Cespedes with a Veteran's Strike Zone

All 2012 data through Sunday, April 22nd; Minimum 100 Pitches Outside the Strike Zone. (Click image to enlarge)

Athletics' rookie Yoenis Cespedes is getting calls like a veteran.  He has the lowest called strike rate on pitches out of the strike zone - in fact, of the 88 pitches he's taken outside the zone, only one has been called a strike.  In 2011, MLB players who saw at least 500 pitches out of the zone averaged a 9.6% called strike rate.

Yoenis Cespedes - All pitches taken outside the strike zone.You can see that the vast majority of called balls for Cespedes are not close to the strike zone, which certainly brings down his overall rate.  However, there are a number of pitches in that borderline area that have simply gone his way; six have come with two strikes. Not bad for a guy with only 16 Major League games under his belt.