I'm still shocked the Astros have made it this far again. Amazing run for a team gasping for air against bad teams a few weeks ago. Of course, the Rangers also have overcome a lot, especially with their pitching injuries.
Some great head-to-heads are shaping up. Garcia vs. Alvarez? The advantage I'd give to Houston, though not by much. Seager vs. Tucker? Right now Corey's hitting better than Kyle. Altuve vs. Semien? Bregman vs. Jung? Garver vs. Abreu? Brantley vs. Carter? All tough calls. A bunch of guys on each side can rip it during any given AB, so it just depends on who's feeling it and gets a mistake to hit in a key situation.
I haven't checked the defensive stats, but Jung and Seager vs. Bregman and Peña is a great matchup. On the right side I must give the edge to Texas. Each team is good in the OF, with Tucker being the most celebrated defender. Catcher is a runaway win for Heim over Maldonado, whether behind the plate or to the side of it (unless maybe "intangibles" really are a huge deal, in which case it tightens up.)
The real key will be which team gets better pitching. Eovaldi, Dunning and Montgomery are tough starters. Who really knows about Max's availability? Verlander and Javier have been on a roll, but Valdez remains a wild card. In the end the bullpens might be the difference, and there the Astros have an edge. In part that's because of their ability to coax needed middle innings out of Urquidy, Brown, Maton and maybe France. Abreu and Neris are great setup guys, while Pressly is the obvious pick to close.
Add it all up, and I see the series result as Houston in 7. An epic battle is coming.