Should Jazz Chisholm Jr. be allowed to hit left handed pitchers?

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a superstar for the Miami Marlins. In fact he’s the best second baseman in the game. There’s only one problem, manager Don Mattingly doesn’t like him hitting lefties. There are other problems too… allegedly. This is concerning as Chisholm needs to be a complete player, and for him to do so he needs to be able to hit both righty and lefty pitchers. Do the stats support Mattingly’s thinking? It’s pretty obvious that hitters usually hit same-handed batters worse, but is it a good idea to do this with Chisholm?

Jazz Chisholm Jr. should be allowed to hit lefty pitchers.

I feel like I’ve been talking a lot about Jazz Chisholm Jr. lately, which means only one thing…. you should vote for him for the all-star game next month! Chisholm hits righty pitchers very well: .280/.341/.613 in 150 AB’s this season. Against lefties though… .069/.067/.103 in 29 AB’s. The sample size is very small, so let’s see how he did last season…

Last season, Jazz Chisholm Jr. batted .252/.312/.440 in 325 AB’s against righties and .237/.282/.388 in 139 AB’s against lefties. I think that it’s pretty obvious that he’s not terrible against lefties. He’s not good against them, but not terrible either. My point is that maybe he can get better.

It’s not unusual to expect a 24 year old player to get better as he gets older and gains more experience. Is it really impossible for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to start hitting lefties better? It’s very likely even I think. The only thing is that Chisholm needs to get more AB’s against them. Give him more AB’s and only after a long enough sample should any decision be made.

Don Mattingly needs to let Jazz Chisholm Jr. bat against lefties. Chisholm can’t get better unless he gains more experience, he can’t gain more experience until he gets more AB’s. Give him more AB’s Donnie. The more that Chisholm is in the lineup the better the Miami Marlins will play.