Pittsburgh Pirates: Ke’Bryan Hayes has been unreal

Pittsburgh Pirates Ke’Bryan Hayes is showing off an impressive bat and high IQ in his first week in the major leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates surprisingly didn’t make any moves at the 2020 MLB trade deadline, yet despite a 14-26 record and current last-place standing in the National League Central with 20 games to go, the Pirates are giving their fans exactly what they want.

That would be third base prospect, Ke’Bryan Hayes.

On September 1st, Hayes, the second-ranked prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system and 41st overall, made his long-awaited MLB debut, becoming the 162nd player to make their big league debut in 2020.

There haven’t been very many questions about his defense as Hayes worked his way through the minor leagues since being selected 32nd overall in the 2015 MLB draft out of Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas. When you combine his glove, arm, impressive speed, and overall athleticism, Ke’Bryan Hayes has a real opportunity to develop into one of the top defensive third basemen in the game.

However, there have been questions about whether or not he can hold his own at the plate. While he’s appeared in only six games and we’re looking at an extremely small sample size, Hayes has quickly shown everyone that his bat is pretty darn good.

Through six games with the Pirates, Hayes is hitting .381 with a .435 on-base percentage, one home run, one double, and two tripes. Half of his base hits have gone for extra bases and he is already tied with Bryan Reynolds for the team lead in triples. Reynolds has 139 plate appearances this season, Hayes has 23.

Hayes hasn’t been launching the ball into the air (average of 5.4-degree launch angle) and he is striking out a bit very early on, but he’s mashing the baseball, recording an average exit velocity of 96.7 mph on batted balls which is well-above league average.

He became the fourth Pittsburgh Pirates player to record two extra-base hits in his MLB debut, collecting a home run and double in his first game against the Chicago Cubs. The double was a 108.5 mph rocket against Jon Lester, with his home run coming off the bat at 101.5 mph.

Hayes already ranks fourth among Pirates hitters in Wins Above Replacement (0.4) and has received high praise from manager Derek Shelton for his high baseball IQ and small, fundamental things Hayes is excelling at that don’t show up on the box score.

It hasn’t been the most exciting season for Pittsburgh Pirates fans, but the early success of one of the team’s top prospects is an ideal way to close out the final three weeks of the regular season. The organization may not yet have a very deep pool of talent down in the farm system, but the more exciting pieces on the way shortly.

Shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz reached Double-A last season and could be up by the end of 2021. His plus-arm, powerful bat, and the fact that he’s only 21 years old has fans excited about his future with the organization. 2018 first-round draft pick Travis Swaggerty and 2020 first-round pick Nick Gonzalez are also waiting in the wings with the potential to become impact bats at the big league level.

Until then, the first major piece has arrived for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he’s off to an impressive start. The 2020 season just might not end up being a total wash after all.