Best MLB Hits Matchups — Thursday, September 24, 2026
Top hits spot: Jake McCarthy
Jake McCarthy (COL) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Eduardo Rodriguez. The lefty is hitting .298 H/PA against lefties this year — and .385 over the last two weeks, an excellent bat that turns into a hit in about 27% of his trips. And Eduardo Rodriguez has been getting tattooed by lefties lately — .318 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 Eduardo Rodriguez too — .400 across 5 career trips. It all sets up in a hitter's park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Gabriel Moreno (AZ) (96) vs RHP Tanner Gordon: a strong bat at .266 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.406), hitter's park.
- Rafael Flores Jr. (PIT) (80) vs RHP Kyle Leahy: a strong bat at .260 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.333), due to bounce back.
- Cole Carrigg (COL) (80) vs LHP Eduardo Rodriguez: a strong bat at .255 into an arm tough on the same side (.170), hitter's park.
- Dustin Harris (SD) (79) vs RHP Tyler Glasnow: a strong bat at .260 into an arm with little track record against the same side, due to bounce back.
- TJ Rumfield (COL) (79) vs LHP Eduardo Rodriguez: a solid bat at .241 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.318), hitter's park, due to bounce back.
- Lars Nootbaar (AZ) (76) vs RHP Tanner Gordon: a league-average bat at .222 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.455), hitter's park.
- Drake Baldwin (ATL) (76) vs RHP Brady Singer: a strong bat at .261 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.291).
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- RHP Tanner Gordon has been getting tattooed by righties — .298 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Gabriel Moreno (AZ), Lars Nootbaar (AZ), and Ketel Marte (AZ).
- RHP Grayson Rodriguez has been vulnerable to righties — .273 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Dominic Canzone (SEA), J.P. Crawford (SEA), and Lazaro Montes (SEA).
- RHP Bryse Wilson has been vulnerable to righties — .271 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Trea Turner (PHI), Luis Arraez (PHI), and Bryce Harper (PHI).
- RHP Andrew Painter has been giving up plenty to righties — .257 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Garrett Mitchell (MIL), Brice Turang (MIL), and Jackson Chourio (MIL).
Platoon edges to target
- Cole Carrigg (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .264 against lefties this year.
- Dustin Harris (SD) — lefty bat vs RHP, .283 against righties this year.
- Lars Nootbaar (AZ) — lefty bat vs RHP, .221 against righties this year.
- Drake Baldwin (ATL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .271 against righties this year.
- Ketel Marte (AZ) — lefty bat vs RHP, .208 against righties this year.
Best parks to hit in today
Coors Field is playing as a real hitter's park today (+9% hits park). Top bat there: Jake McCarthy (COL) at 100.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), Trea Turner (PHI), Yordan Alvarez (HOU), Dominic Canzone (SEA), Bobby Witt Jr. (KC), and Mauricio Dubón (ATL). Cold but due to bounce back: Rafael Flores Jr. (PIT), Dustin Harris (SD), TJ Rumfield (COL), Corey Seager (TEX), and Bryce Harper (PHI).
Lineup watch
216 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