Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez Made a Splash in NLDS

Javier Baez was one of the best Chicago Cubs players in the NLDS, but his performance isn’t shocking to those that have watched him all season long.

On a Chicago Cubs team with probable MVP Kris Bryant and loads of other All-Stars, it’s easy for a player like Baez to get caught in the shuffle. Baez, unlike Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Addison Russell, was not brought in or drafted by the Theo Epstein regime. Javier Baez was one of those players out of high school that was a total gamble for any team willing to draft him. He was incredibly raw, but his athletic abilities convinced the Chicago Cubs to select him with the 9th overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Since being drafted, Baez attracted attention to him as he made his way through the Cubs’ minor league system. For Cubs fans, watching players like Baez develop as the Major League team struggled was like therapy. For baseball fans, a player who had the power potential of Baez was mesmerizing to see hit baseballs. However, with every exciting prospect comes a list of things that he must improve before making it to the big stage. For players drafted out of high school, that list is typically longer than the list for players drafted from a college team. Javy Baez was no different.

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With his flashy bat speed and power came the extreme tendency to strikeout. He was incredibly athletic in the field, but scouts were uncertain whether he would stay at shortstop long term. As he moved up the Cubs system, he steadily got better in each of his areas of weakness. However, striking out at a high rate remained one of his largest issues, even in 2014 when he was called up to the Cubs for the first time and again in 2015.

Despite being a free swinger throughout his entire career, Baez has lowered his strikeout rate from 30.0% in 2015 with the Cubs to just 24.0% this season. Not only has he lowered his strikeouts, but he’s done so while keeping the same power in his swing. Off the bench with 450 plate appearances, Baez hit 14 home runs for the Cubs this season. His most notable home run, however, was not in the regular season. It was in game one of the NLDS when he gave the Cubs a 1-0 win.

For most baseball fans, the Baez home run was somewhat shocking. Perhaps not as shocking as Conor Gillaspie‘s Wild Card home run, but Baez was by no means the Cubs player fans expected to come through in the clutch moment. Maybe fans brushed it off as luck, something often talked about and seen in playoff baseball. If they’d never seen Baez play often before that home run, that would be a completely fair thing to assume. Javier Baez isn’t even considered an everyday starter for the Cubs. However, Baez has shown all season long the value that he has to the team.

In the playoffs where every run matters, whether scored offensively or saved defensively, Javier Baez is an incredibly valuable player. That was evident all series long against the Giants. In game one, he hit the aforementioned game-winning home run. In game three he made multiple great plays, including a questionable call on an incredible play at first.

In game four, Baez had perhaps his best game of the series. Early in the game, he made a great tag on a David Ross throw to catch a runner stealing. Throughout the game, he made dazzling defensive plays. And then, in the top of the 9th inning Baez came through with a base hit to bring home the go-ahead run and send the Cubs to the NLCS. It was a performance that shocked everyone but the Cubs and their fans. It was a performance that put Baez in the headlines for the first time in his career.

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Javier Baez dominating the NLDS is a microcosm of what is so great about the 2016 Chicago Cubs. Their depth is unmatched by any team in the league. That depth is incredibly key in the playoffs. They still have a ways to go before they can taste a championship, but Baez’s performance in the NLDS is just another reason why they’re the favorites to win it all.

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