Ke’Bryan Hayes wrapped up his second full season in the majors, and it’s been an eventful run for the third baseman. He has come as advertised on the defensive side of things, finishing as the runner up for the 2022 NL Gold Glove award at third base.
The former first round pick also signed what is the largest contract in franchise history, inking an eight year, $70 million extension before the start of the season.
He also missed time with an injury for the second straight year. At the plate, he struggled hitting for a lot of power.
Hayes was never a big time hitter in the minors, only reaching double digits in home runs once, back in 2019 while with the Indianapolis Indians.
Not looking at his one-month debut back during the 2020 season, Hayes has just 13 home runs over the last two seasons, with a wRC+ of 88.
Is this the player we are going to see the rest of his time in Pittsburgh?
Hayes is a fascinating player to look at from an analytical point of view. For someone that hasn’t put up the actual power numbers, he makes up very solid contact with the ball. Of the 252 qualified hitters on Baseball Savant, Hayes hit the 51st most batted balls 95 mph or faster.
When going through all the little numbers and metrics of how he is hitting the ball, there is actually a lot to like, and some improvements he made from 2021 to this past season. His walk rate went up, he doesn’t chase much, and is consistently hitting the ball harder (increase in hard hit percentage and average exit velocity).
It’s been his unusually low launch angle that seems to be making the difference. Hayes is hitting the ball hard, but it doesn’t get off the ground high enough to do the kind of damage needed for extra bases.
While hitting the ball on the ground has its advantages, it is less ideal for a player hitting the ball as hard as Hayes has been.
A lot of the value the Pirates are going to get out of Hayes is going to be from his world class glove, and he could emerge as a franchise player if he can continue to creep towards league average hitting wise.
It looks like everything is there tool wise for Hayes to do just that, and he’s trending in the right direction. If he can solve that final piece at the plate, it would go a long ways in helping the current build progress in the right direction.
Highlight of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
By Tim Williams
**In this week’s First Pitch, I looked at the anger that has been building up over the years around the Pirates, and whether the last 30 years are indicative of where the Pirates are right now.
**Jesus Castillo and Jase Bowen led their Australia team to victory. John Dreker has the latest Pirates winter league updates.
**Missed yesterday? Anthony looked at how the Pirates build might be progressing after the trade for Connor Joe.
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Weekly
I’m using First Pitch to write longer form articles that can explore the nuance of bigger subjects. The article below is a long one, but as you can see by the title, I was blending a lot of different subjects together. I appreciate everyone who read and joined in on the discussion.
First Pitch: Pittsburgh, The Pirates, Major League Baseball, and Misery
We’ll have our latest article drop on Tuesday.
