To Platoon or Not Platoon? That is the Question
Remember when Oakland’s Khris Davis was the “other” Chris Davis?
In his heyday, Baltimore’s Chris Davis was the “big gun” in the Orioles offense, hitting as many as 53 home runs one season (2013). He produced those numbers by dominating RHP (.473 wOBA) and still being a respectable .329 wOBA against lefties.
It’s 2018, however, and things have certainly changed. Righty Khris Davis is about to crack the 40-home run mark for the third straight season and owns a .382 wOBA against RHP. Meanwhile, as of Saturday, Chris Davis has one of the worst wOBA statistics of all qualifying left-handed hitters against LHP (.225 wOBA). He’s been getting worse over the past three seasons, so this is no real surprise. It’s also no surprise that the Orioles have limited him to 119 plate appearances against LHP. He’s not the only one.
And sometimes a hitter goes back and forth multiple times.
When the Cubs’ Antony Rizzo first came to the big leagues, he couldn’t do much against lefties. He produced an ugly .260 wOBA in 2012 and again in 2013 couldn’t do anything against LHP (.282 wOBA). That offseason he made an effort to fix the problem and beginning in 2014 through last season, he posted great statistics in his lefty-lefty matchups. Over that four-year period his wOBA jumped to elite status (.411, .383, .362 and .373).
Again, however, this is 2018 and the Cubs and fantasy owners can’t use Rizzo against LHP as his production has significantly dropped (.274 wOBA).
These are just a couple of examples to show you that “what you think you know, you don’t know.” Past history does not guarantee future results, so you must always do the research. Or have the research done for you.
Below you will find the best and the worst of LHB vs. LHP and RHB vs. RHP. Of note; if you are a right-handed batter and can’t hit right-handed pitching, you are probably either a very good defensive catcher … or in the minors.
