By the time Hayden Cantrelle was ten years old, he had already made the decision that he would be a switch hitter. What started as a childhood experiment became a lifelong balancing act between instinct and discipline, natural feel and deliberate craft.
On a recent episode of Cubs On Deck, Cantrelle spoke about switch hitting not as a fixed skill but as a living, breathing process. “[The training process] is very evolving,” he said recently on the show. “You have a good planning system… [but] by the time I get to next spring training, I might be needing something else in my life.”
Cantrelle’s right-handed swing is his comfort zone. It’s the side he grew up with, the one that feels effortless. “Towards the end of the year, I didn’t hit any right-handed [batting practice], but my right-handed swing was dialed. Because that’s what’s natural for me. I let that one play,” he explained. Hitting right-handed, he says, feels like baseball in a very pure form — instinctive and natural.
The left-handed swing is where the grind lives. It’s the side that gets the biggest workload in-game, since more pitchers are right-handed, but also the side that doesn’t come nearly as natural. “Left-handed is the one where I have to be a true professional,” Cantrelle admitted. “That’s where most of my workload is.”
It’s a duality that defines his career: one side is natural, the other is necessary.
Cantrelle’s in-season practice routines, especially during this 2025 season, reflect this imbalance. He takes far less right-handed batting practice, focusing instead on drills and loading patterns. As a result, he prioritizes left-handed reps, while trusting his right-handed swing to hold up without constant maintenance. It’s a calculated strategy, and one that allows him to pour energy into the side that demands more attention.
But remember — those strategies could change going into 2025. It’s the nature of the beast.
Cantrelle’s journey hasn’t been linear. In both high school and college, coaches suggested he abandon his right-handed swing in favor of focusing on the left side that typically produced more power. In college, he struggled with loading patterns from the right side. But during a stop in independent ball, he rediscovered that feel. “One of the hardest home runs I have hit in pro ball is a right-handed homer,” he recalled. “When I get it right-handed, it’s good.”
If the physical side of switch hitting is about reps and mechanics, the mental side is about trust. Cantrelle strives to be “brainless” in the box, relying on preparation rather than overthinking. “The life of the switch hitter is evolving,” he said. “You can overwork something and then it not show up in the game.”
Post-game is when the analysis begins. He reviews at-bats critically, asking himself and coaches whether timing, mechanics, or pitch recognition were off. But even then, he avoids paralysis by analysis. “Switch hitting over time has taught me less of [analysis] and more to trust what you feel in the moment,” he said.
It’s a philosophy that blends instinct with reflection: play free during the game, evaluate honestly afterward, and adjust only when necessary.
Cantrelle’s story is a reminder that switch hitting is not a static skill but a constant process. It’s about knowing which side needs more attention, trusting what feels natural, and adapting to the demands of the game. For him, it’s a system that continues to unfold with every season, every pitcher, and every swing.
For the full interview with Hayden Cantrelle, be sure to check out Cubs On Deck wherever you get your podcasts!
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