Best MLB Total Bases Matchups — Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Top total bases spot: Zach Neto
Zach Neto (LAA) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Logan Gilbert. The righty is racking up bases at .368 TB/PA against righties this year — and .318 over the last two weeks, a league-average bat that turns into a total base in about 36% of his trips. And Logan Gilbert has been getting squared up by righties lately — .714 total bases 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 just .154 in 13 career PA against Logan Gilbert, but that's a tiny sample and the matchup says regression. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) (100) vs LHP Kyle Freeland: a solid bat at .397 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hot bat.
- Austin Hays (SD) (96) vs LHP Kyle Freeland: a solid bat at .406 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Mike Trout (LAA) (95) vs RHP Logan Gilbert: a league-average bat at .365 into an arm getting squared up by the same side (.714).
- Lars Nootbaar (AZ) (94) vs RHP Janson Junk: a solid bat at .384 into an arm tough on the same side (.227).
- Dominic Canzone (SEA) (93) vs RHP Ryan Johnson: a solid bat at .417 into an arm getting squared up by the same side (.533), hot bat.
- J.P. Crawford (SEA) (93) vs RHP Ryan Johnson: a league-average bat at .363 into an arm getting squared up by the same side (.533).
- Ketel Marte (AZ) (90) vs RHP Janson Junk: a league-average bat at .362 into an arm tough on the same side (.227).
Arms giving up extra bases today
- LHP Kyle Freeland has been getting squared up by lefties — .499 total bases per batter faced. Bats to target: Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), Austin Hays (SD), and Ty France (SD).
- RHP Kevin Gausman has been getting squared up by righties — .428 total bases per batter faced. Bats to target: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), Mauricio Dubón (ATL), and Drake Baldwin (ATL).
- RHP Logan Gilbert has been getting squared up by righties — .426 total bases per batter faced. Bats to target: Zach Neto (LAA), Mike Trout (LAA), and Vaughn Grissom (LAA).
- LHP Sean Manaea has been vulnerable to lefties — .419 total bases per batter faced. Bats to target: Coby Mayo (BAL), Pete Alonso (BAL), and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (BAL).
Platoon edges to target
- Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) — righty bat vs LHP, .490 against lefties this year.
- Austin Hays (SD) — righty bat vs LHP, .457 against lefties this year.
- Lars Nootbaar (AZ) — lefty bat vs RHP, .366 against righties this year.
- Dominic Canzone (SEA) — lefty bat vs RHP, .447 against righties this year.
- J.P. Crawford (SEA) — lefty bat vs RHP, .326 against righties this year.
How it played out
6 of the top 10 total bases matchups landed at least one total base. Top play Zach Neto finished with 0 total bases. We post the result next to every projection so you can grade the board yourself — and so the model gets re-tuned against what actually happened.
How to read these total bases matchups
Each score (0–100) starts with the hitter's total bases 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 total bases board is
The Total Bases board projects how many bases a hitter racks up vs the posted total-bases line. 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:
- His extra-base pop vs this arm.
- The park.
- Recent contact quality.
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?
Total bases grades right at break-even even when we tune it to the hilt — the book prices the marginal leans efficiently. Transparency board.
How to use it
See who the model projects for extra-base damage; no systematic edge to bet.
Everything here is a research signal from the model, graded in public — not betting advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.
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