Best MLB Hits Matchups — Sunday, September 27, 2026
Top hits spot: Tommy Pham
Tommy Pham (CWS) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Kyle Freeland. The righty is hitting — H/PA against lefties this year, a solid bat that turns into a hit in about 25% of his trips. And Kyle Freeland has been getting tattooed by lefties lately — .424 hits per batter faced. The bullpen behind him is roughly average to that side. He's hitting in a spot worth about 4.5 trips, so the volume's there. He's a fine .267 in 30 career PA against Kyle Freeland. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Randal Grichuk (CWS) (98) vs LHP Kyle Freeland: a strong bat at .267 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.424).
- Michael Harris II (ATL) (96) vs RHP Janson Junk: a strong bat at .260 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.219).
- Jeremy Peña (HOU) (94) vs RHP Seth Johnson: a strong bat at .261 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.333).
- Miguel Vargas (CWS) (93) vs LHP Kyle Freeland: a solid bat at .228 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.424), due to bounce back.
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (93) vs LHP Anthony Kay: an excellent bat at .274 into an arm tough on the same side (.191).
- Chase DeLauter (CLE) (93) vs LHP Daniel Lynch IV: an excellent bat at .283 into an arm tough on the same side (.000).
- Josh Naylor (SEA) (91) vs LHP Yusei Kikuchi: a strong bat at .262 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.286), due to bounce back.
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- LHP Kyle Freeland has been vulnerable to lefties — .286 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Tommy Pham (CWS), Randal Grichuk (CWS), and Miguel Vargas (CWS).
- RHP Janson Junk has been vulnerable to righties — .261 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Michael Harris II (ATL), Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), and Drake Baldwin (ATL).
- RHP Carson Seymour has been giving up plenty to righties — .258 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Shohei Ohtani (LAD), Mookie Betts (LAD), and Will Smith (LAD).
Platoon edges to target
- Randal Grichuk (CWS) — righty bat vs LHP, .306 against lefties this year.
- Michael Harris II (ATL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .280 against righties this year.
- Miguel Vargas (CWS) — righty bat vs LHP, .223 against lefties this year.
- Yordan Alvarez (HOU) — lefty bat vs RHP, .265 against righties this year.
- Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) — righty bat vs LHP, .256 against lefties this year.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Yordan Alvarez (HOU), Otto Lopez (MIA), Bobby Witt Jr. (KC), Gabriel Moreno (AZ), Brice Turang (MIL), and Bo Davidson (SF). Cold but due to bounce back: Tommy Pham (CWS), Miguel Vargas (CWS), Josh Naylor (SEA), Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), and Abimelec Ortiz (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 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