Best MLB Hits Matchups — Thursday, September 10, 2026
Top hits spot: Drake Baldwin
Drake Baldwin (ATL) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Nick Martinez. The lefty is hitting .262 H/PA against righties this year — and .381 over the last two weeks, a strong bat that turns into a hit in about 26% of his trips. And Nick Martinez has been vulnerable to righties lately — .280 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. No real history against Nick Martinez. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Yandy Díaz (TB) (95) vs LHP Martín Pérez: a strong bat at .258 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.222).
- Cole Carrigg (COL) (94) vs LHP Max Fried: a strong bat at .264 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.233), due to bounce back.
- Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL) (93) vs RHP Nick Martinez: a strong bat at .257 into an arm tough on the same side (.200).
- Luis García Jr. (NYY) (90) vs RHP Ryan Feltner: a strong bat at .264 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.348).
- Trea Turner (PHI) (89) vs RHP Cristian Javier: a solid bat at .246 into an arm tough on the same side (.133), hot bat.
- Aaron Judge (NYY) (88) vs RHP Ryan Feltner: a strong bat at .252 into an arm tough on the same side (.200).
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (87) vs LHP Max Fried: a solid bat at .250 into an arm tough on the same side (.000).
Platoon edges to target
- Drake Baldwin (ATL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .262 against righties this year.
- Yandy Díaz (TB) — righty bat vs LHP, .264 against lefties this year.
- Cole Carrigg (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .273 against lefties this year.
- Luis García Jr. (NYY) — lefty bat vs RHP, .278 against righties this year.
- Konnor Griffin (PIT) — righty bat vs LHP, .262 against lefties this year.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Trea Turner (PHI), Victor Mesa Jr. (TB), Corey Seager (TEX), Kyle Schwarber (PHI), and Justin Foscue (TEX). Cold but due to bounce back: Cole Carrigg (COL), Ben Rice (NYY), Michael Harris II (ATL), Ezequiel Duran (TEX), and J.P. Crawford (SEA).
Lineup watch
90 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 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.
Learn more: How the model works · The picks story · Today's plays