Javier Baez is about to make his major league debut. While the rest of Cubs fandom dances in jubilation, I cower nervously (with maybe a few small capers of rational optimism). Baez is a boom or bust player thanks to his awesome power and his proclivity to strike out. Over the past two months he has made significant (if individually small) improvements to his stance, his swing, his plate approach, and his plate discipline that have helped transform his disastrous April into an excellent July. Unfortunately, the total package of those changes are still going to be somewhat new to Baez. I think it is fair to ask just how comfortable he is with them.
Sometimes, perhaps not in this case, when young players struggle they tend to revert away from their more recent coaching and back to their most comfortable form. We saw this to some extent with Castro last season. Should that happen, and if Baez’s most comfortable form is closer to the April version, then we will get to sit back for the first half of next season while those same improvements are reconstructed. That’s a risk the front office is evidently willing to take, but it is one that makes me very nervous. Since Baez is a high risk player anyway, anything that compounds that risk strikes with me chords of unease.
Because he will struggle. That is just a given. Young hitters are prone to struggle, and high strikeout hitters are prone to struggle, and Baez has a history of struggling upon promotion to a new level. He will struggle. The question is whether or not he will stick to his Iowa transformation when that struggle hits, or revert back a previous form.
Regardless of how many homers or strikeouts he piles up, I will be most interested in how his Chicago form over the rest of the season compares to his July form in Iowa. What I am hoping to see is a quieter stance with some bat movement, but nothing excessive. I’m hoping for a swing that remains balanced and doesn’t get so wild that he can’t adjust to the pitch. While the bulk of Baez’s production will be to left and left center, I hope to see him continue to shoot the ball into right on a somewhat regular basis. I hope to see a continued willingness to make contact and let his natural power do it’s thing, and not so much of a tendency to try to pulverize the ball into tiny little bits with each swing of the bat.
If, instead, over the next few weeks I see excessive bat movement, wild swings, lots of 0-2 counts, and a very high ratio of fly balls to left, then I hope to see the Cubs slip Baez back down to Iowa and to the coaches who helped with his July resurgence before any of those recent lessons are entirely unlearned.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Who needs Baez? Iowa reclaimed first place with this 6-0 win.
Tennessee – The Smokies also reclaimed first place with this 3-2 win.
Daytona – Daytona was rained out.
Kane County – The Kane County game was suspended. It will be completed today.
Boise Hawks – Boise had the day off.
Arizona – This game got away from the Cubs late, and they lost 10-5.
Performances of Note
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