3-9-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X
Every year when guys show up to Spring Training, you see changes. Sometimes they’ve changed a batting stance, added some muscle, worked on a new pitch, and sometimes they show up just sounding different.
It’s that kind of Spring for Ke’Bryan Hayes. He’s always been a “quiet leader” and so is Bryan Reynolds, so color me surprised to hear him wearing the leadership role we all hoped he was quietly carrying on the outside with a bit of opened up pride and confidence.
He’s talking about setting an example for the youngsters, being a leader on and off the field and in general, being a reason this thing goes where it’s supposed to.
All of that stuff is easier when you’re performing of course, and Hayes certainly has. In 20 plate appearances this Spring he has 3 dingers, and no strikeouts. He’s stroking the baseball all over the field, even his outs are often hard hit baseballs.
He’s done it against lefties, righties. Seasoned MLB pitchers and prospects trying to make teams. Pulling balls into the jet stream in Bradenton, and roping balls over the right field wall on a line.
Other players have taken notice too.
See, Ke’ isn’t relying on the team around him to improve this team’s lot in life, he’s just showing this is the year where all the things he’s worked his entire life to master have come together and he’s going to lead the charge.
Here was Hayes talking about his recent performance…
“Just being in a good spot,” Hayes said. “The last couple games, it felt like the ball was getting deep on me because I was leaving my backside. The last few days, I’ve tried to stay back, so I have more space to work with.”
Instead of looking lost when pitchers adjust, he’s learned so much about his own swing through the years that he now has the experience and ability to make adjustments and do so in game.
The last homerun he hit was on a 1-2 Sweeper down and in, a pitch that even early last year he might have swung over top of, instead he adjusted to it and roped it out at 108 MPH.
Pitchers have tried the old book on him. Sliders down and out of the zone, he spits on it. Sliders or changeups down and in, he’s not afraid to go down and get it. High fastballs, yeah, no issues, he’ll get after that too.
Covering the plate, adjusting to being attacked differently, all I can say is, that’s why you don’t pretend you know what a player is going to be when they’re struggling as a rookie. As we sit here, entering Hayes’ 5th season of MLB play, I believe we’re about to get our first glimpse at what his ceiling could look like and at 27 years old, he could very well stay there for half a decade.
It doesn’t really matter who gets credit for it. You want to hand it all to Jon Nunnally, ok. Credit his dad, alright. To me, nobody deserves credit for what Hayes has developed into but Ke’Bryan himself because one thing you could never say about Ke’ is he didn’t work hard to improve.
As we enter 2024, don’t be surprised if Ke’Bryan looks a lot more like the 2020 sneak preview we witnessed than the 2022 version who struggled to be productive when he took his glove off.
And this guy is simply huge to this whole thing coming together. Nobody has more potential to change the offensive fortunes of the Pittsburgh Pirates than Oneil Cruz, but Hayes playing at or near his ceiling won’t be as far off from that as you’d think.
He’ll blow his projections for this year out of the water, and I don’t care which one you look at. This is a different Hayes.
Steel City Pirates 