Baez Some Time: Cubs Player Profile -- Javier Baez

Embedded in the links on Javier Baez' name are his various statistical profiles.

Ednel Javier Baez is 23 years old. He was born December 1, 1992, the son of Angel Luis Baez and Nelida Agosto, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico . He is six feet tall, weighs 190 lbs, and bats right-handed.

He got interested in baseball through the offices of his father, who also sparked baseball fever in Javier's brothers Gadiel and Rolando. Rolando Agosto was actually the first to play professional baseball after being drafted by the Padres in 2002. Gadiel Baez is with the Vallejo Admirals after having a splendid college career. The three brothers all have the MLB neck tattoo -- it symbolizes their love for the game and for their father.

In 2005, Javier and his family moved to Florida so that his younger sister Noely could get treatment for spina bifida. She passed on, unfortunately, last year, as most of us know.

Javy wasn't initially a prospect in high school in Florida. His coach at Arlington Day School in Jacksonville said that Baez' work ethic was responsible for his advance, his talent having always been evident. He was an All-American after his junior year and hit .771 his senior year, playing second base, shortstop, outfielder, and catcher.

Javy Baez has had a difficult path to follow. He was drafted by the Cubs in the first round (ninth overall) in 2011 and has been on the rise since, culminating in his making the team this year after callups in 2014 and 2015. He starred in the 2015 postseason, hitting a memorable home run off present-day teammate John Lackey.

In 2012, he was rated the 62nd best prospect in baseball. The next year, he was 16th, having moved up three levels. He was moved to the Iowa Cubs' late in the year and then got on the Triple-A to MLB roller coaster the next year.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon apparently plans to give Javy two or three starts a week, to keep him in the flow of things and allow him to develop his immense talent and prodigious power in as low-pressure an environment as you can get with today's Cubs. As you can see above, it won't be the first time Javier Baez has been the super utility man. High School wasn't that long ago.

This is a very good article from VICE Sports, with quotes from Cubs VP of player development and scouting Jason McLeod and Jaron Madison of the San Diego Padres, that encapsulates Javy's potential and his journey.

He's still with the team. He hasn't been traded, and he's going to play a lot. I'm looking forward to it.