Getty Image / Chris Coduto
It wasn’t that long ago when Javy Baez was considered one of the most electrifying players in all of baseball. The former Cub had incredible power, routinely made highlight plays in the field, and was adventurous on the basepaths.
Sadly, that Javy Baez is long gone, and the now-Detroit Tiger is one of the worst regulars in Major League Baseball. When he was hit by a pitch on Tuesday in a game against the Cleveland Guardians and glared at the pitcher, the Guardians broadcast booth took aim.
Baez was hit by Guardians pitcher Nick Sandlin, and was pretty upset about it. But, as the Guardians’ play-by-play announcer Matt Underwood stated, nobody is going to hit a hitter that is hitting as poorly as Javy Baez on purpose. Take a look.
Guardians announcer hit Javy Baez with the kill shot pic.twitter.com/1UCgU5DUDh
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 10, 2024
He’s not wrong. Javy Baez has been downright awful this year. Just how bad has he been? He’s slashing .182/.212./.250. That is absolutely dreadful, and results in an OPS+ of 30. An average OPS+ is 100. 75 is considered poor. He’s at 30!
Largely, his atrocious hitting is due to his terrible plate discipline. He’s always been a free swinger at the plate, and has been known to swing at some truly awful pitches. But, that’s only gotten worse. According to Baseball Savant, Baez is in the first percentile in chase rate, swinging at 45.8% of pitches outside the strike zone. And, his walk rate is obviously low because of this, too, at just 3% .
He used to be able to get by with his lack of plate discipline by having incredible raw skills. But, that’s no longer the case. The once-prodigious bat speed is still better than the league average, but no longer truly elite. And, he’s not hitting for the raw power he used to. When he was in his prime with the Cubs, Baez made loud contact. Now, his average exit velocity is the 33rd percentile.
Plus, his slick fielding has regressed into a below-average infielder. He’s not a good major league player in any facet of the game.
That’s sobering news for Tigers fans, as they signed Baez to a 6-year $140 million deal in free agency before the 2022 season. Safe to say that pretty much every cent of that will turn out to be a sunk cost.
The Tigers are in the midst of another lost year at 43-49, well out of the playoff picture.