Best MLB Hits Matchups — Friday, July 31, 2026
Top hits spot: Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (LAD) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Ranger Suarez. The lefty is hitting .243 H/PA against lefties this year — and .188 over the last two weeks, a solid bat that turns into a hit in about 24% of his trips. And Ranger Suarez has been tough on lefties lately — .200 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 4.7 trips, so the volume's there. He's owned Ranger Suarez too — .333 across 3 career trips. It all sets up in a neutral park, weather helping.
The rest of the top of the board
- Brice Turang (MIL) (100) vs RHP Ryan Johnson: a strong bat at .253 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.318).
- Jeremy Peña (HOU) (100) vs RHP Nathan Eovaldi: an elite bat at .309 into an arm tough on the same side (.167), hot bat.
- Chase DeLauter (CLE) (100) vs LHP Mitch Bratt: an excellent bat at .293 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.462).
- Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS) (99) vs RHP Edgardo Henriquez: a strong bat at .270 into an arm giving up plenty to the same side (.250), hot bat.
- Mike Trout (LAA) (96) vs LHP Shane Drohan: a strong bat at .262 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Carter Jensen (KC) (94) vs RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: a league-average bat at .220 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.304), hitter's park.
- Luis Arraez (SF) (93) vs RHP Bradgley Rodriguez: an excellent bat at .282 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.267).
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- RHP Andrew Painter has been vulnerable to righties — .286 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Dylan Beavers (BAL), Jackson Holliday (BAL), and Pete Alonso (BAL).
- LHP Mitch Bratt has been vulnerable to lefties — .283 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Chase DeLauter (CLE), Angel Martínez (CLE), and José Ramírez (CLE).
- RHP Janson Junk has been vulnerable to righties — .281 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Francisco Lindor (NYM), A.J. Ewing (NYM), and Bo Bichette (NYM).
- RHP Ryan Johnson has been vulnerable to righties — .264 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Brice Turang (MIL), Jackson Chourio (MIL), and Christian Yelich (MIL).
Platoon edges to target
- Brice Turang (MIL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .254 against righties this year.
- Mike Trout (LAA) — righty bat vs LHP, .226 against lefties this year.
- Carter Jensen (KC) — lefty bat vs RHP, .196 against righties this year.
- Luis Arraez (SF) — lefty bat vs RHP, .297 against righties this year.
- Miguel Rojas (LAD) — righty bat vs LHP, .284 against lefties 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: Carter Jensen (KC) at 94.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Jeremy Peña (HOU), Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS), Freddie Freeman (LAD), Cole Young (SEA), Luis García Jr. (WSH), and Jackson Merrill (SD). Cold but due to bounce back: Miguel Rojas (LAD), Trevor Larnach (MIN), Dylan Beavers (BAL), CJ Abrams (WSH), and Pedro Ramírez (CHC).
How it played out
7 of the top 10 hits matchups landed at least one hit. Top play Shohei Ohtani 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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