Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez is notorious for his inability—or disinterest—in taking pitches out of the zone. However, if he started to, he could become one of the best players in the league.
Javier Baez took his first unintentional walk in nearly two months against the Mets on Thursday. It’s such a rarity that it literally made headlines. It is a little strange that a player in today’s game can be successful without ever really walking. But the Chicago Cubs infielder is doing just that.
His OPS is .853, his wRC+ is 122, and he leads the NL in RBI—not to mention what he does on defense. This all while walking in just 3.2% of plate appearances. Javier Baez is only one tool away from being among the best in the game.
The sole flaw in his game
Everything else Baez does, he does well. He’s among the best defensive middle infielders in the game. He hits for average and power. The only real complaint fans can have of Baez are his high strikeout and low walk rates.
But it might be that those bad numbers help the other numbers stay good.
Could trying to walk hurt the Chicago Cubs and Baez’s game?
As of now, the only pitches Baez won’t swing at are awful pitches. Anything relatively close to the strike zone gets a swing from him. If Baez decided to be a player that took more walks, he’d have to fundamentally change his approach at the plate. Doing so could hurt his game.
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For one, Baez’s unapologetic free-swinging is the thing that leads to his bats colliding with balls. He rarely takes pitches in the strike zone. Additionally, he might be forced to be wary of the high fastball—a pitch that Baez often sends over the fence.
Baez could up his game by increasing his plate discipline, but even if he did, it might come at a cost.