Best MLB Doubles Matchups — Saturday, July 18, 2026
Top doubles spot: Elly De La Cruz
Elly De La Cruz (CIN) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Tomoyuki Sugano. The lefty is driving the ball at — 2B/PA against righties this year, a solid bat that turns into a double in about 5% of his trips. And Tomoyuki Sugano has been thin against righties lately. The bullpen behind him is roughly average to that side. He's hitting in a spot worth about 4.7 trips, so the volume's there. He's just .000 in 3 career PA against Tomoyuki Sugano, but that's a tiny sample and the matchup says regression. It all sets up in a hitter's park, weather helping.
The rest of the top of the board
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (100) vs RHP Rhett Lowder: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park.
- Sal Stewart (CIN) (91) vs RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park.
- Mickey Moniak (COL) (91) vs RHP Rhett Lowder: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park, due to bounce back.
- Travis Bazzana (CLE) (89) vs RHP Jared Jones: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Jake Mangum (PIT) (89) vs RHP Gavin Williams: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Jacob Wilson (ATH) (85) vs RHP Zack Littell: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hot bat.
- James Wood (WSH) (85) vs RHP J.T. Ginn: a solid bat at .045 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
Best parks for doubles today
Coors Field is playing as a real hitter's park today (+6% double park). Top bat there: Elly De La Cruz (CIN) at 100.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Jacob Wilson (ATH), JJ Bleday (CIN), Brayan Rocchio (CLE), Christian Yelich (MIL), Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS), and Ernie Clement (TOR). Cold but due to bounce back: Mickey Moniak (COL), Yandy Díaz (TB), Kevin McGonigle (DET), Jackson Merrill (SD), and Bo Bichette (NYM).
How it played out
7 of the top 10 doubles matchups landed at least one double. Top play Elly De La Cruz finished with 1 double. We post the result next to every projection so you can grade the board yourself — and so the model gets re-tuned against what actually happened.
How to read these doubles matchups
Each score (0–100) starts with the hitter's doubles per plate appearance against the hand he's facing — weighted toward the last two weeks, then the season, then a two-year baseline. Then it layers in the bullpen, his spot in the order, and park and weather. Higher means more of it points his way. It's context, not a lock — a great spot still goes 0-for-4 sometimes, and a tough one runs into one. The edge is in stacking the odds, and since we grade every board, you can see how often the top of the list delivers.