Matchup Details

Positive Match Player Stats for Cubs vs Astros Matchup Today

The Chicago Cubs projected lineup grades out as the 5th-strongest on the slate in terms of overall offensive ability.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), Yainer Diaz (the Astros’s expected catcher today) profiles as a weak pitch framer.

The 2nd-shallowest left field fences among all major league parks are found in Minute Maid Park.

With 7 batters of opposing handedness in the opposing team’s projected batting order, Brandon Walter faces a tough challenge while lacking the platoon advantage in most plate appearances in today’s matchup.

Considering that flyball batters have a sizeable edge over groundball pitchers, Brandon Walter and his 48.9% underlying GB% (per the leading projection system, THE BAT) will be in a tough position in today’s game matching up with 3 opposing GB bats.

Minute Maid Park projects as the #4 park in the league for strikeouts, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Built just 20 feet above sea level, Minute Maid Park has one of the lowest elevations in the league, which tends to lead to less offense.

Matt Shaw will hold the platoon advantage over Brandon Walter in today’s game.

Matt Shaw has had some very poor luck with his wOBA this year; his .271 figure is deflated compared to his .299 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cam Smith as the 7th-best hitter in baseball when assessing his BABIP talent.

Cam Smith has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (91% of the time), but he is projected to bat 5th in the batting order in today’s game.

Home field advantage generally improves batter metrics in all categories, and Cam Smith will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Cam Smith has notched a .277 Expected Batting Average this year, ranking in the 82nd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Grading out in the 96th percentile, Cam Smith sports a .357 BABIP this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cam Smith in the 75th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability.

Playing on the road generally reduces pitcher metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Cade Horton in today’s matchup.

The Houston Astros have done a favorable job as a team optimizing their launch angles on their hardest-contacted balls. Their 15.1° angle is among the highest in the league this year (#7 overall).

The Houston Astros have 3 hitters in their projected lineup today with a high (i.e. over 27%) underlying K% (according to the leading projection system, THE BAT X) (Cam Smith, Taylor Trammell, Cooper Hummel).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 94th percentile when assessing his home run skill.

Christian Walker pulls a lot of his flyballs (34.3% — 83rd percentile) and will have a big advantage hitting them towards the game’s 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Christian Walker will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.

Christian Walker has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.5-mph to 93.9-mph in the last week.

Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, putting up a .282 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .328 — a .046 gap.

Carson Kelly will have the handedness advantage over Brandon Walter in today’s game.

Carson Kelly has been hot lately, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.4-mph to 94.2-mph over the last week.

Sporting a .358 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Carson Kelly is positioned in the 88th percentile for offensive ability.

Ranking in the 88th percentile for power, Carson Kelly has averaged 30.2 HRs per 600 plate appearances this year.

Carson Kelly has put up a .362 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, ranking in the 87th percentile.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Carson Kelly ranks in the 77th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Hitting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Nico Hoerner will have an edge today.

Nico Hoerner’s ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has improved lately, rising from 49.3% on the season to 56.8% in the past 14 days.

Utilizing Statcast data, Nico Hoerner grades out in the 93rd percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .290.

Checking in at the 91st percentile, Nico Hoerner has notched a .295 batting average this year.

As it relates to his batting average talent, Nico Hoerner is projected as the 19th-best batter in the game by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Nico Hoerner has shown good plate discipline this year, placing in the 86th percentile with a 1.53 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ian Happ in the 91st percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent.

Ian Happ is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup.

Ian Happ has made substantial gains with his Barrel% recently, upping his 8.8% seasonal rate to 22.2% over the past 7 days.

Ian Happ has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 96.5-mph average over the last two weeks to his seasonal EV of 93.2-mph.

Over the last week, Ian Happ’s 26.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 15.9%.

Isaac Paredes is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in today’s game.

Isaac Paredes pulls a lot of his flyballs (46.9% — 100th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards baseball’s 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today’s matchup.

Extreme groundball bats like Isaac Paredes tend to be more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Cade Horton.

Isaac Paredes will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Isaac Paredes has seen a big increase in his exit velocity this year; just compare his 87.4-mph average to last season’s 85-mph mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isaac Paredes in the 82nd percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.

Jose Altuve’s batting average talent is projected to be in the 89th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Jose Altuve is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup in today’s game.

Jose Altuve pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (41% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards the league’s 2nd-shallowest LF fences today.

Jose Altuve will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.

When assessing his overall offensive ability, Jose Altuve ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Jose Altuve’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased of late, going from 15.7% on the season to 26.5% in the past two weeks.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 7th-best batter in MLB.

Kyle Tucker is penciled in 2nd in the batting order in this matchup.

Extreme groundball batters like Kyle Tucker are generally more successful against extreme flyball pitchers like Brandon Walter.

Kyle Tucker’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has gotten better lately, rising from 20.6% on the season to 31.3% over the last 14 days.

As it relates to his home runs, Kyle Tucker has been unlucky this year. His 27.2 HR per 600 plate appearances figure has been a fair amount lower than the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected HR/600 at 31.4.

Kyle Tucker has put up a .386 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, grading out in the 98th percentile for offensive ability according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

Hitting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Justin Turner will have an edge in today’s game.

Extreme flyball bats like Justin Turner usually hit better against extreme groundball pitchers like Brandon Walter.

Justin Turner’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, increasing from 19.1% to 27.5%.

Justin Turner has been unlucky in regards to his wOBA this year; his .246 mark is a fair amount lower than his .302 Expected wOBA, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s interpretation of Statcast data.

In terms of plate discipline, Justin Turner’s talent is quite strong, posting a 1.53 K/BB rate since the start of last season while grading out in in the 92nd percentile.

As it relates to his overall offensive talent, Dansby Swanson ranks in the 87th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Dansby Swanson is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup.

Dansby Swanson will hold the platoon advantage over Brandon Walter in today’s matchup.

There has been a significant improvement in Dansby Swanson’s launch angle from last year’s 10.2° to 14.6° this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Dansby Swanson’s true offensive ability to be a .331, suggesting that he has had bad variance on his side this year given the .026 disparity between that mark and his actual .305 wOBA.

Jeremy Pena’s batting average talent is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Jeremy Pena is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in today’s game.

Jeremy Pena will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today’s game, which should improve all of his stats.

Jeremy Pena has made big improvements with his Barrel% lately, upping his 7.2% seasonal rate to 20% over the past week.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 84th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 84th percentile when estimating his batting average talent.

Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

Jake Meyers’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last year to this one, increasing from 44.4% to 51.8%.

Jake Meyers has compiled a .371 BABIP this year, grading out in the 98th percentile.

When estimating his home run talent, Pete Crow-Armstrong ranks in the 88th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Pete Crow-Armstrong is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in this matchup.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has made big strides with his Barrel%, improving his 8% rate last season to 14.2% this year.

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s launch angle this year (23.3°) is quite a bit higher than his 16.7° figure last year.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has notched a .381 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, placing in the 94th percentile.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Pete Crow-Armstrong ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Cooper Hummel will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Cooper Hummel has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 103.5-mph average over the past week to his seasonal figure of 98.4-mph.

Over the last 14 days, Cooper Hummel’s Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 30% up to 30%.

In the last two weeks, Cooper Hummel’s swing has been well optimized for home runs, notching a 40% of balls hit with a launch angle in the optimal range of 23° to 34°.

Seiya Suzuki projects as the 17th-best batter in Major League Baseball, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Seiya Suzuki is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in today’s game.

Batting from the opposite that Brandon Walter throws from, Seiya Suzuki will have the upper hand today.

Hitters such as Seiya Suzuki with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Brandon Walter who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.

Seiya Suzuki has made notable improvements with his Barrel%, bettering his 11.5% rate last season to 18.8% this season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz in the 96th percentile when assessing his batting average skill.

Yainer Diaz is projected to bat 4th in the batting order in this matchup.

Yainer Diaz will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which figures to bolster all of his stats.

Despite posting a .281 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Yainer Diaz has experienced some negative variance given the .044 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .325.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Yainer Diaz ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Negative Match Player Stats with Cubs vs Astros

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT)’s estimation, Brandon Walter’s overall pitching ability ranks in the 82nd percentile out of all SPs in the league currently.

In the league, the 3rd-tallest fence height (on average) are at Minute Maid Park.

The Minute Maid Park roof is expected to be closed today, making the temperature in this game -9° colder than the average outdoor game on the schedule today — favorable for pitching.

Brandon Walter will possess the home field advantage in today’s matchup, which ought to bolster all of his metrics in all categories.

Brandon Walter was on point in his last start and allowed 0 ER.

Considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Brandon Walter is projected to throw 82 pitches in today’s matchup by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 8th-least of all pitchers on the slate.

Among all starting pitchers, Brandon Walter’s fastball velocity of 88 mph ranks in the 3rd percentile this year.

Matt Shaw is penciled in 9th in the batting order today.

In today’s matchup, Matt Shaw is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 36% rate (90th percentile).

Playing on the road generally lessens batter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Matt Shaw in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Matt Shaw in the 21st percentile when estimating his home run ability.

Batting from the same side that Cade Horton throws from, Cam Smith encounters a tough challenge today.

Cam Smith hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.5% — 78th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the game’s 9th-deepest CF fences today.

The Chicago Cubs outfield defense grades out as the 4th-best among all the teams today.

Among all starting pitchers, Cade Horton’s fastball velocity of 95 mph is in the 83rd percentile this year.

Cade Horton’s 2505-rpm fastball spin rate this year ranks in the 92nd percentile out of all starters.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cade Horton to throw 79 pitches in this game (5th-least of the day), considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup.

Ranking in the 20th percentile, Cade Horton has notched a 16.6% Strikeout% this year.

Christian Walker is projected to bat 6th in the lineup in today’s game, which would be a downgrade from his 94% rate of hitting in the top-half of the lineup this season.

Cade Horton will have the handedness advantage over Christian Walker today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Christian Walker in the 11th percentile when assessing his BABIP ability.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Carson Kelly in the 11th percentile when estimating his BABIP skill.

Carson Kelly is projected to hit 6th in the batting order today.

Carson Kelly will be at a disadvantage playing on the visting team today.

Carson Kelly has negatively regressed with his Barrel% in recent games; his 11.1% seasonal rate has dropped to 0% over the past 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Nico Hoerner in the 3rd percentile when assessing his home run skill.

Nico Hoerner is penciled in 7th in the batting order today.

Nico Hoerner has an 83rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.7%) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards MLB’s 9th-deepest RF fences in today’s game.

Playing on the road typically weakens hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Nico Hoerner in today’s matchup.

The switch-hitting Ian Happ will be less advantaged while batting from his weak side (0) today against Brandon Walter,In today’s game, Ian Happ is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 9th-deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 33.9% rate (78th percentile).

Playing on the road typically diminishes hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Ian Happ in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Isaac Paredes in the 3rd percentile when it comes to his BABIP skill.

Hitting from the same side that Cade Horton throws from, Isaac Paredes will have a tough matchup today.

Isaac Paredes’s exit velocity on flyballs has decreased of late; his 91.1-mph seasonal mark has lowered to 86.8-mph in the last 7 days.

Cade Horton will hold the platoon advantage against Jose Altuve today.

In the last week’s worth of games, Jose Altuve’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 6.2% down to 0%.

Hitting from the same side that Brandon Walter throws from, Kyle Tucker has a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

Kyle Tucker pulls a lot of his flyballs (35.1% — 89th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the game’s 9th-deepest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Kyle Tucker will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Justin Turner in the 21st percentile as it relates to his home run skill.

Justin Turner is projected to bat 8th in the lineup in this matchup.

Justin Turner hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.6% — 81st percentile) but may find it hard to clear MLB’s 9th-deepest CF fences today.

Playing on the road typically reduces hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Justin Turner in today’s game.

Dansby Swanson hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.3% — 99th percentile) and will be challenged by baseball’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

Playing on the road typically reduces hitter metrics in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Dansby Swanson in today’s game.

Dansby Swanson’s average exit velocity has fallen off recently; his 90-mph seasonal figure has lowered to 86.3-mph over the past two weeks.

Cade Horton will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Jeremy Pena in today’s matchup.

Extreme groundball batters like Jeremy Pena usually hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Cade Horton.

Despite posting a .378 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Jeremy Pena has been lucky given the .051 disparity between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .327.

Jake Meyers is penciled in 7th in the batting order today.

Cade Horton will have the handedness advantage over Jake Meyers in today’s game.

Jake Meyers hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (40.1% — 98th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the game’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

Hitting from the same side that Brandon Walter throws from, Pete Crow-Armstrong meets a tough challenge today.

Pete Crow-Armstrong pulls many of his flyballs (35.4% — 90th percentile) and will be challenged by baseball’s 9th-deepest RF fences in today’s game.

Playing on the road generally reduces hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Pete Crow-Armstrong in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Cooper Hummel in the 18th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent.

Cooper Hummel is penciled in 8th on the lineup card in today’s game.

As a switch-hitter who bats worse from the 0 side of the plate, Cooper Hummel will be at a disadvantage batting from his weak side against Cade Horton in this game.

Seiya Suzuki hits many of his flyballs to center field (41.7% — 100th percentile) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the league’s 9th-deepest CF fences in today’s matchup.

Playing on the road generally lowers hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Seiya Suzuki today.

Hitting from the same side that Cade Horton throws from, Yainer Diaz meets a tough challenge in today’s game.

Yainer Diaz hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (39.4% — 92nd percentile) and will be challenged by baseball’s 9th-deepest CF fences today.

Latest Houston Astros Match Player Stats

• Houston Astros at Tampa Bay Rays Odds MLB – Sunday 13th 2026
• Astros vs Rays match player stats | 2026 Series Game 3 Sunday, September 13th
• Houston Astros at Tampa Bay Rays Odds MLB – Saturday 12th 2026
• Astros vs Rays match player stats | 2026 Series Game 2 Saturday, September 12th
• Houston Astros at Tampa Bay Rays Odds MLB – Friday 11th 2026
• Astros vs Rays match player stats | 2026 Friday, September 11th
• Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies Odds MLB – Thursday 10th 2026
• Astros vs Phillies match player stats | 2026 Series Game 3 Thursday, September 10th
• Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies Odds MLB – Wednesday 9th 2026
• Astros vs Phillies match player stats | 2026 Series Game 2 Wednesday, September 9th

Latest Chicago Cubs Match Player Stats

• Pirates vs Cubs match player stats | 2026 Series Game 3 Sunday, September 13th
• Pirates vs Cubs match player stats | 2026 Series Game 2 Saturday, September 12th
• Pirates vs Cubs match player stats | 2026 Friday, September 11th
• Cubs vs Brewers match player stats | 2026 Series Game 3 Wednesday, September 9th
• Cubs vs Brewers match player stats | 2026 Series Game 2 Tuesday, September 8th
• Cubs vs Brewers match player stats | 2026 Monday, September 7th
• Cubs vs Marlins match player stats | 2026 Series Game 3 Sunday, September 6th
• Cubs vs Marlins match player stats | 2026 Series Game 2 Saturday, September 5th
• Cubs vs Marlins match player stats | 2026 Friday, September 4th
• Brewers vs Cubs match player stats | 2026 Series Game 4 Thursday, September 3rd

---