Houston @ St. Louis props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jordan Walker in the 78th percentile when assessing his BABIP skill. Jordan Walker has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (86% of the time), but he is penciled in 2nd on the lineup card today. Jordan Walker hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.9% — 87th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards the game's 7th-shallowest CF fences today. Jordan Walker will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which should boost all of his stats. Since the start of last season, the hardest ball Jordan Walker has connected with reached a maximum exit velocity of 116.5 mph (a reliable standard to study power), ranking in the 98th percentile.

Yordan Alvarez projects as the 3rd-best hitter in baseball, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Yordan Alvarez is projected to bat 3rd on the lineup card in today's game. Batting from the opposite that Erick Fedde throws from, Yordan Alvarez will have an advantage in today's game. Yordan Alvarez hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.4% — 76th percentile) and is fortunate to face the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Nolan Arenado is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this game. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Nolan Arenado will hold that advantage in today's game. As it relates to plate discipline, Nolan Arenado's ability is quite strong, putting up a 1.83 K/BB rate since the start of last season while placing in in the 83rd percentile. Posting a .273 batting average since the start of last season, Nolan Arenado is ranked in the 84th percentile.

Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics in all categories, and Pedro Pages will hold that advantage in today's game. Pedro Pages's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better from last season to this one, rising from 14.4% to 22.2%.

Victor Scott will hold the platoon advantage over Hunter Brown in today's game. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats in all categories, and Victor Scott will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Victor Scott has had some very poor luck with his wOBA since the start of last season; his .249 mark is considerably lower than his .283 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Victor Scott is remarkably athletic, checking in at the 99th percentile in Sprint Speed at 29.81 ft/sec this year.

Jeremy Pena's batting average skill is projected to be in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Jeremy Pena has made significant strides with his Barrel%, upping his 5.5% rate last year to 12.8% this year. Jeremy Pena has seen a sizeable improvement in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 91.9-mph average to last season's 88.1-mph mark. Jeremy Pena's launch angle this season (10.9°) is significantly higher than his 7.1° figure last year.

Brendan Donovan's batting average talent is projected to be in the 95th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brendan Donovan is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup. Brendan Donovan will hold the platoon advantage over Hunter Brown in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Brendan Donovan will hold that advantage today. Brendan Donovan has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 91.6-mph average to last season's 88.7-mph average.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Lars Nootbaar in the 93rd percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill. Lars Nootbaar is projected to bat 1st in the lineup in today's game. Hitting from the opposite that Hunter Brown throws from, Lars Nootbaar will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Lars Nootbaar hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.1% — 89th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards MLB's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally improves hitter stats across the board, and Lars Nootbaar will hold that advantage in today's game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 91st percentile when estimating his batting average skill. Jose Altuve is penciled in 1st in the lineup in today's game. Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Grading out in the 86th percentile, Jose Altuve has posted a .348 wOBA (widely regarded as the top indicator of overall offense) since the start of last season. In notching a .301 batting average since the start of last season, Jose Altuve is positioned in the 96th percentile.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Isaac Paredes has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 91.7-mph average to last season's 89-mph EV. Isaac Paredes's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, increasing from 39.7% to 51.2%. Isaac Paredes has shown strong plate discipline since the start of last season, placing in the 95th percentile with a 1.38 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 97th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. Yainer Diaz is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today. Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (.336) provides evidence that Yainer Diaz has had some very poor luck since the start of last season with his .319 actual wOBA. Checking in at the 95th percentile, Yainer Diaz sits with a .291 batting average since the start of last season.

Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Mauricio Dubon has recorded a .265 batting average since the start of last season, placing in the 77th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Willson Contreras in the 91st percentile when assessing his overall offensive ability. Willson Contreras hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.5% — 78th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league's 7th-shallowest CF fences in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Willson Contreras will hold that advantage today. Willson Contreras's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved from last season to this one, going from 45.9% to 51.6%. Based on Statcast metrics, Willson Contreras is in the 79th percentile for offensive ability per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season at .337.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Alec Burleson in the 89th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Alec Burleson is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in this matchup. Alec Burleson will have the handedness advantage over Hunter Brown today. Home field advantage typically bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Alec Burleson will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Based on Statcast metrics, Alec Burleson ranks in the 85th percentile via the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average since the start of last season at .275.

Christian Walker is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today's game. Among every team in action today, the 5th-weakest infield defense belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Christian Walker has put up a .342 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the start of last season, ranking in the 82nd percentile for hitting ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data. Christian Walker's 13.2% Barrel% (an advanced standard to evaluate power) ranks in the 91st percentile since the start of last season. Since the start of last season, Christian Walker has an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph, which ranks among the best in the game at the 88th percentile.

Nolan Gorman has gone over 0.5 in 3 of his last 5 games.

Jake Meyers has gone over 0.5 in 6 of his last 10 games.