4 Switch-Hitters Who Really Need to Drop That Label

Switch hitting has become a lost art in Major League Baseball. In this piece we’ll take a closer look into a handful of switch-hitters who should drop that label.

Over the years, Major League Baseball has seen a pretty significant decrease in switch hitters. Likely a byproduct of how difficult it is to maintain one swing over the course of a 162 game season let alone two swings, with how elite the pitching is in today’s game, there’s data now that encourages maximizing hitters strongest side rather than the versatility of switch hitting.

In 2025, we saw just 70 players get at least one plate appearance from both sides of the batter’s box, with that number significantly shrinks to only 14 when you sort by qualified hitters. Though a modest uptick from 2024, the data still points to switch-hitting becoming a lost art.

While it’s undoubtedly a significant advantage to be able to always have the platoon advantage in the box, there are hitters with extreme enough splits where it would be beneficial for them to focus solely on their strong side.

Here, we take a closer look at a handful of switch-hitters who would be better off giving it up and hitting from their dominant side. Diving into the data, there’s a lot more examples of this than it may seem at first blush.

Elly De La Cruz

Elly De La Cruz switch-hitting data (Career splits)	vs RHP	vs LHP
BB%	10.7%	6.4%
K%	28.6%	32.6%
wOBA	.360	.268
OPS	.848	.607
wRC+	126	64

Elly De La Cruz is a freakish/outlier athlete. His career max exit velocity of 119.1 ranks in the 98th percentile and he pairs with 100th percentile sprint speed when healthy. From a pure ceiling standpoint there’s less than a handful of big leaguers who can say have a higher 90th percentile outcome.

It’s been clear however, from day one, that De La Cruz is a significantly better left-handed hitter. The difference in his splits is gaudy enough where you would have to assume the subject of scrapping his right-handed swing has at least already been broached.

De La Cruz had his worst season yet in 2025 from the right side. His wRC+ dropped from 85 the year prior, to 64 in 2025. His groundball rate ballooned and his exit velocities dipped. It’s not hard to squint and wonder the type of numbers EDLC could produce strictly from the left side.

Jasson Domínguez

Jasson Domínguez switch-hitting data (Career splits)	vs RHP	vs LHP
BB%	9.8	8.7
K%	24.9	32.7
wOBA	.335	.257
OPS	.768	.569
wRC+	116	63

Jasson Domínguez is coming off his first full-season in the big leagues in 2025. It was an uneven year for Dominguez who produced a 114 wRC+ in the first half of the season before plummeting to 75 in the second half while seeing his playing time essentially stripped.

Having long been touted as the next mega-star from the International Free Agent market, Domínguez has had lofty expectations on his plate since his early teenage days. Having been given the nickname “The Martian” due to his alien like abilities on a baseball field, Domínguez has been a name Yankees fans have been waiting on for half a decade.

The raw ability is evident, having produced a 49.6% hard-hit rate in 2025, Dominguez also possesses 80th percentile bat speed. That’s a great foundation. The problem? Most of Domínguez’s hard contact is being put straight into the ground, especially as a right-handed hitter.

Domínguez has the athleticism and raw talent to flourish, the overall data skews heavily in favor of him becoming a full time lefty. Whether that actually transpires or not is a different story, however another poor showing in 2026 from the right side may expedite that process.

Dylan Carlson

Dylan Carlson switch-hitting data (Career splits)	vs RHP	vs LHP
BB%	8.9	9.4
K%	23.5	22.1
wOBA	.288	.332
OPS	.655	.757
wRC+	83	113

Dylan Carlson is a wild-card mention compared to the previous two players highlighted in this piece. After a sensational rookie season in 2021, Carlson has seen his offensive production enter a steady decline along with his playing time.

After producing a 111 wRC+/2.4 fWAR rookie campaign, Carlson has been unable to recapture his form that once made him an untouchable piece in Juan Soto related trade discussions the Cardinals were having with the Nationals at the 2022 trade deadline.

It’s been a very perplexing drop-off for Carlson, who signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this winter and is hoping to recapture lightning in a bottle. Having just turned 27, Carlson is just now entering his physical prime, and should still be in a position to be able to contribute on a big league roster.

The former Cardinal now finds himself at a crossroads in his career. One option that’s open to him is becoming a full-time right-handed hitter. His career OPS is over .100 points higher and he’s been an above average hitter by wRC+ from that side of the batters box.

Xavier Edwards

Xavier Edwards switch-hitting data (Career splits)	vs RHP	vs LHP
BB%	8.3	8.7
K%	14.2	17.7
wOBA	.341	.281
OPS	.777	.624
wRC+	117	77

Xavier Edwards is a speedy, contact-oriented, second baseman. His defensive improvements at second base, going from a -10 OAA in 2024 to+2 in 2025, is among one of the better one-year turnarounds in recent history.

I will preface this by saying Edwards did well as a right-handed bat in 2024 but in a much, much smaller sample size with the underlying data suggesting there was quite a bit of luck involved.

In the box, Edwards will never be mistaken for being a power threat, having hit just four homers over 1006 career plate appearances at the big league level. What Edwards does excel at, is making contact and letting his speed wreak havoc on the basepaths. His overall contact rate of 89.2% puts him easily in the elite category.

However Edwards may be shortchanging himself with the whole switch-hitting thing. As a right-hander his line drive rate drops by 4.5%, his groundball rate jumps 10.9%, and his flyball rate decreases by 6.4%. Edwards career wRC+ has a 50 point separation between handedness.

Now obviously should Edwards begin to strictly hit left-handed you can expect some regression from his career wRC+ mark of 117 against southpaws, but the overall output would still make the transition worth it.