Jake Bauers
- Free agent est. 2 yr × $17.7M ($13M–$27M) · +1.8 wins to Pittsburgh’s Winter Plan as its DH
2 cautions
- Strong October (.864 OPS, 1 HR in 8 games): the price model only sees the regular season, so the market may pay more.
- Big walk year: 3.6 WAR in 2026 against a 1.7-WAR projection. With the walk year at his projection the model would price him at $14.3M a year, not $17.7M. Last winter's 27 deals after such seasons came in about 8% under the estimate on average (± 13%): no clear premium or discount beyond what the model already pays.
- PNC Park Pittsburgh’s home park: +1.8 runs per 600 PA against an average park (+0.16 wins over 511 PA; his WAR leaves this out); home runs ×0.99 (×0.99 for left-handed hitters as a group). Park Fit →
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 572 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 160 | .394 | .362 | 23% | 14% | 24% | +1.70 | +1.69 |
| RHP | 412 | .380 | .379 | 29% | 16% | 21% | +1.17 | +1.26 |
- Attack angle
- 11.1° (48% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- −1.6°
- Swing length
- 7.7 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 62%
- Pull-air %
- 19.1%
- Hard-hit %
- 52.5%
- Slash · wRC+
- .266/.389/.484 · 143
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage up over the middle (+5.8 vs. league per 100; 2.9 standard errors on 115 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest down and in (−2.1), but only 1.0 standard errors from average on 93 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,198 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Bauers: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Roman Anthony BOS · ’04 | .341 | 0.7 | 2.1 | Signed $4.6M |
| 55 | Mike Trout LAA · ’91 | .381 | 3.3 | 1.3 | Signed $37.1M |
| 52 | Bryce Eldridge SF · ’04 | .359 | 1.8 | 1.8 | Pre-arb |
| 47 | Pete Alonso BAL · ’94 | .403 | 5.0 | 2.5 | Signed $33.5M |
| 44 | Ben Rice NYY · ’99 | .378 | 4.2 | 2.8 | Pre-arb |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | LF | +1 | +1 | −0.1 | +0.9 | 359 |
| 2026 | RF | −4 | −4 | −0.2 | −4.2 | 822 |
| 2026 | 1B | −5 | −4 | −1.0 | −5.0 | 3,517 |
| 2025 | RF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 122 |
| 2025 | LF | −1 | −1 | −0.1 | −1.1 | 641 |
| 2025 | 1B | −1 | −1 | −2.2 | −3.2 | 945 |
| 2024 | RF | −1 | −1 | 0.0 | −1.0 | 123 |
| 2024 | LF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 179 |
| 2024 | 1B | 0 | 0 | −2.1 | −2.1 | 2,290 |
| 2023 | LF | +1 | +1 | −0.3 | +0.7 | 652 |
| 2023 | 1B | −1 | −1 | −1.1 | −2.1 | 718 |
| 2023 | RF | −3 | −3 | −0.4 | −3.4 | 929 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At 1B in 2026, the biggest loss came in (charging) (−3 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among 1Bs)| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 3 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| ★★★ | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| ★★ | 2 | 3 | 67% |
| ★ | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | RF | 78 | −1.8 |
| 2026 | 1B | 196 | −8.1 |
| 2025 | LF | 56 | −0.5 |
| 2025 | 1B | 51 | −1.5 |
| 2024 | 1B | 126 | −1.1 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
A pending free agent: no club controls his 2027. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025AAA | AAA | Nashville Sounds | 29 | 5 | 22 PA | 22 PA · .211/.318/.737 · 3 HR · 36.4% K · 13.6% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant