Best MLB Hits Matchups — Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Top hits spot: Kevin McGonigle
Kevin McGonigle (DET) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Bryan Woo. The lefty is hitting .247 H/PA against righties this year — and .333 over the last two weeks, a strong bat that turns into a hit in about 26% of his trips. And Bryan Woo has been tough on righties lately — .167 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 Bryan Woo too — .333 across 3 career trips. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Chandler Simpson (TB) (100) vs RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: an excellent bat at .296 into an arm tough on the same side (.182), hitter's park, hot bat.
- Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS) (100) vs RHP Sean Burke: an excellent bat at .289 into an arm tough on the same side (.143), hot bat.
- Dillon Dingler (DET) (99) vs RHP Bryan Woo: a strong bat at .251 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.529), hot bat.
- Jeremy Peña (HOU) (98) vs RHP Jameson Taillon: an elite bat at .311 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.333).
- Gleyber Torres (DET) (96) vs RHP Bryan Woo: a strong bat at .251 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.529).
- Jackson Merrill (SD) (95) vs LHP Mitch Bratt: an excellent bat at .279 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.375).
- Alec Burleson (STL) (93) vs RHP Will Warren: an excellent bat at .299 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.222), hot bat.
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- LHP Mitch Bratt has been vulnerable to lefties — .277 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Jackson Merrill (SD), Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), and Ty France (SD).
- RHP Dean Kremer has been vulnerable to righties — .271 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Bobby Witt Jr. (KC), Carter Jensen (KC), and Salvador Perez (KC).
Platoon edges to target
- Kevin McGonigle (DET) — lefty bat vs RHP, .247 against righties this year.
- Chandler Simpson (TB) — lefty bat vs RHP, .293 against righties this year.
- Alec Burleson (STL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .290 against righties this year.
- Elly De La Cruz (CIN) — righty bat vs LHP, .298 against lefties this year.
- Luis García Jr. (NYY) — lefty bat vs RHP, .285 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: Chandler Simpson (TB) at 100.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Chandler Simpson (TB), Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS), Dillon Dingler (DET), Alec Burleson (STL), Jacob Wilson (ATH), and Shohei Ohtani (LAD). Cold but due to bounce back: Kevin McGonigle (DET), Sam Antonacci (CWS), Drake Baldwin (ATL), Victor Mesa Jr. (TB), and Wyatt Langford (TEX).
How it played out
5 of the top 10 hits matchups landed at least one hit. Top play Kevin McGonigle finished with 0 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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