NEWSLETTER
Brett wrote yesterday about the pronounced day/night splits put up by Javier Baez this season, and how Jason Parks briefly pondered if there was something to that split that might explain his poor performance so far. I don’t quite buy that argument, personally. Baez clobbered baseballs in night games last season in Tennessee, and he clobbered baseballs last season in day games in Daytona. Had a second sun mysteriously appeared in the sky last summer, I don’t doubt that Baez would have still clobbered baseballs. I’m not convinced that day or night has much to do with his struggles.
Baez is showing a similarly pronounced split this year in his road/home splits. At home his slash line is .182/.273/.377, but on the road that plummets to .125/.186/.125. That’s right, Baez has yet to hit an extra base hit on the road. But I don’t think that really explains very much either.
The split that I suspect tells the truest story on Baez is his line when he is ahead in the count as compared to behind in the count.
Ahead in the count: .250/.500/.500
Behind in the count: .150/.150/.300
Unfortunately he only has twenty four at bats in which he is ahead in the count this season, so his OPS of 1.000 in those at bats is having a limited impact on his overall line. And, like all these splits, drawing any firm conclusions from these numbers is hampered by the sample size issue.
With all that aside, though, I think the best takeaway from examining the splits is that Baez needs to do a better job getting himself ahead in the count. When he does that he is rewarded with pitches he can punish. When he doesn’t, he’s a fairly easy out. If you are looking for signs that he is turning the corner (and who isn’t?), there are some to be found. In addition to his current hitting streak, Baez is swinging at fewer pitches out of the strike zone in May (18.6%) than he was in April (23.1%). Progress.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – The Cubs took the early lead, but it didn’t stand up. Iowa lost 4-2.
Tennessee – Tennessee broke through in the fifth and never trailed in this 3-1 win.
Daytona – Daytona scored in the eighth to pull away for a 4-2 win.
Kane County – Kane County was rained out in Wisconsin.
Performances of Note
Other News
