Best MLB Hits Matchups — Saturday, September 12, 2026
Top hits spot: Cody Bellinger
Cody Bellinger (NYY) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Zac Thornton. The lefty is hitting .247 H/PA against lefties this year — and .385 over the last two weeks, an excellent bat that turns into a hit in about 28% of his trips. And Zac Thornton has been thin against lefties lately. 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 Zac Thornton. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Spencer Jones (NYY) (94) vs LHP Zac Thornton: an elite bat at .305 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Yandy Díaz (TB) (93) vs RHP Peter Lambert: an excellent bat at .274 into an arm tough on the same side (.167).
- Chase DeLauter (CLE) (92) vs LHP Connor Prielipp: an excellent bat at .275 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.286).
- Bo Bichette (NYM) (84) vs RHP Gerrit Cole: a strong bat at .263 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.283), hot bat.
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (83) vs LHP Andrew Sears: a solid bat at .248 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hot bat.
- Bryan Torres (STL) (82) vs RHP Luis Castillo: a solid bat at .243 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.400), hot bat.
- Elly De La Cruz (CIN) (81) vs RHP the starter: a strong bat at .260 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- RHP Tanner Gordon has been vulnerable to righties — .272 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Kevin McGonigle (DET), Gleyber Torres (DET), and Riley Greene (DET).
- RHP Kyle Leahy has been vulnerable to righties — .267 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Sam Antonacci (CWS), Andrew Benintendi (CWS), and Tristan Peters (CWS).
- RHP Luis Castillo has been giving up plenty to righties — .259 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Bryan Torres (STL), Alec Burleson (STL), and Iván Herrera (STL).
- RHP Kumar Rocker has been giving up plenty to righties — .255 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Ketel Marte (AZ), Ildemaro Vargas (AZ), and James McCann (AZ).
Platoon edges to target
- Bryan Torres (STL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .243 against righties this year.
- Jose Altuve (HOU) — righty bat vs LHP, .244 against lefties this year.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) — lefty bat vs RHP, .236 against righties this year.
- Cole Carrigg (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .273 against lefties this year.
- Alec Burleson (STL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .280 against righties this year.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Cody Bellinger (NYY), Bo Bichette (NYM), Jake McCarthy (COL), Bryan Torres (STL), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC), and Otto Lopez (MIA). Cold but due to bounce back: Luke Keaschall (MIN), Trea Turner (PHI), Héctor Rodríguez (CIN), José Ramírez (CLE), and Turner Hill (SF).
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 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