Jason Heyward was one of many brightest younger stars in baseball, an elite defender and baserunner who additionally hit very effectively. By means of his first six seasons with the Braves and Cardinals, he appeared like a future Corridor of Famer.
Then Heyward signed a monster deal with the Cubs, and issues nearly instantly went downhill. Whereas his protection remained glorious, his offense cratered. His OPS over his first six seasons was 114; within the seven seasons since, it’s simply 86. Heyward went from being 14% higher than league common to 14% worse, and it occurred nearly in a single day.
The Dodgers signed Heyward to a minor-league deal this winter, with the encouragement of JHey’s previous buddy Freddie Freeman. And in accordance with a neighborhood radio character, Freeman likes what he’s seen from Heyward’s swing lately.
“[Freeman and his dad] had been saying they’ve seen a change, that he has fastened what ever hitch he had in his swing and it’s been actually encouraging. Now look, Freddie is just a little biased contemplating they’ve identified one another since they had been youngsters — he’s the rationale the Dodgers took a flier on Heyward. So, proper now all studies are constructive in the suitable course. He’s put in a number of work to attempt to repair no matter hitting points he had with the Cubs, however the proof will likely be in spring coaching. It’s one factor to do it at Freddie’s highschool, it’s one factor to do it at an empty Dodger Stadium, it’s one other to even do it at spring coaching. If he may be one thing value worth offensively, the Dodgers might have gotten a steal in Jason Heyward.”
It’s true that Freeman is probably going biased, and it’s doubly true that there’s a distinction between doing it within the batting cage and doing it in opposition to a pitcher who’s making an attempt to get you out. However it’s additionally true that Heyward used to have the ability to do it in opposition to actual pitchers, so it’s extra probably for a man like him to rediscover the magic than it might be for somebody who’s by no means had big-league success.
We’ll have to attend and see how Heyward seems when the video games begin, however it sounds promising up to now.
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