Cubs' Javier Baez on a steep learning curve
After cruising through system, top shortstop prospect hit major speed bump against Triple-A pitching before slowly snapping out of deep slump
By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune reporter
4:02 p.m. CDT, July 12, 2014
DES MOINES — Maybe the best things to happen to Javier Baez this year were his early season struggles at Triple-A Iowa and the sudden shift of media attention toward fellow prospects Kris Bryant and Addison Russell.
Baez's standing as the top player in the Cubs' system was no longer a given, and all the talk in spring training that he already was ready for the majors had been temporarily muted.
"Once I get called up, I don't want to come back down, so I'm being patient and waiting for them to think I'm ready," Baez said. "When they think I'm ready, I'll be ready for that."
He's not ready yet, despite cries for his call-up, and will remain at Iowa until he proves he can bring some consistency to his offensive game and shore up his defense.
It all looked so easy for Baez last year at Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He combined to hit .282 with 37 home runs and 111 RBIs in only 130 games, tying for second in the minors in home runs and leading all minor leaguers in RBIs and extra-base hits (75) while earning the Cubs' minor league player of the year honor.
While Bryant cruised through Class A and Double A in one year, Baez hit a speed bump, adjusting slowly to pitching at the Triple-A level. He hit .172 in April with a .238 on-base percentage and .379 slugging percentage, shortly after hearing experts proclaim he already was the best hitter on the Cubs' roster.
But Baez is learning, one at-bat at a time. He said he's swinging at strikes now and taking more pitches to the opposite field. While Baez has gone through struggles before, he added: "Not as bad as this year."
Baez's average has risen to a more respectable .240, with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs, though his strikeout total (110 in 312 at-bats) still is alarming.
He's really no different than most players who have zoomed through the system to Triple A before hitting a logjam. The pitchers are a little older, a lot smarter and less inclined to throw a fastball to someone who willingly lunges at off-speed stuff out of the strike zone.
"I've been getting better and better every day," Baez said. "It's way different here. In Double A, they throw a lot of strikes, a lot of pitches in the zone. Here they make you chase, and they're going to keep doing it until you learn."
Iowa hitting coach Brian Harper conceded it's "a whole different adjustment than A-ball and Double A," but he said Baez has emerged from his slow start.
"If you take away April, his numbers are pretty decent," Harper said. "He just got off to such a bad start and it kind of snowballed. I'm proud of the way he has handled the rough start. He has worked hard and really dedicated himself to figuring things out."
Just in case Baez isn't figuring things out quickly enough, Cubs President Theo Epstein threw a monkey wrench into the plan, making the controversial decision to bring former Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez to Iowa as a player-coach -- or coach-player, depending on who's talking.
"It really boils down to he's the calmest hitter I've ever seen in the box," Epstein said. "And if Manny can help one hitter get a little bit calmer in the box, it'll be worth it.
"He handles nasty right-handed breaking stuff. His whole approach to it, I think he can articulate it better than anyone I've ever been around. If he can help impart some of that wisdom to just one hitter …"
It's hoped that one hitter is Baez, though Ramirez is there to mentor all the Iowa hitters.
No matter how it turns out, the "Manny Effect" is a fascinating experiment. Ramirez's relationship with Baez will be under the spotlight the rest of the season, and he probably will get some credit if Baez dominates in the second half the way everyone assumed he would when he arrived in April.
"Legendary work ethic," Harper said of Ramirez. "Nobody has ever said anything but that he works hard and really prepares. For him to come in and actually do what I've been telling these kids is a great help for me."
Though Ramirez's arrival seemingly would undercut Harper's ability to do his job, Harper insisted he has no problem sharing his duties. As long as the message ultimately is received, Harper doesn't care how it's transmitted.
"Sometimes with hitting, one coach might say something and it might not click," he said. "And another coach might verbalize it in a different way and all of a sudden it clicks for a kid. Manny and I talk about guys and some of the things we want to help them with. He's awesome."
Baez has been studying Ramirez, who said he is taking things slowly and doesn't want to get in the prospects' faces right away. But it's more than Ramirez's hitting techniques that interest Baez.
"I asked Manny about how he takes care of the fans that get on him during the game and talk trash," Baez said. "He told me he was so focused on his AB's that he doesn't listen to anybody.
"This last road trip, he only played one game. The other four games he wasn't playing, but he was ready to get in, batting gloves on, swinging the bat. I was like, 'Manny, what are you doing? You're going to hit somebody with the bat.' He told me, 'I'm just ready to get in the game.'"
Image repair is obviously on Ramirez's to-do list given his violations of baseball's PED policy. But Baez also needs to be a little concerned with his own image after scuffling with Iowa teammate Eli Whiteside the third game of the season. The veteran catcher reportedly tried to calm him down in the dugout after Baez was ejected for arguing with the home plate umpire.
"I was mad, he was mad, everybody was mad," Baez told the Des Moines Register afterward. "We argued a little. Nothing personal."
That incident coincided with the start of Baez's slump and was the first blot — albeit a minor one — on an otherwise clean resume for the young shortstop.
The pressure of living up to hype is never easy, but teammates say Baez has gotten much better at it over the last three months.
"Even through the struggles, he has matured and is handling things really well," Iowa starter Dallas Beeler said. "He's growing up and it's fun to watch. There is extra pressure (on Baez), but I don't think you can ask much more from the guy than what he's doing now."
In spite of a mediocre batting average, Baez was invited to take part in the Futures Game on Sunday in Minneapolis, playing for the world team against a U.S. squad that includes Bryant. That should be a good barometer of how far he has to go.
"Other guys ask me why I'm on the world team," Baez said. "I grew up in the U.S. but was born in Puerto Rico and lived there for 12 years. But it feels great to be named to the Futures Game."
Baez's ultimate position remains anyone's guess, especially with Starlin Castro's impressive rebound and the Cubs' acquisition of Russell from the Athletics. Baez's fielding has improved significantly and he no longer is looking at runners when picking up the ball. He made a backhanded play June 30 against Omaha at Principal Park that was as good as any major league shortstop could make.
Baez has worked out at second base before games but spent all his time at short so far. Unlike Bryant, who is adamant about wanting to remain at third, Baez said he didn't "really care" when asked about possibly switching positions in the majors.
Conventional wisdom says Baez will be called up in September to get a taste of the big leagues before starting the 2015 season with the Cubs. But nothing is assured and, for now, Baez needs to regain the offensive consistency that made him the Cubs' top prospect in the first place.
"Javy is right where he needs to be — in Triple A," Epstein said. "He's facing some adversity because he's not putting up his normal numbers.
"There are still times he's out of control in the box. He can be locked in for three or four at-bats, and the next thing you know he's swinging at a pitch over his head and a 58-footer. As soon as he learns to refine his approach a little more, swing at pitches he can drive and calm himself down a little bit, he'll be up here.
"But he's in exactly the right place, with a great attitude working on what he needs to work on."
