Best MLB Hits Matchups — Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Top hits spot: Yordan Alvarez
Yordan Alvarez (HOU) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Sandy Alcantara. The lefty is hitting .281 H/PA against righties this year — and .448 over the last two weeks, an excellent bat that turns into a hit in about 30% of his trips. And Sandy Alcantara has been tough on righties lately — .176 hits per batter faced. One catch: the bullpen behind him has been stingy to that side late. He's hitting in a spot worth about 4.5 trips, so the volume's there. No real history against Sandy Alcantara. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (100) vs RHP Cade Cavalli: a strong bat at .263 into an arm tough on the same side (.185), hitter's park, hot bat.
- Drake Baldwin (ATL) (100) vs RHP Michael King: a strong bat at .269 into an arm tough on the same side (.154), due to bounce back.
- Jacob Wilson (ATH) (100) vs RHP Merrill Kelly: an excellent bat at .288 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.227), hot bat.
- Yandy Díaz (TB) (95) vs RHP Braydon Fisher: a strong bat at .267 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.500).
- Nolan Schanuel (LAA) (94) vs RHP Hunter Dobbins: an excellent bat at .284 into an arm tough on the same side (.154).
- Trevor Larnach (MIN) (93) vs RHP Slade Cecconi: a strong bat at .264 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.500).
- Luis García Jr. (WSH) (92) vs RHP Gabriel Hughes: a strong bat at .264 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park.
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- RHP Dean Kremer has been vulnerable to righties — .270 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Masataka Yoshida (BOS), Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS), and Wilyer Abreu (BOS).
- RHP Slade Cecconi has been vulnerable to righties — .269 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Trevor Larnach (MIN), Brooks Lee (MIN), and Josh Bell (MIN).
- LHP Tyler Alexander has been vulnerable to lefties — .268 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Sam Antonacci (CWS), Colson Montgomery (CWS), and Munetaka Murakami (CWS).
- RHP Aaron Nola has been giving up plenty to righties — .259 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Andy Pages (LAD), Freddie Freeman (LAD), and Shohei Ohtani (LAD).
Platoon edges to target
- Yordan Alvarez (HOU) — lefty bat vs RHP, .281 against righties this year.
- Jake McCarthy (COL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .260 against righties this year.
- Drake Baldwin (ATL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .243 against righties this year.
- Nolan Schanuel (LAA) — lefty bat vs RHP, .271 against righties this year.
- Trevor Larnach (MIN) — lefty bat vs RHP, .271 against righties this year.
Best parks to hit in today
Coors Field is playing as a real hitter's park today (+6% hits park). Top bat there: Jake McCarthy (COL) at 100.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Yordan Alvarez (HOU), Jake McCarthy (COL), Jacob Wilson (ATH), Trea Turner (PHI), Ben Rice (NYY), and Michael Harris II (ATL). Cold but due to bounce back: Drake Baldwin (ATL), JJ Wetherholt (STL), Kyle Schwarber (PHI), Cole Young (SEA), and Anthony Seigler (BOS).
How it played out
6 of the top 10 hits matchups landed at least one hit. Top play Yordan Alvarez finished with 2 hits. 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 hits matchups
Each score (0–100) starts with the hitter's hits 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.
What the hits board is
The Hits board projects the chance a hitter records at least one hit, matchup-adjusted. One statistical model scores every matchup on the slate the same way — a star and a backup judged on the matchup in front of them, not their name — and every number is graded against the real box score once the games go final.
How the model gets its number
It isn't a gut call or a name game. The projection is built from a few things:
- The hitter's contact rate vs this pitcher's hand.
- The starter's hit-suppression and the park.
- Recent form, without over-reacting to a hot or cold week.
Those pieces combine into one number, and the model re-tunes itself weekly against how its past calls actually landed.
Is there a betting edge here?
Hits is an efficient market — the book prices a 1+ hit line about as well as we do, so we publish the WizLine as graded transparency, not a play. Our projection is sharp (the ranking is well-calibrated); the book just isn't leaving room on it.
How to use it
Use it to see who the model likes to square one up, and how that squares with the price — but there's no systematic edge here, so treat it as research, not a lean.
Everything here is a research signal from the model, graded in public — not betting advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.
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