Arlington, Texas – When Javier Baez came to bat with one out in the ninth inning Friday, Riley Greene had just hit a two-run home run to bring the Tigers within a run, 7-6, and Victor Reyes followed with a single.
It was the type of script-flipping situation the Tigers envisioned him being in when they signed him for six years and $140 million last offseason. It’s a situation he has thrived in throughout his career. Until this year.
Baez saw five pitches from reliever Jose Leclerc. Not one of them was thrown in the strike zone. He swung and missed at a slider in the dirt. He fouled off a slider well off the plate outside. And he ended up striking out on a slider down and outside the zone.
“We’ve got to find a way to get Javy inside the strike zone a little better,” manager AJ Hinch said before the game, repeating a tired refrain. “Nobody sees more pitches outside the strike zone than Javy and he swings at them at a very high rate.”
The numbers are alarming and mind-boggling. According to FanGraphs, of the 1,630 pitches Baez has seen this season (before Saturday), only 34% have been inside the strike zone. Meaning, 66% of the pitches thrown to him are balls.
And yet, his walk rate is among the lowest in baseball (4.4%) and his chase rate is among the highest (46%).
“I hope he takes the next six weeks to ramp himself back up to a better place offensively and return to form,” Hinch said. “We’ve seen glimpses of it where he stays in the zone and how impactful he can be hitting the ball the other way and being a more complete hitter.”
Strike zone command has been an issue for Baez his entire career. The Tigers knew that when they signed him. What has also been true of Baez, at least up until this season, is that he has been a productive hitter despite swinging at a high percentage of balls.
“It’s a continual battle,” Hinch said. “Because he’s chased a lot in his career and he’s also done a lot of damage outside the strike zone, which teases you that you can continue to do that as you age.”
It’s been frustrating for all parties. For the fan base, for the club and especially for Baez.
More: Ever-resilient Drew Hutchison making good on his decision to stick with the Tigers
Hitting .250 with 23 strikeouts and just 11 RBI after the seventh inning of close games is not the player he has been. Having a career-low 87.5 mph average exit velocity on the balls he does hit, having the second-lowest hard-hit rate of his career (35.4%), a career-high 52% ground ball rate and a career-low 2.4% home run rate – none of that is indicative of the player he’s been the last six years.
“The guy plays as hard as anybody on our team or on any other team,” Hinch said. “He’s fighting the fight at a level everybody should respect. There is no resignation in him. There is no quit in him. He doesn’t like losing. He doesn’t like struggling. And he doesn’t feel like he’s doing his part.
“All of that has been talked about behind the scenes. He will figure it out. He’s a really good player and he’s going to be really important for us these next six weeks and into next year.”
Out of the pen
Rookie right-hander Garrett Hill was moved to the bullpen to restrict his workload but still keep him developing against big-league hitters.
He seems to be having a pretty good time with it. He worked out of the bullpen for the first time in his professional career Friday night, throwing three shutout innings against the Rangers.
“I felt like I did a pretty good job of staying loose kind of knowing I could get called at any time,” said Hill, who allowed two hits and struck out four. “When they did, just instincts kind of took over, it felt like, and I just pitched my game.”
He used all five of his pitches and despite having not thrown competitively for 10 days, he had good command.
“It was cool,” he said. “I’d love to be starting still. But I think it’s huge that they’re keeping me up here instead of going to Toledo and starting for the like three innings down there. Getting the experience up here is nice.”
Around the horn
Jonathan Schoop (ankle sprain) is moving around much more comfortably and has begun throwing and hitting off a tee. Hinch reiterated that Schoop will have to make a couple of rehab starts before being cleared to return.
…Pitcher Casey Mize, recovering from Tommy John surgery, was with the team Saturday. He’d come to Dallas for a check up with his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister. “He’s just so thankful to get out of Lakeland for a couple of days,” Hinch said. “His appointment just happened to coincide with us being here, which is nice.”
cmccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky
Tigers at Rangers
First pitch: 2:35 p.m. Sunday, Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
TV/radio: BSD/97.1
Scouting report
RHP Drew Hutchison (1-7, 4.06), Tigers: He’s gotten eight runs of support in his last five starts, but he’s kept the Tigers in the fight in each one. He’s allowed two earned runs in his last two starts covering 10.1 innings. His two-seamer and slider combination have been an improving combination for him.
RHP Kohei Arihara (1-1, 2.31), Rangers: This will be his third big-league start after making 14 starts at Triple-A Round Rock. He’s coming off six innings of scoreless work at Target Field against the Twins. He has a six-pitch mix, with his cutter, changeup and sinker getting most of the usage. He also has a splitter, slider and four-seam.