When the Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler this offseason, they thought they were getting a player who was going to hit for a relatively high average while getting on base at a pretty consistent clip as well. It hasn’t exactly gone that way so far; his batting average stood at .232 as of the All-Star Break.

Fowler has only been bad from one side of the plate, though. As a lefty, where he has gotten the majority of his at bats since he’s faced far more righty starters, he is hitting a paltry .211. From the right side of the plate? .313.

So, why does Fowler continue to hit from both sides of the plate? That is a question without an answer at this point of the season.

Let’s take a step back and realize that these lefty-righty splits don’t tell the whole picture. Fowler has farm more at bats (261 compared to 67) from the left side of the plate than the right side. With a smaller sample size, it’s harder to gauge just how much better he is from the right side.

Regardless of that, it’s clear he’s a better right-handed hitter by some degree. If he switched to hitting right-handed exclusively, he would also have to face righties from that side of the plate, which is harder since breaking balls break away from like-handed pitchers. Even when taking all of this into account, it’s reasonable to think Fowler could bat in the .275 range while hitting exclusively from the right side.

In order to get out of his current slump and become the leadoff hitter and overall player the Cubs thought he would be, Fowler should stop switch hitting and move over to the right side of the plate for good. If he doesn’t, the Cubs’ offense is in trouble and Fowler won’t be getting a big contract this offseason.