Xavier Edward Proving to Marlins Improvement in Key Hitting Matchup

The Miami Marlins see Xavier Edwards as a long-term piece. This key area of his game at the plate is encouraging.

Miami Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Since the Miami Marlins acquired Xavier Edwards from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade in 2022, the hope was he would grow into a star.

He’s getting there, and in one key area he’s become a much better hitter this season than in 2025.

On Tuesday against Atlanta, Edwards hit a home run in the Marlins’ 8-4 loss to the Braves. For the left-handed hitting second baseman, it was his sixth home run of the season. It fed into what is growing into a career year for the 26-year-old.

It also proved that he’s flipped the script on how he faces pitchers.

Xavier Edwards’ Big Change

Known slugger, Xavier Edwards pic.twitter.com/Mgipw8NCrC

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) May 19, 2026

Per Marlins Communications on X (formerly Twitter), there is a big change in how Edwards is hitting home runs compared to last season. Before this season, he only had five career home runs, and all were against right-handed pitching. So far this season, four of his six home runs have come against left-handed pitching.

After Tuesday’s game he was slashing .319/.401/.495 with six home runs and 19 RBI. But his splits against right-handed and left-handed from 2025 to 2026 are interesting.

Last season he slashed .283/.343/.353 overall. But he was much better against right-handed pitching — .306/.368/.391 — than against left-handed pitching, where he slashed .236/.289/.275.

So far in 2026 his splits against left-handers are more than 100 points better than a season ago. He’s slashing .341/.408/.636 against lefties while he’s remained consistent against right-handers with a slash of .312/.399/.449.

This is a meaningful improvement for Edwards, who needed to show the organization that he could be a platoon-proof option in the lineup. Miami wants to play him every day, and he played nearly 140 games a season ago. But if he can hit well against both left-handers and right-handers, then he becomes someone that can play nearly 160 games in a season, putting him at a level tha few players hit consistently.

The Marlins have two more games left in their series with the Braves. On Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. Miami right-hander Janson Junk will face off against Braves left-hander Chris Sale, a former National League Cy Young winner. The final game of the series is on Thursday, also at 6:40 p.m. It will pit a pair of aces against each other — Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Atlanta’s Spencer Strider.

Miami hosts the New York Mets starting on Friday in a series that ends on Sunday.