Best MLB Walks Matchups — Saturday, May 23, 2026
Top walks spot: Sam Antonacci
Sam Antonacci (CWS) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Adrian Houser. The lefty is working counts at — BB/PA against righties this year, a solid bat that turns into a walk in about 9% of his trips. And Adrian Houser has been thin against righties lately. The bullpen behind him is roughly average to that side. He's hitting in a spot worth about 4.7 trips, so the volume's there. He's just .000 in 3 career PA against Adrian Houser, but that's a tiny sample and the matchup says regression. It all sets up in a neutral park, weather helping.
The rest of the top of the board
- Blake Dunn (CIN) (96) vs RHP Kyle Leahy: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- James Wood (WSH) (96) vs RHP Grant Holmes: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Ketel Marte (AZ) (96) vs RHP Michael Lorenzen: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hot bat.
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (96) vs RHP Zac Gallen: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Willy Adames (SF) (92) vs LHP Bryan Hudson: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Luis Arraez (SF) (91) vs LHP Bryan Hudson: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Munetaka Murakami (CWS) (91) vs RHP Adrian Houser: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
How it played out
3 of the top 10 walks matchups landed at least one walk. Top play Sam Antonacci finished with 0 walks. 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 walks matchups
Each score (0–100) starts with the hitter's walks 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.