer throws from, Alex Bregman will not have the upper hand in today's game. Alex Bregman's launch angle recently (21.1° in the past 14 days) is significantly better than his 17.8° seasonal angle. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Alex Bregman's true offensive ability to be a .340, suggesting that he has been unlucky this year given the .030 difference between that figure and his actual .310 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 93rd percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Jeremy Pena is penciled in 5th on the lineup card in this game. Max Scherzer will have the handedness advantage over Jeremy Pena today. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.325) suggests that Jeremy Pena has had bad variance on his side this year with his .306 actual wOBA. Based on Statcast data, Jeremy Pena ranks in the 90th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .283.

Max Scherzer will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Pedro Leon in today's matchup.

Jake Meyers's BABIP ability is projected in the 76th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Batting from the same side that Max Scherzer throws from, Jake Meyers will not have the upper hand in today's matchup. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 40% to 47%. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.349) suggests that Jake Meyers has suffered from bad luck this year with his .301 actual wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 84th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Batting from the same side that Max Scherzer throws from, Mauricio Dubon will have a tough challenge in today's matchup. Mauricio Dubon has made big improvements with his Barrel% recently, bettering his 3.5% seasonal rate to 22.2% in the past week's worth of games. Compared to his seasonal average of 13.9°, Mauricio Dubon has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 26.6° figure in the last two weeks' worth of games.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Leody Taveras in the 76th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Leody Taveras will hold that advantage in today's matchup. In the past week's worth of games, Leody Taveras's Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 5.4% down to 0%. Compared to his seasonal average of 12.2°, Leody Taveras has significantly improved his launch angle of late, posting a 25.3° angle in the past week. As it relates to his batting average, Leody Taveras has had bad variance on his side this year. His .228 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .265.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Chas McCormick in the 82nd percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Hitting from the same side that Max Scherzer throws from, Chas McCormick encounters a tough challenge today. Chas McCormick's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls of late (26.3° over the past 14 days) is significantly better than his 13.9° seasonal mark. Despite posting a .264 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Chas McCormick has experienced some negative variance given the .049 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .313. Chas McCormick has put up a .319 BABIP since the start of last season, checking in at the 83rd percentile.