Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez or Yoan Moncada moving forward?

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(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs and Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox are both primed to be Windy City stars. Who will be better moving forward?

The Chicago Cubs have been a contending team for the past several years, while the Chicago White Sox are considered to be a team on the rise and could even contend in 2020. Both in terms of the Crosstown Classic and just being a baseball fan in general, it figures to be a fun next few years of baseball in the Windy City.

Both teams have lots of great young stars. Two of the biggest stars are shortstop Javier Baez of the Cubs and third baseman Yoan Moncada of the White Sox. If these two players continue on their current track, not only will they be great players, but they’ll also spark debate among Chicago fans as to who is the better player.

Last year, the two players were pretty even, at least in terms of WAR. Baez posted a 4.8 WAR, while Moncada came in at at 4.6. Both have always had a lot of upside; for example, Baez was a consensus top ten prospect back in 2014, while Moncada was a top five prospect in 2017. Even though these two play different positions, fans figure to have strong opinions on both players moving forward.

There’s one area in which Moncada has a clear edge and that’s in cost. Baez will make a lot more over the next few seasons because he has more service time, while Moncada is still pre-arbitration eligible. Yet, if we put all that aside, which player will be better moving forward? Let’s take a look at the case for both.

Chicago Cubs: The case for Javier Baez

Javier Baez has been around for a few years and is clearly the more established player. When he first came up, he showed a lot of potential, hitting nine home runs in 52 games late in 2014. However, strikeouts and the ability to be patient were huge concerns. While Baez still strikes out a lot and isn’t exactly the league’s most patient hitter, he’s shown that the aggressive approach works for him.

For the first few years of his career, Baez kept getting better each year. It all culminated in an incredible 2018 season in which he finished second in National League MVP voting. That year, he batted .290 with 34 home runs and a league-leading 111 RBI. In 2019, Baez missed some time at the end of the season due to injury but still put up solid numbers, batting .281 with 29 home runs and 85 RBIs.

And as we know, Baez is one of the most dynamic defensive players in the game. After spending some time at second base, it appears he’s settling back in at shortstop, and it seems like almost daily he makes highlight-reel plays. The metrics like him too, as he posted a 2.2 defensive WAR in 2019 and has a career mark of 7.0.

As it appears the Cubs and Baez are working on a contract extension, the question is: Can Baez get even better? He’s currently one of the most athletic players in the game, and it’s hard to say how long that can continue before his skills start to diminish with age. What we have seen in recent years is that Baez has become a smarter and more clutch player. There’s no reason to think that Baez can’t continue to contribute at an elite level in 2020 and beyond.

Chicago Cubs: The case for Yoan Moncada

While Baez has already realized so much of his potential, Moncada still has a lot of room to get better. While Baez just turned 27, Moncada is currently 24. When the White Sox traded Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox in 2016, Moncada was considered to be the key piece going the other way, and for good reason.

Moncada showed a tremendous amount of improvement in 2019. 2018 was a bit of a disappointment, as the third baseman posted just a .714 OPS and struck out a staggering 217 times to lead the league. But in 2019, Moncada showed a lot of potential as an overall hitter, getting his OPS all the way up to .915 while batting .315. He cut his strikeouts down by a lot as well, down to “only” 154.

In terms of BA, OBP, and SLG, Moncada was the better player in 2019: .315/.367/.548 for Moncada and .281/.316/.531 for Baez. Moncada also hit 25 home runs, not far behind Baez’s 29. If there’s an area of concern about Moncada’s approach at the plate, it’s that his walk total plummeted from 67 in 2018 to just 40 in 2019.

Baez has the clear edge as a defensive player, though it appears Moncada is settling in at third base after previously playing second. In terms of range factor per nine innings, Moncada was above league average at third base in 2019 after being below average at second in 2018. He still posted a negative defensive WAR at -0.3.

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In terms of what these players will produce in 2020 and beyond, it appears that Moncada may have more upside as a hitter but that Baez is the better defender by a long shot. If you had to start a team and could have only one of these two players for the next five years, who would you choose? Fans may have a strong opinion one way or another, but it’s hard to go wrong with either one.

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