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Levine: Baez's Struggles May Help His Long-Term Development

By Bruce Levine:

(CBS) -- Watching Javier Baez swing and miss to the tune of 81 strikeouts in 44 games has brought plenty of scrutiny on both player and organization alike. Adding further fuel to the fire has been the stubborn approach of the Cubs to bat Baez second.

A collaboration of ideas by the organization has empowered Renteria to continue the experiment with the player. The end result certainly may justify the means, to which the development program has been mapped out for the talented 21 year old.
Although other young players have been brought to the big leagues and bounced up and back in the lineup, the Cubs have been steadfast in leaving the kid just go out and play.

"I think so," Renteria said in responding to a query on the positives of keeping Baez in the two hole. "We hope the best teacher is giving him as many at bats as we can the rest of the way."

Noting that experience is a key in any player development process, progress needs to be quantified and calculated at different junctures.

"He must make some adjustments," said the Cub manager. "We believe his approach is continuing to improve. Some of the at-bats have gotten better and he has been garnering some walks. We think this has served him well."

The Cubs as a team are strikeout leaders in all of baseball, with an average of nine strikeouts per-game. Looking at those numbers, the model is not quite there yet for a group of baseball executives that have made on-base percentage a core philosophy in developing their past championship clubs. Some of the players they have inherited are swing-and-miss type hitters. Other aspects of the new wave of players are the accepting of the strikeout as acceptable throughout the sport.

Baez is human and understands incremental improvement is the only way he will be considered for important at-bats in the future.

"It bothers him," said Renteria referring to the repetitive propensity of the Baez to whiff. "He is happy to be in the lineup every day and his defense has been really good. He has been able to compartmentalize his offense and defense. He is holding his own. The skill set is significant in the player."

A growing trend of acceptable large strikeout totals and big production for present day players takes baseball fans and this reporter some time adjust to. Baez is a product of this new 'strikeout frenzy' era. That being the case, he will most likely succeed in the power hitting aspects of the game given time.

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