Kansas City @ Houston Picks & Props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Minute Maid Park as the 9th-worst park in the league for RHB BABIP. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league parks, which tends to lead to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making conditions in this match-up -7° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Hitting from the same side that Hunter Brown throws from, Bobby Witt Jr. faces a tough challenge in today's matchup. Bobby Witt Jr. has an 88th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.9%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league's 9th-deepest RF fences in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) profiles Minute Maid Park as the 9th-worst park in the league for RHB BABIP. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest among all major league parks, which tends to lead to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof projects to be closed today, making conditions in this match-up -7° colder than the average outdoor game of all games on the slate today — favorable for pitching. Because of Brady Singer's large platoon split, Yainer Diaz will be at a huge disadvantage batting from the same side of the plate in today's matchup. Today, Yainer Diaz is at a disadvantage facing the league's 9th-deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 34.5% rate (81st percentile).

Zachary Dezenzo's BABIP ability is projected in the 85th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest fences in the majors — generally good for long-balls. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics across the board, and Zachary Dezenzo will hold that advantage today. Ranking in the 78th percentile for Sprint Speed at 28.37 ft/sec this year, Zachary Dezenzo is quite toolsy.

Paul DeJong has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (80% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup. Paul DeJong pulls many of his flyballs (35.8% — 91st percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Extreme flyball batters like Paul DeJong tend to be more successful against extreme groundball pitchers like Hunter Brown. Paul DeJong has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% of late, upping his 10.6% seasonal rate to 22.2% over the past 14 days. Over the last two weeks, Paul DeJong's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94-mph over the course of the season to 101.2-mph lately.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 93rd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is penciled in 1st in the batting order in this game. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41.5% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Jose Altuve will hold the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Over the past 7 days, Jose Altuve's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 7% up to 18.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Maikel Garcia in the 90th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Maikel Garcia's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last season to this one, increasing from 11.5% to 16.7%. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.281) provides evidence that Maikel Garcia has suffered from bad luck this year with his .240 actual batting average.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 2nd-best hitter in the game, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today's game. Yordan Alvarez will have the handedness advantage over Brady Singer in today's matchup... and even more favorably, Singer has a large platoon split. Yordan Alvarez will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to improve all of his stats. Over the past week, Yordan Alvarez's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 93.7-mph over the course of the season to 96.2-mph in recent games.

Michael Massey is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game. Michael Massey will have the handedness advantage over Hunter Brown in today's matchup. Batters such as Michael Massey with extreme groundball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Hunter Brown who skew towards the flyball end of the spectrum. Michael Massey has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 91.9-mph average over the last two weeks to his seasonal 89.1-mph average. Michael Massey's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved of late, increasing from 46% on the season to 58.6% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

When it comes to his overall offensive ability, Vinnie Pasquantino ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Vinnie Pasquantino is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today. Vinnie Pasquantino will have the handedness advantage against Hunter Brown in today's game. Vinnie Pasquantino has seen a big gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 92.5-mph average to last season's 90-mph mark. Vinnie Pasquantino has displayed favorable plate discipline this year, checking in at the 80th percentile with a 1.9 K/BB rate.

Freddy Fermin pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (34.1% — 82nd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Freddy Fermin has recorded a .335 BABIP this year, ranking in the 90th percentile.

Jake Meyers's BABIP ability is projected in the 78th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions in Major League Baseball. Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Over the last 14 days, Jake Meyers's 35.7% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 20%. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 40% to 47.4%.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest fences in the majors — generally good for long-balls. Batting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Kyle Isbel will have the upper hand in today's matchup.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest fences in the majors — generally good for long-balls. Adam Frazier will hold the platoon advantage against Hunter Brown in today's matchup. Adam Frazier has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 89.7-mph average in the last two weeks' worth of games to his seasonal mark of 86-mph. When it comes to his batting average, Adam Frazier has had bad variance on his side this year. His .209 BA falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .247.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Salvador Perez ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Salvador Perez is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. Salvador Perez pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (36.5% — 93rd percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Extreme groundball bats like Salvador Perez tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Hunter Brown. In the last week's worth of games, Salvador Perez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 13.1% up to 23.8%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Garrett Hampson in the 81st percentile when estimating his BABIP talent. Garrett Hampson'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, increasing from 13.9% to 17.8%. Garrett Hampson is remarkably toolsy, ranking in the 99th percentile in Sprint Speed at 29.94 ft/sec this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 82nd percentile when assessing his batting average skill. Mauricio Dubon will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Mauricio Dubon's launch angle in recent games (22° over the past 14 days) is considerably better than his 14.9° seasonal mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects MJ Melendez in the 79th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive skill. MJ Melendez will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Hunter Brown in today's game. Batters such as MJ Melendez with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Hunter Brown who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. MJ Melendez has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.2-mph to 94.1-mph in the past two weeks' worth of games. Compared to his seasonal average of 15.5°, MJ Melendez has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 25.6° figure in the last 14 days.

Jeremy Pena's batting average skill is projected to be in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest left field dimensions in Major League Baseball. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage in today's game. Over the past week, Jeremy Pena's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 5.7% up to 18.8%. In the past 14 days, Jeremy Pena's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 91.5-mph over the course of the season to 97.1-mph recently.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alex Bregman in the 94th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive skill. Alex Bregman is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Alex Bregman will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Over the last 14 days, Alex Bregman has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 6.4% to 12.5%. Alex Bregman has seen a big gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 91.8-mph average over the last 14 days to his seasonal 89.4-mph average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ben Gamel in the 75th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill. Ben Gamel is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 100% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest fences in the majors — generally good for long-balls. Because of Brady Singer's large platoon split, Ben Gamel will have a huge advantage batting from the opposite side of the dish in this game. Ben Gamel will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to improve all of his stats.

Jon Singleton will hold the platoon advantage against Brady Singer in today's game... and moreover, Singer has a large platoon split. Home field advantage typically bolsters hitter metrics in all categories, and Jon Singleton will hold that advantage today. This year, the hardest ball Jon Singleton has hit reached a maximum exit velocity of 115.4 mph (a reliable stat to measure power), grading out in the 93rd percentile.