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Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm
This *##!$+%$##@ Jason Heyward
The Jason Heyward Post.......
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by thetruth03,
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Bump for another game-winning hit
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what happened?
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Overhyped Braves product? No...
But on the real, I expect Heyward to bounce back but I will say he is a lot more Cliff Floyd than Griffey Jr.
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dude's what 20? 21?
i actually just saw a little write-up on the kid that Pro posted in the MLB season thread.
EDIT: here it is
Jason Heyward's fall from grace.
Quite often -- more often than some wish to acknowledge -- traditional scouting dovetails quite nicely with "statheady" analysis. And so it is with Heyward.
As Jones implies, Heyward, on top of not driving the ball, has seen a slight decline in his contact rate.
Heyward's problem mostly, though, is that line drives have turned into pop-ups and tepid grounders this season, which suggests he's just missing his spots -- round ball meeting round bat leaves little margin for error, as the story goes.
Diagnosing the problem is of course a speculative exercise, but it's highly possible that Heyward has thrived at the lower levels with an incomplete approach at the plate because he was talented enough to do so.
Now, however, he's competing against the best pitchers in the world, and perhaps they've divined something in his approach that's lacking. Chipper Jones seems to think so (if you'll permit a brief appeal to authority). To cite one of countless examples, Jose Bautista owes his ascent in part to a mechanical adjustment at the plate.
To hear Curtis Granderson tell it, New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long has much to do with his recent power spike and newfound ability to hit lefties. And so on and so on. The point is that even the best ballplayers can be infected, unknowingly, by bad habits or allow an exploitable mechanical flaw to persist. Such tales are legion. The good news is that Heyward, in addition to being lavishly gifted and driven, is also an intelligent and engaged professional, one who gives every indication of wanting to get better.
There's also no discounting the health variable. Heyward was troubled by a bad back during spring training (which may have spared those Coke trucks from further ritual abuse), and this season he spent time on the disabled list with a shoulder malady.
Such injuries, of course, can sap power, upset timing and lead to altered swing planes, among other misfortunes. Heyward, as mentioned, is still quite young, so for now his injuries are more explanatory than damning. Only time will tell whether it's a pattern.
Heyward will probably never live up to those early comparisons to the likes of Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr., but that was the case even before his 2011 struggles. If he adjusts, enjoys something other than bad luck and stays generally healthy, then he's going to be a very good player for a very long time.
i actually just saw a little write-up on the kid that Pro posted in the MLB season thread.
EDIT: here it is
Jason Heyward's fall from grace.
Gushing scouting reports heralded him. In his first spring training, he sent pitches impossible distances. The balls he hit battered a Coca-Cola truck in the parking lot and broke an assistant GM's window.
In his first major league at-bat, he lined a 2-0 fastball from Carlos Zambrano deep -- 414 feet deep -- over the right-center wall at Turner Field. He made the All-Star team as a 20-year-old. Surely, more laurels would follow. It was more than just the start to a career. It was a creation myth in the making.
Almost a year-and-a-half after that first home run, however, much of the shine has come off Jason Heyward.
Last season, Heyward ranked fourth in the National League in on-base percentage and authored an impressive WAR of 5.1. In 2011, he's cratered: a batting line of .220/.313/.393 and just 12 home runs in 355 plate appearances.
Probe deeper and things are similarly grim. Heyward is trending in the wrong direction when it comes to line-drive percentage (17.8 percent in 2010 to 13.9 percent in 2011), infield pop-ups (8.4 percent to 24.7 percent) and batting average on balls in play (.335 to .245). In the case of his declining BABIP, there's almost certainly some bad luck involved, but the remaining indicators are more troubling.
Additionally, he's swinging at 44.8 percent of pitches overall, up from 39.4 percent last year; and he's swinging at 28.7 percent out of the zone after hacking at just 24.2 percent of such offerings. Add it all up and you have a guy who's hitting fewer line drives and more pop-ups and seems to have lost control of the strike zone.
And things appear to be getting steadily worse. In a related matter, he's been losing playing time to the previously forgettable Jose Constanza.
Can this be the real Jason Heyward?
Heyward is still just 21 years of age, and we've seen him succeed at a high level. So he has the chops to live up to the expectations, as those who have followed him have always maintained. Perhaps his struggles this season are mechanical in nature? Here's Heyward's Atlanta Braves teammate, future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, on the young outfielder's struggles:
In his first major league at-bat, he lined a 2-0 fastball from Carlos Zambrano deep -- 414 feet deep -- over the right-center wall at Turner Field. He made the All-Star team as a 20-year-old. Surely, more laurels would follow. It was more than just the start to a career. It was a creation myth in the making.
Almost a year-and-a-half after that first home run, however, much of the shine has come off Jason Heyward.
Last season, Heyward ranked fourth in the National League in on-base percentage and authored an impressive WAR of 5.1. In 2011, he's cratered: a batting line of .220/.313/.393 and just 12 home runs in 355 plate appearances.
Probe deeper and things are similarly grim. Heyward is trending in the wrong direction when it comes to line-drive percentage (17.8 percent in 2010 to 13.9 percent in 2011), infield pop-ups (8.4 percent to 24.7 percent) and batting average on balls in play (.335 to .245). In the case of his declining BABIP, there's almost certainly some bad luck involved, but the remaining indicators are more troubling.
Additionally, he's swinging at 44.8 percent of pitches overall, up from 39.4 percent last year; and he's swinging at 28.7 percent out of the zone after hacking at just 24.2 percent of such offerings. Add it all up and you have a guy who's hitting fewer line drives and more pop-ups and seems to have lost control of the strike zone.
And things appear to be getting steadily worse. In a related matter, he's been losing playing time to the previously forgettable Jose Constanza.
Can this be the real Jason Heyward?
Heyward is still just 21 years of age, and we've seen him succeed at a high level. So he has the chops to live up to the expectations, as those who have followed him have always maintained. Perhaps his struggles this season are mechanical in nature? Here's Heyward's Atlanta Braves teammate, future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, on the young outfielder's struggles:
Quite often -- more often than some wish to acknowledge -- traditional scouting dovetails quite nicely with "statheady" analysis. And so it is with Heyward.
As Jones implies, Heyward, on top of not driving the ball, has seen a slight decline in his contact rate.
Heyward's problem mostly, though, is that line drives have turned into pop-ups and tepid grounders this season, which suggests he's just missing his spots -- round ball meeting round bat leaves little margin for error, as the story goes.
Diagnosing the problem is of course a speculative exercise, but it's highly possible that Heyward has thrived at the lower levels with an incomplete approach at the plate because he was talented enough to do so.
Now, however, he's competing against the best pitchers in the world, and perhaps they've divined something in his approach that's lacking. Chipper Jones seems to think so (if you'll permit a brief appeal to authority). To cite one of countless examples, Jose Bautista owes his ascent in part to a mechanical adjustment at the plate.
To hear Curtis Granderson tell it, New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long has much to do with his recent power spike and newfound ability to hit lefties. And so on and so on. The point is that even the best ballplayers can be infected, unknowingly, by bad habits or allow an exploitable mechanical flaw to persist. Such tales are legion. The good news is that Heyward, in addition to being lavishly gifted and driven, is also an intelligent and engaged professional, one who gives every indication of wanting to get better.
There's also no discounting the health variable. Heyward was troubled by a bad back during spring training (which may have spared those Coke trucks from further ritual abuse), and this season he spent time on the disabled list with a shoulder malady.
Such injuries, of course, can sap power, upset timing and lead to altered swing planes, among other misfortunes. Heyward, as mentioned, is still quite young, so for now his injuries are more explanatory than damning. Only time will tell whether it's a pattern.
Heyward will probably never live up to those early comparisons to the likes of Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr., but that was the case even before his 2011 struggles. If he adjusts, enjoys something other than bad luck and stays generally healthy, then he's going to be a very good player for a very long time.
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i see him more of a jermaine dye type player. btw, what happened to dye?
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I feel you CP. Not to compare to Alberto, but Buster Posey is the same way. Having one swing is not necessarily a knock. But when your swing is long and you are hacking for the fences every swing, its definitely a bad thing. I think thats what the article was attempting to say.
ham city
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He's gotta be approaching 40. I think he retired.
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He's hurt. That's why his swing has changed this year. He will be fine next yr
Ok, that would make sense then. Actually when I was reading it, it reminded me of McGriff and his one handed swings a lil.
My first thought was either pitchers spent the offseason figuring him out and he needs to adjust for next year, or like Wizard said, he's hurt and no one knows it. Either way, I think the kid will be alright coming into next year, provided he works hard of course.
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I still think he's gonna be a possible HoF player. He's 21 and he's hurt, give him two or 3 years, and he'll be an elite OF.
Heyward/Strausburg/Zimmerman/Desmond all in the same division?
RIP my team
Heyward/Strausburg/Zimmerman/Desmond all in the same division?
RIP my team
do work son
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^ no love for bryce harper though?
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Oh yea, Harper that dude.
If he wasn't in the same division, he'd be one of my fav players, love the guy's moxy.
If he wasn't in the same division, he'd be one of my fav players, love the guy's moxy.
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Mike Stanton >
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3-4 with a grand slam today.
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Originally Posted by wildKYcat
3-4 with a grand slam today.
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^^^
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I still think he will be a great player.
Maybe because I'm bias.
Black players man, black players.
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Heyward will be just fine.
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Don't forget Kemp and Adam Jones!Originally Posted by CosmicCanon
I still think he will be a great player.
Maybe because I'm bias.
Black players man, black players.Upton/Heyward/Stanton
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@madj55
I was talking about young players(4 years or less experience).
Kemp is that dude though, he smashed Rihanna man.
I was talking about young players(4 years or less experience).
Kemp is that dude though, he smashed Rihanna man.
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I'm a BRAVES fan and i don't see HEYWARD living up to any of the hype!! he reminds me of Andruw Jones at the plate, all the potential in the world but won't use the whole field... smh
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How old are you?
Andruw Jones not living up to the hype? Hes currently 45th on the ALL TIME HOMERUNS LIST, and in a lot of people's eyes, a HALL OF FAMER.
I can understand you saying Heyward might not live up to the hype, but to compare him to Druw and say that he didnt live up to the hype either? Absolutely laughable.
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