You’ll get no argument from me that Colorado Springs is one of the places from which the Pacific Coast League gets its reputation as an offensive haven. As Michael discussed earlier this year, minor league park factors indicate that Colorado Springs is one of the most offense-friendly ballparks in all of the minor leagues, and, given what we know about Coors Field, it’s not hard to understand why.
So, when your AAA team heads out west, the numbers do come with a modest grain of salt. That said, while Colorado Springs is big on offense, it’s actually must closer to average in terms of home runs allowed.
So, when Javy Baez hits a moonshot like this, maybe it’s still impressive:
Your browser does not support iframes.
Even the cameraman had a hard time tracking that one.
And here’s a helpful fan view:
@BleacherNation pic.twitter.com/BYz1XXXAhz
— GARY THE VEGAN (@garrettbehr) August 5, 2015
The swing was aggressive, but not out of control. Note that the ankle roll on his front foot was slightly less terrifying that you probably remember from last year.
The homer was Baez’s only hit of the night, but he didn’t strike out. His line at AAA this season is up to .321/.398/.568 in just over 200 plate appearances, with his strikeout rate now down to 26.4%.
If he stays healthy, Baez will see time with the big league club this year, in September at the latest. How and where the Cubs will use him will be interesting to see.