Is Javier Baez ready?
This was supposed to be the year that Baez “finally” answered that question. After getting a taste of the big leagues in 2014 and struggling mightily, 2015 would be the year he showed the world how his awesome tools would translate into major-league success.
Then tragedy struck. His beloved sister passed away and he went on bereavement leave. When he came back he broke his finger (that part isn’t tragic, it’s just a bummer), missing even more time. As the season wore on it looked like 2015 would be a lost year—and we’d all have to wait until the proverbial “next year” to find out if he was ready.
While at Triple-A, Baez worked hard and put up some great offensive numbers: .324/.385/.527 with 17 steals and 13 home runs in 70 games. He was mostly playing second base, as Starlin Castro was ensconced at short and Addison Russell was there just in case.
Eventually, Baez got called up and provided mostly defensive depth and some pop off the bench when the rosters expanded. Depth is great and all, but it’s a far cry from being the everyday player, middle-of-the-order threat we were hoping he’d become. It appeared that 2016 would have to be the year of Baez.
On Saturday night against the New York Mets, Baez steps back into the spotlight (at shortstop, his natural position) after the Cubs announced Addison Russell would miss the entire series. He isn’t filling in for one game. It’s not a game-to-game decision—Javier Baez is the starting shortstop for the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
The time is now.
Russell is a world-class defender at SS, so the current storyline being bandied about is that the Cubs’ defense will take a hit. A more likely story is that the club’s depth takes a hit. I’m here to tell you that Baez has the athleticism to make any of the ‘wow’ plays that Russell can make. The biggest difference will be the consistency factor of making the routine plays he’s expected to make, especially after not playing short regularly for so long.
In case you aren’t comfortable with Baez’s defense, let’s look at some plays he made in the minor leagues.
Can he range to his right?
What about to his left?
Ah! Just go over him…right?
But can he do it at the big-league level? Umm…he just did it last month. In the middle of a playoff run. At a position he had barely played before:
Let’s quote a gushing Joe Maddon when he spoke to the Tribune back in September:
“He falls out of bed and can play defense,” Maddon said. “It’s incredible to watch how smooth he is and how comfortable he is at all these different positions. His arm, how smooth he is — he’s just different. I don’t know if we’ve had anyone quite that comfortable on the infield, especially at that age (22).”
So yes, while the Cubs will no longer have one of the best shortstops in the world manning the position on Saturday night, it’s not like they’re trotting out Hanley Ramirez out there.
Baez’s offensive game gets about as much gushing as Russell’s defense, so I don’t need to go into it. He’s got one of the most powerful swings in baseball—when he makes contact. But like I said earlier, Baez did work on some things while he was in Triple-A, and striking out less was one of them.
While in Iowa, Baez posted a 23 percent strikeout rate, well below the 41 percent rate he put up during his time in the majors in 2014. And small samples being what they are, his K rate this year in the majors was “just” 30 percent. For a guy with his swing and his history of striking out, that’s a step in the right direction. He also posted a 77 percent contact rate, which is way above his career average.
Baez hasn’t put up those kinds of contact numbers since his monster 2013 between High-A and Double-A, where he hit 37 home runs and slugged .578. In other words, 2015 showed Baez moving in the right direction.
But the question remains: is Baez ready to play Major League Baseball at a premium position on an everyday basis?
I don’t know the answer to that question, I’m just excited we don’t have to wait until 2016 for the answer.
Lead photo courtesy of Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports