Ildemaro Vargas Ends 27-Game Run as Cubs Standings Watch Tightens

Ildemaro Vargas's 27-game hitting streak ended Saturday, and the Arizona Diamondbacks utility player went hitless for the first time this season. His batting average fell to.388, still a MLB-best at the time, after the game that snapped the run.

Vargas and Cubs Standings

The result put an end to one of the season's strangest hot streaks. Vargas had become a name drawing fantasy-baseball attention because the production was so far beyond the profile he had built over parts of ten MLB seasons.

Michael Waterloo said, "I’ve been trying to avoid writing about Vargas in this space" and added, "He’s 34 years old, and the vast majority of fantasy players have never heard of him before the last two weeks." He also wrote, "We have a nearly 1,400 plate appearance sample over his career to scream that what he is doing is not sustainable, nor who he truly is, and I fully believe that."

Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and cash

Arizona signed Vargas out of an independent league in 2015 after six years in the Cardinals' system, where he reached Double-A for eight games. He was 23 years old then, and by 2017 he was in the majors.

The Diamondbacks traded him for cash in 2020, then reacquired him for cash in 2021. In between, he played for the Twins, Cubs, and Pirates, and his 2022 season was split between the Cubs and Nationals.

Vargas at first, second, and third

Vargas's value has come from more than the bat. His glove worked at first base, second base, and third base, which helped keep him moving among rosters even as his offensive profile changed from stop to streak.

Joey Gallo called him "an A-plus dude," a label that fit a player whose career has depended on versatility, contact, and staying useful when the bat cools. Saturday changed the hitting streak, but it did not change the larger read on Vargas: the numbers had already told the rest of the story.