Best MLB Walks Matchups — Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Top walks spot: Taylor Ward
Taylor Ward (BAL) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Payton Tolle. The righty is working counts at — BB/PA against lefties this year, a solid bat that turns into a walk in about 9% of his trips. And Payton Tolle has been thin against lefties 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 owned Payton Tolle too — .667 across 3 career trips. It all sets up in a neutral park, weather helping.
The rest of the top of the board
- James Outman (MIN) (91) vs RHP Erick Fedde: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side, due to bounce back.
- Sam Antonacci (CWS) (91) vs RHP Taj Bradley: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- J.P. Crawford (SEA) (91) vs RHP Freddy Peralta: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side, due to bounce back.
- Carson Benge (NYM) (91) vs RHP George Kirby: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Jarren Duran (BOS) (91) vs RHP Chris Bassitt: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hot bat.
- Trent Grisham (NYY) (91) vs RHP Gavin Williams: a solid bat at .085 into an arm with little track record against the same side.
- Travis Bazzana (CLE) (91) vs RHP Gerrit Cole: 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 Taylor Ward finished with 1 walk. 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.