Switch hitters not more frequent

DENVER » The profile page of touted teenage shortstop Xavier Edwards reads: “Bats: S.”

A bona fide switch-hitter, the Florida native is among six on MLB.com’s list of top 100 prospects for the amateur draft that starts June 4.

The art of batting from both sides of the plate would figure to be at a premium in this age of shifting defenses and advanced analytics. But in a sport of constant change, the amount remains remarkably steady.

The number of switch hitters with 300 or more major league at-bats per season has been at least 30 but no more than 42 since expansion to 30 teams in 1998, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. There were 33 switch hitters on pace to reach that figure at the quarter mark of this season.

The simple explanation for why it hasn’t soared in popularity is because, well, it’s far from as easy as Chipper Jones, Pete Rose , Eddie Murray , Tim Raines, Mickey Mantle and a host of others have made it appear.

“Hitting is extraordinarily difficult to do at a high level, and asking someone to do it from both sides of the plate is encroaching on impossible,” said Brian Sakowski, the national scouting supervisor for the website Perfect Game . “That’s what makes the guys who do it successfully at the major league level so special.”

As of Monday, 48 switchhitting position players were on active rosters, including Philly with five. In addition, five teams didn’t even have one.

This in an era when teams frequently carry 13 pitchers to create favorable right-on-right, left-onleft matchups. Imagine the late-game possibilities if a manger stacked a lineup early with lefties against a right-handed starter and they could turn around to bat right should a lefty be brought out of the bullpen.

“Younger kids get discouraged without immediate success and it becomes difficult to see it through to the end result, which could be years down the road,” said Jones, the Atlanta Braves standout who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a July ceremony. “It takes diligence, more failure than you can imagine and acceptance that the short term must be sacrificed for the long term.”

A top-30 prospect , Edwards began honing his skills as a switch hitter about the time he was old enough to hold a baseball bat.

TONY DEJAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Indians’ Francisco Lindor, right, congratulates Jose Ramirez after Ramirez hit a two-run home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Gerrit Cole in the first inning of a game this past weekend in Cleveland.