Written by InhaleSports Contributor PJ Anderson
Close your eyes and picture the most exciting player in baseball. Think about someone who has some of the rawest power in baseball, the ability to hit the ball out of any field, regularly blasting legendary home runs in batting practice that reach upwards of 450 feet. You’re thinking of Bryce Harper right? Now, think of someone who can glide effortlessly to baseballs, making plays that you didn’t think were possible. Mike Trout pops into your head, no? Finally, consider the fact that this player can do all of that, but has arm strength that is second to none, making plays deep in the hole, or in foul ground, look easy. Surely this discussion in centered around Manny Machado?
Open your eyes. You’ll be staring at a boyish face of a 23-year-old who has the MLB logo tattooed on the back of his neck. His name is Javier Baez, and despite the fact that his career strikeout rate is a ghastly 31%, he has wrestled the title of “Most Exciting Player” away from the likes of those mentioned above.
Baez makes plays defensively that happen simply because he has no fear of failure. Look at the mid-June series against the Marlins in Miami as the only example you need. On June 23rd, Baez made one of the best plays in recent memory, only to have it overturned by replay.
One night later, Baez, showing reckless abandon for his body, went fully extended into the stands on another play that unhinged jaws.
Baez has seemingly perfected the lost art of tagging. His lighting quick hands allow him to wait until the ball is on top of the runner before even moving, making for the most magnificent putouts I’ve seen in years.
Still not convinced about a player that his own manager refuses to acknowledge as a regular (despite having appeared in 116 games this year to date)? Nolan Arenado, who may be the gold standard for third basemen defensively, is worth 5.8 Fielding Runs Above Replacement (according to FanGraphs) in 131 games. Baez? A cool 7.7, while having played EVERY position in the infield (and yes, he has been shagging fly balls in in the outfield in batting practice too).
Baez is smart on base-paths as well, using his above average speed to take advantage of even the smallest of miscues. His aggressiveness can get him into trouble, but what does it matter when you can pull of ridiculous slides that leave opponents grasping at the air, like the time that Jonathan Lucroy had him out by 15 feet:
Or the time that he was picked off first base and made Jordy Mercer look like a fool.
All of this evidence points towards Baez being a fascinating player to watch, but we have yet to talk about his calling card, power. In his one full minor league season Baez launched 37 home runs. Of course, this was a product of swinging out of his shoes, as just last year, in his time with the big league club, Baez stuck out 30% of the time. This year however, he has gotten rid of his trademark leg kick with two strikes and has lowered that percentage to under 25%, not where it needs to be, but acceptable. The change in approach has not led to a decrease in power however, because when he squares the baseball up, it flies.
Want to label him as just a pull hitter? Look at his Major League debut, where he crushed the ball against the Rockies.
Not sure if he can do it in the clutch? See how he blasts the ball in the 13th to be the Nationals.
Lastly, if you had any doubts about whether the playoffs are going to be too big of a spotlight for him, look at his production in the NLDS last year.
Javier Baez may not be an All-Star. He may never be considered the biggest star on his own team, but one thing is for sure, if there is one player in Major League Baseball that is worth ponying up money to see play, it is Javy Baez.
