Thoughts on Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez
I hope that Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez were paying attention when Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon were at the plate last weekend. Rendon and Murphy are very advanced hitters that Schwarber and Baez in particular could learn from. Both young hitters sport massive slugging ability but severe swing and miss issues. Plenty has been written about Javi’s fickle (to put it lightly) plate discipline as well. Murphy and Rendon on the other hand know the value of simply being a tough out. Both have more than adequate in game power, Murphy’s developing later in his career, with excellent bat to ball skills. Neither are willing to swing at pitches out of the strike zone while methodically working counts to their favor. Neither feel the need to swing out of their shoes when they get a pitch to hit, instead relying on solid contact, launch angle, and, to be honest, the new baseballs that are flying out of the yard this season.
Schwarber and Baez’s development has been both frustrating and encouraging. Frustrating in that both have been reluctant to make changes to their approach at the plate. Baez from time to time has shown that he is willing to temper his big leg kick in exchange for more reliable contact, a modification that has served him well, but seems to fall off the wagon soon after. Schwarber, on the other hand has mashed at every level, however, this season is the first extended look we have gotten of him at the big league level. Struggles are to be expected from young players who are still in their development but this is a year that both players should be taking a step forward, if not in terms of skill then in game knowledge, situation awareness, ability to make adjustments, preparation, leadership, or any other ability that does not appear on the back of a baseball card. Ironically, I am hopeful for both players for the same reason that I am frustrated: the problem isn’t a lack of talent. The problem appears to be in how they approach hitting. A problem which can be fixed by a few simple changes of thought process at the plate.
I think that the modern baseball hive mind is a little bit too dismissive of strikeouts as they relate to ‘two-outcome’ hitters. Yes, we now understand that home runs are the single most influential occurrence in the game, but should guys with talent like Schwarber and Baez really be looking to settle for being two-outcome hitters? Murphy and Rendon are exactly why both should aspire for more. Why shouldn’t Schwarber have the bat to ball skills of Daniel Murphy? Why shouldn’t Javi Baez have the plate discipline of Anthony Rendon? If they want to hit home runs, fine, but I would argue that more contact in the modern live ball era will yield more home runs anyways.
I believe that both players will have solid MLB careers, however, the lack of willingness to make changes concerns me. I shouldn’t say lack of willingness because I do not know if that is the case. Perhaps they are naive. I find that difficult to believe considering they spend most of their waking moments around professional instructors. The fact is that neither player will develop into advanced hitters like Murphy and Rendon with a two-outcome hitting approach.
-cw
