Kansas City @ Houston props

The leading projection system (THE BAT) ranks Minute Maid Park as the 9th-worst venue in the majors for RHB base hits. Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest altitudes among all major league stadiums, which often leads to less offense. The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making conditions in this contest -8° colder than the average outdoor game of all games today — favorable for pitching. In today's game, Bobby Witt Jr. is at a disadvantage facing the league's 9th-deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 35.9% rate (89th percentile). Playing on the road generally reduces batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Bobby Witt Jr. in today's matchup.

Jake Meyers's BABIP talent is projected in the 78th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jake Meyers has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (84% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this game. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all major league stadiums. Hitting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Jake Meyers will have the upper hand in today's game. Jake Meyers will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zachary Dezenzo in the 84th percentile as it relates to his BABIP talent. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all major league stadiums. Batting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Zachary Dezenzo will have an advantage in today's game. Zachary Dezenzo will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Over the last 7 days, Zachary Dezenzo's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 9.7% up to 22.2%.

Victor Caratini will hold the home field advantage today, which ought to improve all of his stats. Based on Statcast data, Victor Caratini is in the 83rd percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .268. By putting up a .336 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Victor Caratini finds himself in the 83rd percentile. Ranking in the 89th percentile, Victor Caratini has notched a .281 batting average this year.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all major league stadiums. Shay Whitcomb will hold the platoon advantage over Cole Ragans in today's matchup. Home field advantage typically boosts batter stats in all categories, and Shay Whitcomb will hold that advantage today. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Shay Whitcomb's maximum exit velocity (a favorable indicator of recent form and raw power) has been 109.9-mph, which qualifies as one of the hardest-hit balls in MLB. Shay Whitcomb has been honed in on the ideal launch angle for base hits recently, angling balls between -4° and 26° 54.5% of the time over the last 14 days.

Jose Altuve's batting average talent is projected to be in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Jose Altuve is penciled in 1st in the lineup in this matchup. Hitting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Jose Altuve will have the upper hand in today's game. Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41.7% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Altuve will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all major league stadiums. Nick Loftin will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yusei Kikuchi today. Nick Loftin has had some very poor luck with his batting average this year; his .193 mark is quite a bit lower than his .227 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. In terms of plate discipline, Nick Loftin's skill is quite good, sporting a 1.29 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 96th percentile.

Paul DeJong is penciled in 4th on the lineup card today, which would be an upgrade from his 79% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season. Hitting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Paul DeJong will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Paul DeJong pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (35.6% — 91st percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Paul DeJong has made significant gains with his Barrel% recently, improving his 10.4% seasonal rate to 20% over the past two weeks. Last year, Paul DeJong had an average launch angle of 15.5° on his hardest-contacted balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 20.9°.

When it comes to his batting average ability, Yainer Diaz is projected as the 16th-best batter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yainer Diaz is penciled in 3rd in the lineup today. Yainer Diaz will have the handedness advantage over Cole Ragans in today's game. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Yainer Diaz will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 97.7-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal EV of 93.3-mph.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-smallest outfield in the majors — generally good for HRs. Kyle Isbel's launch angle in recent games (1.2° in the past week's worth of games) is a considerable dropoff from his 8° seasonal angle.

Mauricio Dubon's batting average skill is projected to be in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Mauricio Dubon will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cole Ragans in today's game. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Mauricio Dubon will hold that advantage today.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Alex Bregman ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today's game. Hitting from the opposite that Cole Ragans throws from, Alex Bregman will have the upper hand in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage today. Over the last 7 days, Alex Bregman's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 6.3% up to 11.8%.

Maikel Garcia's batting average ability is projected to be in the 91st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Maikel Garcia is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Maikel Garcia will have an advantage in today's game. Maikel Garcia's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 11.5% to 16.6%. When it comes to his batting average, Maikel Garcia has experienced some negative variance this year. His .241 mark falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .283.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Dairon Blanco in the 85th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill. Hitting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Dairon Blanco will have an edge today. Dairon Blanco has hit 36.8% of his balls in the air 100 mph or harder since the start of last season, placing in the 77th percentile. Dairon Blanco has put up a .322 BABIP since the start of last season, placing in the 82nd percentile.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Yordan Alvarez ranks as the 2nd-best hitter in baseball. Yordan Alvarez is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card in this game. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics across the board, and Yordan Alvarez will hold that advantage today. In the past week's worth of games, Yordan Alvarez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 14.4% up to 26.7%. Yordan Alvarez has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 96.4-mph average in the past two weeks to his seasonal 93.1-mph figure.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Salvador Perez ranks in the 85th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Salvador Perez is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Salvador Perez will have the handedness advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's game. Salvador Perez pulls many of his flyballs (36.4% — 93rd percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. In the past week, Salvador Perez's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 13% up to 18.2%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 92nd percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Jeremy Pena is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all major league stadiums. Jeremy Pena will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Cole Ragans in today's matchup. Jeremy Pena will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-smallest outfield in the majors — generally good for HRs. Ben Gamel will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats. Ben Gamel has been hot in recent games, cruising to a .364 wOBA in the past week's worth of games.

Hitting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Garrett Hampson will have an edge in today's matchup.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, MJ Melendez ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.234) suggests that MJ Melendez has had some very poor luck this year with his .210 actual batting average.

Freddy Fermin has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (84% of the time), but he is projected to hit 5th in the batting order today. Freddy Fermin will hold the platoon advantage over Yusei Kikuchi in today's matchup. Freddy Fermin pulls many of his flyballs (33.8% — 80th 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 game. Grading out in the 89th percentile, Freddy Fermin sports a .332 BABIP this year.

Minute Maid Park has the shallowest LF dimensions among all major league stadiums. Hitting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Tyler Gentry will have an edge in today's game.