Jason Heyward finally turning things around with Cardinals
By Tim Haberin
When the Braves traded Jason Heyward, their once highly coveted top prospect, to the St. Louis Cardinals last offseason, many saw it as a new opportunity for the outfielder to live up to the staggering expectations pinned on him since debuting as a 20-year-old in Atlanta’s 2010 Opening Day lineup. The “J-Hey Kid” rose to prominence with a valuable combination of batting talent, defensive prowess and speed. Baseball America crowned him as its Minor League Player of the Year in 2009.
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Heyward’s career in Atlanta had its distinct highs and lows. He nabbed an All-Star appearance in his rookie season after clubbing 11 homers and driving in 45 runs in the first half, finishing the season with an .849 OPS and second place in Rookie of the Year voting.
From there his offensive production seemed to fluctuate on an almost yearly basis. His batting average dropped to .227 in 2011, but Heyward rebounded in the following campaign, hitting career highs in home runs (27) and RBI (82). Injuries kept him out of 58 games in 2013, and he managed to put up a respectable if unspectacular .271/.351/.384 slash line during his final year with the Braves.
The Cards took a chance in bringing Heyward into the fold, presuming there was still some untapped potential in the 25-year-old right fielder. They were likely less than thrilled with how the trade looked after the first several weeks of the 2015 season. Heyward endured a trying first month in St. Louis, ending April with a meager .217/.261/.349 line, two homers and four RBI. May was markedly better (.284, 3 HR, 10 RBI), but he still had some serious work to do to inspire confidence in his new club.
Meanwhile, Shelby Miller, the main piece the Redbirds gave up in the deal, was turning in ace-like performances for his new team, peaking with a near no-hitter against the Marlins on May 17. Many were quick to already dub the Cardinals the losers of the offseason swap. GM John Mozeliak even spoke publicly to defend the trade, insisting that the organization thought there was still “more in the tank” for Heyward.
If Heyward’s performance in June is any indication, he may have been right. The outfielder has turned it up yet another notch, batting .355/.369/.516 with two home runs and 9 RBI so far this month. Over the past several days he has been particularly torrid, putting up multi-hit performances in four of his last five games. In that span he has gone 11-for-20 with two doubles, two homers and five RBI.
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis will hope this is the sign of a player turning the corner and beginning to thrive in his new home. He now owns a .279/.320/.429 line on the season with seven home runs and 23 RBI, seemingly poised to outdo last year’s totals by a decent margin.
What has been the key to J-Hey’s turnaround, and can he sustain it? One of the more obvious points to note is his improved power output. He is hitting more ground balls (57.4% GB rate, up from 45.5% last season) but when he puts the ball in the air, it’s leaving the park much more frequently. After hitting a career-low 11 home runs last year, Heyward’s HR/FB ratio has jumped from 6.5% to 15.2%. It remains to be seen if the trend continues, but right now it’s certainly benefiting the outfielder’s power profile.
He is walking significantly less often than a year ago, his BB rate currently sitting at 5.6%. That’s down from 10.3% in 2014. The improved batting average helps to offset that trend, but Heyward might be well-served by taking some more free passes down the line. Drawing walks has always been a strong element of his game; he has worked a BB rate of at least 10% in all but one of his big league seasons.
The Cards may still look over at Shelby Miller and his 1.99 ERA and wonder what might have been, but Heyward’s recent hot hitting will likely make them feel much more confident about the trade than they did a month or two ago. Of course, a sizeable chunk of Heyward’s overall value comes in sterling defensive play, and St. Louis is surely glad to have his glove in right field as well.
Ever since he stepped out onto the MLB stage, fans have been waiting for Jason Heyward to transform into a consistent, all-around superstar. Who knows if that will ever quite happen, but he is looking much more like that type of player for the Cardinals of late. Set to become a free agent this offseason, it should be interesting to see exactly how attractive a commodity Heyward is by season’s end.