Mitglieder » It's Javier Baez, whose reality has finally caught

Welcome to August 2018 Martin Prado Jersey , where the Chicago Cubs have a leading National League MVP candidate who's not named Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo.up with his hype.Through 112 games, the 25-year-old is hitting .298 with a .916 OPS, 25 home runs, 19 stolen bases and 88 runs batted in. All but the games played are career highs, and his RBI count is the highest of any National Leaguer.Not to be overlooked is Baez's defense. Per the defensive metrics, he's rating as an average or better defender at second base, shortstop and third base.Hence Baez's unsurprisingly strong showing in wins above replacement. He ranks at No. 7 in the National League with 4.9 rWAR at Baseball Reference. He's tied for sixth with 4.4 fWAR at FanGraphs.Granted, Baez is at the top of neither list.But the NL MVP race isn't like the American League MVP race, wherein it's clearly Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, Mookie Betts and then everyone else. The NL MVP race isa wide-open affair that WAR alone can't determine. Even more than usual, careful consideration of exactly what a player can do and exactlyhow he's contributed to his team is advised.Well, the Cubs have the best record in the NL at 66-48. And for at least one Cub, it's quite simple."He's the most valuable player on our team, and we're in first place," Bryant said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "Seems like he should be at top of the list [of NL MVP candidates]."David Banks/Associated PressBryant would know, as being the most valuable player on first-place Cubs teams used to be his job.The third baseman led a 103-win and eventual World Series champion squad in 2016 with a .939 OPS and 39 dingers, for which he was named the NL MVP. He was back at it again in 2017 with a .946 OPS and 29 homers, helping the Cubs to 92 wins and a second straight National League Central title. His 13.5 rWAR across those two years placed just a hair behind Nolan Arenado for tops in the NL.Never far from Bryant in the spotlight was Rizzo. He had already established himself as one of the best first basemen in Major League Baseball with his work in 2014 and 2015. So it went in '16 and '17, as he averaged a .914 OPS with 64 homers and 9.8 rWAR.But in 2018, "Bryzzo" just hasn't been the same.Although he's come on like gangbustersin the second half, Rizzo is still on track for his worst season since 2013. For his part http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey , Bryant has suffered a power loss that seemed mysterious at first, but which now makes sense in light of his left shoulder injury.The rest of Chicago's roster hasn't been without its own problems. Injuries and ineffectiveness have turned Yu Darvish into a bust in the first season of his six-year, $126 million contract. His starting rotation mates have largely struggled to the tune of a 4.08 ERA.And yet, there are the Cubs speeding toward their third straight NL Central title. And there's Baez, seemingly always in the middle of it all.Mind you, it's not like Baez was invisible before 2018. He was considered an elite prospect when he first arrived in 2014, and the sheer breadth of his skill set was oftenextremely visible.At times, Baez looked like the best sliderin MLB. At other times, he looked like the best tagger. At still other times, his arm and his range made him look like the best defender. At still more times, he looked like one of MLB's most powerful sluggers.But then there were the other times when Baez was practically invisible at the plate, where his free-swinging style led to too many bad at-bats and, thus, frequent slumps.There were also the times when he must have wished he could hide. His defensive miscues would undermine his defensive brilliance, and his aggression on the basepaths sometimes resulted in avoidable outs.In short, Baez played like an unrestrained bundle of energy. And this act extended to, well, his act. He wasn't shy about having his fun when he wanted to, occasionally to the chagrin of the fun police.This next part should be a segue into how Baez has changed his ways to become a better player in 2018. But in reality, he's still the same Javier Baez. He's just...better.His 60.8 swing percentage is the highest of any qualified hitter, which explains his characteristically low walk rate of 3.8 percent. Buthe's mostly taking good swings, as an increasing rate of his hacks are taking place within the strike zone:His rate of contact on these swings isn't ideal, but it's acceptable. That helps explain how his strikeout rate is now well below its formerly catastrophic standing.Even better, Baez'squality of contact on his in-zone swings is beyond acceptable:2015:92.9 mph2016: 89.1 mph2017:88.5 mph2018:94.9 mphThus has Baez rarely not been a threat at the plate this season. He's posted an OPS north of .900 in every month except May Wei-Yin Chen Jersey , when he finished at a solid .769.Elsewhere, Baez is rating as one of the NL's top baserunners despite the fact he hasn't toned down his aggressiveness on the bases. And while he still boots the occasional ball, even the newest Cub can see that his ability and versatility are more than worth the trouble on defense."He's a naturally gifted infielder," veteran left-hander Cole Hamels said, per Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. "I think if you wanted to throw him at first base, I'm sure he could do that pretty well, too."Meanwhile, Baez's natural tendency to wear his emotions on his sleeve is going strong. That's led to spats with Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and Cincinnati Reds lefty Amir Garrett, but his position is clear: He's going to keep doing him."I don't control what's out there, what people say about me. I'm just going to keep playing my game," he said in April after running afoul of Hurdle, perMuskat.Heck, why not? Oakland Athletics outfielder Mark Canha's recent rescinding of an apologyfor a bat flip might be the ultimate sign that Major League Baseball is finally accepting a more outwardly emotional style, one which Baez and other Latin players have long since embraced.Beyond that, it's never a bad idea to stick with what's worked. That's how Baez has gotten to where he is now, and it has both him and the Cubs in an enviable spot.Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. MESA, Ariz. (AP) — For Anthony Rizzo, spring training sure has a different feel this year.The three-time All-Star showed up cracking jokes and slinging one-liners as he set out to help the Chicago Cubs bounce back from a disappointing finish last season.“It’s the first day; I picked out my outfit last night,” he said as position players officially reported to camp this week. “I was off to school.”Rizzo left camp a year ago to return to his home in Parkland, Florida, in the wake of a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A 2007 graduate, he fought back tears as he spoke at a vigil for the 17 people killed. He visited victims in the hospital, spent time with family and talked with neighbors following the rampage.Once he rejoined his team Jeff Locke Jersey , well, it wasn’t easy focusing on baseball. Rizzo acknowledged the shooting affected him — and it still does.“I went back and spoke from my heart,” he said. “It was a tough time. I still think about it every day for the most part. You have to move on in life and try to do the best I can.”The way Rizzo handled the tragedy gave a glimpse into how he became one of the team’s clubhouse leaders.“He’s a great teammate, great guy to be around,” Kris Bryant said. “I can’t get enough of him. I love the guy.”While Bryant clearly has affection for Rizzo, he doesn’t think the Cubs’ first baseman gets enough around the league.“I feel like he is still underrated,” Bryant said. “It’s tough — first base in the (National League) is loaded. He seems to be not talked about very much. He’s consistent and brings it every day.”Rizzo has had four straight 100 RBI seasons and five in a row with 25 home runs or more. Despite being slowed by a back injury early on and batting .149 through April, he finished with a .283 average, 25 homers and 101 RBIs last year. He also won his second Gold Glove.But with Cincinnati’s Joey Votto, Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell, Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar and St. Louis’ Paul Goldschmidt, the NL Central has no shortage of star power at first base.“It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be a battle,” Rizzo said. “Probably going to be some really intense games.”The Cubs feel like they have something to prove after blowing a five-game lead over Milwaukee in the Central and losing to Colorado in the wild card game. Chicago combined for just two runs over 22 innings and watched as the Brewers and Rockies celebrated on consecutive days at Wrigley Field. It was a weak finish after three straight trips to the NLCS and a drought-busting World Series championship in 2016.“A lot of guys are used to going to the NLCS,” Rizzo said. “To get knocked out, is like, ‘Whoa. What is this? Barbecuing in October?’ Just talking to everyone, everyone is excited.”Coming off a 95-win season, the Cubs were noticeably quiet in free agency because of budget constraints. That’s just fine with Rizzo.“It’s a challenge for all of us,” he said. “We didn’t win last year, so what are we supposed to do — sit back and do the same thing? That’s insanity. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to be better and take it upon us to lead this group.”Manager Joe Maddon likes what he’s seeing from Rizzo.“He looks great,” Maddon said. “He’s been working hard to create flexibility to his body. The extra month we’re not used to all of sudden had some benefit in how he felt and how eager he was to get going.”Urgency has been the buzzword in camp. And Rizzo senses it.“Maybe with a mentality we can set the tone a little bit better this year,” he said. “We go out there every day and try to win. I know we will come out strong.”