BRADENTON, Fla. – The Bradenton infield has been pretty consistent in the early workouts and games. Will Craig has consistently been playing first base, as we reported this weekend, with some work at third. Cole Tucker and Mitchell Tolman have been the middle infielders, with Tucker at shortstop and Tolman at second. None of those assignments are a surprise, since that seems the natural progression for each player.
The surprising placement has been with Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has been playing with the Bradenton guys since day one. Hayes had a cracked rib last year in West Virginia which put him out for the second half of the season. He started off strong, with an .825 OPS in his first month and a half. He slumped after that, and his season effectively ended after July 10th, when he was placed on the disabled list. It’s hard to say whether the decline was due to pitchers adjusting to one of the youngest players in the league, or due to the injury.
“I don’t know if I had the broken rib whenever I started feeling it,” Hayes said. “It could have been pitchers adjusting to me, and I’m just going to have to be able to adjust to them whenever they adjust to me.”
Hayes couldn’t lift over the offseason due to the rib injury, and didn’t take swings or throws until the end of January. He focused on eating clean, and cut out any extras like Gatorade. He came into camp noticeably slimmer, although he might have gotten too skinny.
“I’m looking to put on a few more pounds coming through the spring and when the season starts,” Hayes said.
That seems to be the big thing holding Hayes back from having a secured starting spot with Bradenton this year. When I asked Pirates’ Director of Minor League Operations Larry Broadway about whether Hayes was starting the year in Bradenton, he said the decision is still up in the air.
“I think the biggest thing is just going to be health-wise and getting reps back again,” Broadway said on what could lead to the decision. “He missed a lot of time last fall, and our focus is getting him built back up physically, and making sure he’s in a good spot, and kind of assess the situation from there.”
Getting healthy again and adding a few pounds of muscle is the big goal for Hayes this year as well. He still hasn’t played a full season of pro ball, so building his strength back up will be a key to making it through a full season.
“I wasn’t able to do as much, like lifting, as I normally would in an offseason,” Hayes said. “I’ve got to work with what I was able to do. In Spring Training, I just want to be healthy, and put on a little bit more weight heading into the season for the full season. Hopefully I will have a healthy season.”
Hayes will most likely be up in Bradenton at some point this year, even if he doesn’t start the season at the level. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does go to Bradenton to start the year. They’ve been playing him with that group, and have Will Craig moving to first base, which makes a lot of sense if there will be a better option at third to start the season. The downside to an assignment to Bradenton is that it’s in one of the worst offensive leagues in minor league baseball, meaning we could still be waiting to see what kind of offensive potential Hayes will have. One thing is sure: If the Pirates were to push him this aggressively, it would speak a lot as to what they think of his potential.
