Best MLB Hits Matchups — Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Top hits spot: Yandy Díaz
Yandy Díaz (TB) tops the board at 100, facing RHP the starter. The righty is hitting .272 H/PA against righties this year — and .267 over the last two weeks, a strong bat that turns into a hit in about 27% of his trips. And the starter has been thin against righties lately. 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. No real history against the starter. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Otto Lopez (MIA) (98) vs RHP Robert Stock: a strong bat at .269 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.333).
- Alec Burleson (STL) (96) vs RHP Blade Tidwell: a strong bat at .262 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.231), hot bat.
- Justin Foscue (TEX) (95) vs LHP Kade Anderson: a strong bat at .266 into an arm giving up plenty to the same side (.242), hot bat.
- Michael Harris II (ATL) (94) vs RHP Griffin Jax: a strong bat at .260 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.417).
- Steven Kwan (CLE) (93) vs RHP Shane Baz: a strong bat at .260 into an arm tough on the same side (.161).
- TJ Rumfield (COL) (92) vs RHP Will Warren: a strong bat at .267 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.296), hot bat.
- Héctor Rodríguez (CIN) (90) vs RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto: a strong bat at .261 into an arm tough on the same side (.172).
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- LHP Cody Bradford has been vulnerable to lefties — .269 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Randy Arozarena (SEA), Dominic Canzone (SEA), and Josh Naylor (SEA).
- RHP Robert Stock has been vulnerable to righties — .263 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Otto Lopez (MIA), Javier Sanoja (MIA), and Heriberto Hernández (MIA).
Platoon edges to target
- Alec Burleson (STL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .282 against righties this year.
- Justin Foscue (TEX) — righty bat vs LHP, .287 against lefties this year.
- Michael Harris II (ATL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .289 against righties this year.
- Steven Kwan (CLE) — lefty bat vs RHP, .250 against righties this year.
- TJ Rumfield (COL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .267 against righties this year.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Alec Burleson (STL), Justin Foscue (TEX), TJ Rumfield (COL), Javier Sanoja (MIA), Ketel Marte (AZ), and Iván Herrera (STL). Cold but due to bounce back: Freddie Freeman (LAD), Bobby Witt Jr. (KC), Ben Rice (NYY), Shohei Ohtani (LAD), and Daylen Lile (WSH).
Lineup watch
270 of today's hitters are still on projected lineups, drawn from each team's last game. Batting order drives the score, so these flip the moment official lineups post — usually about two hours before first pitch. Anyone who doesn't make the official card gets flagged "Not starting" and drops to the bottom.
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 our number 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.
Learn more: How the model works · The picks story · Today's plays