Chicago Cubs: Why everyone should love Javier Baez

2. His baseball IQ is off the charts

An outside observer watching Baez play irregularly might think that flashy plays, poor plate discipline and penchant for grandstanding are his most notable characteristics.

Certainly, that seems to be with the Milwaukee Brewers’ play-by-play guys think of him, anyway. Not that anyone cares what they think.

That is, of course, very incorrect. Because despite some of the holes in his game or knocks for inconsistent hustle, Baez is one of the smartest players on the Chicago Cubs. And he shows it with regularity.

He knows exactly how to take risks on the base paths without getting caught, calculating his own speed, the outfielders’ limits and the play itself with lightning precision.

The fact that he scored from first base on this play still blows my mind.

And his feel for situational baseball in the field allows him to make snap decisions to cut runners down in a variety of fashions.

For example, the tags don’t just represent his incredible hand-eye coordination: they’re also born from an innate knowledge of what the situation calls for. The combination of those two things give you plays that seemingly no other player can duplicate.

Baez isn’t just some silly kid surviving off of pure athleticism and instinct. He has one of the most underrated baseball minds in the game. And I’m not sure he gets the credit he deserves for it.