Seattle @ Houston props

Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in the league, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to worse offense. George Kirby will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yainer Diaz in today's matchup. Yainer Diaz has an 81st percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) but may find it hard to clear baseball's 9th-deepest RF fences today. From last year to this one, Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a launch angle that optimizes home runs (23° to 34°) has decreased substantially, plummeting from 21.6% to 11.8%. As it relates to plate discipline, Yainer Diaz's skill is quite poor, sporting a 4.35 K/BB rate this year while ranking in in the 12th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 75th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent. In Major League Baseball, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the shallowest. Jake Meyers will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, rising from 40% to 45%. Jake Meyers has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his batting average this year; his .220 figure is quite a bit lower than his .261 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 93rd percentile when estimating his batting average ability. Jose Altuve is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (41.5% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Altuve will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Jose Altuve has seen a big gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 88.4-mph average in the past two weeks to his seasonal 86.4-mph average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Randy Arozarena in the 94th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Randy Arozarena is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card in this game. Batting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Randy Arozarena will have an advantage in today's game. Over the past 14 days, Randy Arozarena's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 94.1-mph over the course of the season to 99-mph of late. Randy Arozarena has been unlucky this year, notching a .322 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .342 — a .020 gap.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, J.P. Crawford ranks in the 83rd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). J.P. Crawford's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last year to this one, rising from 13% to 17.2%. In the past two weeks, J.P. Crawford's 63.3% rate of hitting balls at a base hit-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 46.5%. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.248) may lead us to conclude that J.P. Crawford has experienced some negative variance this year with his .204 actual batting average. By putting up a 1.79 K/BB rate this year, J.P. Crawford has shown good plate discipline, placing in the 84th percentile.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 11th-best batter in the league. Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Kyle Tucker will have the handedness advantage against George Kirby in today's matchup. The Seattle Mariners have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Kyle Tucker can likely count on never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Kyle Tucker will hold that advantage today.

When assessing his BABIP skill, Julio Rodriguez is projected as the 2nd-best hitter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Julio Rodriguez is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. Julio Rodriguez will have the handedness advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's game. Over the last 14 days, Julio Rodriguez has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 10.2% to 17.1%. Julio Rodriguez has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 95.8-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 91.2-mph EV.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Alex Bregman ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is projected to bat 1st in the batting order today. Alex Bregman pulls a lot of his flyballs (33.9% — 80th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage in today's game. Alex Bregman's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved in recent games, rising from 43.6% on the season to 63.6% in the last week's worth of games.

Batting from the opposite that Yusei Kikuchi throws from, Dylan Moore will have the upper hand today. Dylan Moore pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (39.2% — 97th 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. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.324) implies that Dylan Moore has had bad variance on his side this year with his .310 actual wOBA.

Victor Caratini has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this season (86% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the batting order today. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Victor Caratini will hold that advantage in today's game. In notching a .261 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year , Victor Caratini is positioned in the 78th percentile. Posting a 2.05 K/BB rate this year, Victor Caratini has displayed favorable plate discipline, ranking in the 81st percentile. By putting up a .275 batting average this year, Victor Caratini grades out in the 88th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Justin Turner in the 75th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Justin Turner is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup. In Major League Baseball, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the shallowest. Justin Turner will have the handedness advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's matchup. Justin Turner has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.2-mph to 93.5-mph over the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jorge Polanco in the 83rd percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability. Jorge Polanco pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (39.8% — 98th percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. In the last two weeks' worth of games, Jorge Polanco has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 27.9° compared to his seasonal mark of 21.2°. Jorge Polanco has suffered from bad luck when it comes to his wOBA this year; his .280 rate is deflated compared to his .323 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Jason Heyward will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against George Kirby in today's matchup. The Seattle Mariners have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jason Heyward stands a good chance of never losing the platoon advantage against the 'pen all game. Jason Heyward will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats. Jason Heyward has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 87.9-mph to 93-mph in the past week. Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average (.232) may lead us to conclude that Jason Heyward has had some very poor luck this year with his .212 actual batting average.

Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Shay Whitcomb will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Mauricio Dubon in the 85th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Mauricio Dubon will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats. Mauricio Dubon has notched a .271 batting average this year, grading out in the 81st percentile.

Mitch Garver will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's matchup. Mitch Garver pulls a lot of his flyballs (41.2% — 99th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Mitch Garver has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs this season; just compare his 94.5-mph average to last season's 91.4-mph average. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Mitch Garver's true offensive skill to be a .311, indicating that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .034 difference between that mark and his actual .277 wOBA. Mitch Garver and his 16.7° launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls rank in 88th percentile, among the highest in the league this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 94th percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jeremy Pena is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup in this matchup. In Major League Baseball, Minute Maid Park's LF dimensions are the shallowest. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage today. By putting up a .273 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) utilizing Statcast data) this year , Jeremy Pena grades out in the 82nd percentile.

Jon Singleton has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (60% of the time), but he is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup. Jon Singleton will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against George Kirby in today's matchup. The Seattle Mariners have just 1 same-handed RP in their bullpen, so Jon Singleton stands a good chance of holding the platoon advantage against every reliever all game. Jon Singleton will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

Victor Robles is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in today's game. Victor Robles will hold the platoon advantage against Yusei Kikuchi in today's matchup. Victor Robles pulls a lot of his flyballs (37% — 94th percentile) and sets up very well considering he'll be hitting them towards MLB's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. In the past week's worth of games, Victor Robles's 42.9% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 14.9%. Checking in at the 95th percentile, Victor Robles sits with a .374 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) this year.

Cal Raleigh is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this game. Cal Raleigh pulls many of his flyballs (40.2% — 98th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the game's 2nd-shallowest LF fences today. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.341) provides evidence that Cal Raleigh has had some very poor luck this year with his .317 actual wOBA.