A few days ago media reports confirmed what had been speculated for most of the offseason – Washington Nationals 2B Danny Espinosa is giving up switch-hitting this season to concentrate on hitting solely from the right side of the plate.

Espinosa has greatly struggled from the left side of the plate as a major leaguer, hitting .213/.283/.362, verses batting right-handed in which he has slugged .271/.343/.460. Essentially Espinosa is a minor league quality hitter as a lefty and an All-Star caliber player hitting right-handed. This leads fans to logically conclude that even allowing for a healthy regression from his career .804 OPS right-handed, Espinosa should easily outproduce his left-handed career .645 OPS batting exclusive as a righty.

But like most things in baseball, if something seems too obvious, there must be a reason this change has not been initiated. This lingering reservation forced me to reach out to Baseball Prospectus’s hitting expert Ryan Parker to ask his thoughts on the rumored change and potential difficulties ahead for Danny Espinosa.

NatsGM ->  “ With the recent news that Danny Espinosa is permanently giving up switch hitting, I was wondering why we do not see this occur more often at the major league level?”

Ryan Parker ->  “You kinda answered the question yourself. Those key words “at the big league level” cannot be overlooked. Guys who are switch hitters have usually been doing so since HS. This means they have several years of not seeing any breaking pitches move away from them. So if they did make the change to one side only at the big leagues they are going to be seeing the very best breaking stuff on the planet exploding away from them in a way that is totally foreign them.

On a smaller note the ability to switch hit is something that can keep a hitter in the lineup. If they aren’t 100 percent sure that going to one side would help their career why take away a skill that his kept them relevant.”

NatsGM ->  “ What are the potential difficulties in this transition now batting righty on righty?”
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Ryan Parker ->  “ The breaking stuff will obviously be tough. Once he gets used to seeing that break it’s all in the details. Danny has tons of film on how righties have pitched him but it’s all useless. So learning pitchers tendencies is going to be an on the job activity. It’s also going to be a mental test to resist the urge to go back to the left side if things don’t go well initially. Reps and patience. Those will be key for making this transition work.”

NatsGM ->  “ As a hitting coach, if Espinosa (or a similar player) approached you and asked for advice on how to prepare to give up switch hitting, what advice would you give him?”

Ryan Parker -> “First thing I would do is have them incinerate their helmet for whatever side they aren’t going to be using. Any reminder of their former life as a switch hitter needs to be gone. You can’t have that lingering thought of “man maybe I should go back to switch hitting” stuck in their head because it’s just going to be a roadblock.

Once that is done they need reps. Not necessarily game action but they need to get used to seeing the ball come out of the hand from just that one side of the batters box. Again I’m not saying Danny or whoever needs 150 ab’s in spring training. What I would suggest would be to stand in the box for as many bullpens as they can with righties on the mound. Just get used to seeing the ball and tracking movement.

If Danny can learn to track somebody like Stras’s or JZ’s breaking stuff he’s ahead of the game.”

NatsGM ->  “ Finally, if we are wagering a round of beers, do you think this transition for Espinosa will be successful or not?”

Ryan Parker -> “Define success. But no I don’t think this change revitalizes his career.”