Back at the quarter-season mark in May, I ranked the performance of each Cubs player on a wins above replacement (WAR) per dollar basis. Those rankings have now been updated to reflect performance from that last post through the All-Star break.
Javier Baez – $101,311 per win
El Mago earned a team-best 2.5 bWAR since the quarter mark and is on pace for 6.5 bWAR overall. Not only is this a huge increase on his career high of 3.2, but it represents the edge of MVP consideration. Baez is still boom or bust, but the booms are bigger and more frequent and the busts shorter than in seasons past.