• About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • FTC Disclosure
Friday, July 18, 2025
  • Login
The Fordham Ram
  • Home
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Fashion
    • Film And Television
    • Food
    • Music
    • Review
    • Television
    • Theatre
    • Who’s That Kid
  • News
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Faculty & Administrative
    • Feature
    • Finance
    • Metro
    • USG
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Editorial
    • From The Desk
    • Letters To The Editor
    • Op-Ed
  • Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Rowing
    • Senior Profile
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Squash
    • Swimming And Diving
    • Tennis
    • Track And Field
    • Volleyball
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Fashion
    • Film And Television
    • Food
    • Music
    • Review
    • Television
    • Theatre
    • Who’s That Kid
  • News
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Faculty & Administrative
    • Feature
    • Finance
    • Metro
    • USG
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Editorial
    • From The Desk
    • Letters To The Editor
    • Op-Ed
  • Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Rowing
    • Senior Profile
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Squash
    • Swimming And Diving
    • Tennis
    • Track And Field
    • Volleyball
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
The Fordham Ram
No Result
View All Result
Home Sports

Where Will Jason Heyward Land?

Patrick Bennett by Patrick Bennett
January 10, 2024
in Sports
0
Where Will Jason Heyward Land?
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Reddit

The experts have spoken: this year’s free agent class is one of Major League Baseball’s best in recent memory. Several big names are looking like good bets to net deals upwards of $100 million. One of these is right fielder Jason Heyward, who will hit the open market as a much different player from the one he was projected to become.

Heyward, formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals, proved himself to be a valuable asset over the past few years, but was expected to be even more than that. As a former can’t-miss prospect, he made his MLB debut with a significant amount of fanfare and was billed as once-in-a-generation talent (never mind the fact that players like Justin Upton, Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper all got the call within the same five-year window). Now a seasoned vet at the ripe old age of 26, Heyward has arrived at a career crossroads, so let’s examine how he’s performed in light of these astronomical expectations.

Heyward’s rookie campaign in 2010 was a definitive success. Playing for his hometown Atlanta Braves, he got on base at a .393 clip and hit 18 home runs — good, but not good enough to edge out Buster Posey for the NL Rookie of the Year. Still, that kind of initial performance seemed to be a harbinger of better things to come. Thanks to his slick glove work and disciplined approach at the plate, Heyward was often compared to the great Willie Mays, from whom he took the nickname “The J-Hey Kid.”

Braves fans were overjoyed with their budding superstar, but things didn’t go as planned. Heyward never improved his hitting skills. He hit 27 home runs once, in 2012, but that’s looking more and more like an anomaly by the day. By the end of last year, Braves GM John Hart had enough and flipped him to St. Louis, where he had his best season at the plate in years.

Five years down the line, Heyward has never come close to replicating his rookie stat line. For that reason, many who predicted offensive superstardom for the right fielder have labeled him a mild disappointment. Those critics are wrong; Heyward hasn’t turned into a masher, but he’s still extremely valuable.

Always one of the better fielders in the league, Heyward generates a ton of value with his glove. By most measures,  he was more productive in the field than at the plate during the 2014 season. Additionally, his base-running is plainly excellent. Over the past two years, Heyward has stolen 43 bases and been caught just seven times. Even with the stolen base falling out of fashion among sabermetric circles, that kind of success adds a ton of value. All told, Heyward has topped six WAR in each of the past two seasons and racked up 31.1 in his career.

So no, Heyward hasn’t developed into a consistent 40-home run threat like Willie Mays, but in this day and age, he’ll still be paid handsomely. Once undervalued by the baseball economy, skills like fielding and base-running are more quantifiable than ever, making it easy to see just how much Heyward can bring to a team. Don’t be surprised if his deal passes the $200 million mark.

 

Tags: columnJason HeywardMLBSam BeldenSports
Previous Post

Practically Pitcher Perfect

Next Post

Goulding Continues to Enchant

Next Post
Goulding Continues to Enchant

Goulding Continues to Enchant

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Editorial: How To Stand Out in a Crowded Field

Editorial: How To Stand Out in a Crowded Field

5 years ago
Tong’s Lawsuit Dismissal Highlights Complexities of Case

Tong’s Lawsuit Dismissal Highlights Complexities of Case

4 years ago

Popular News

  • Google Kills off Major Fitbit Functionality

    Google Kills off Major Fitbit Functionality

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top FREE Best Online Singing Courses and Classes

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Learning from Nahko Bear

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Free Online Bookkeeping Courses With Certificates

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Track a Phone Without a SIM Card: Is It Possible?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Connect with us

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • FTC Disclosure

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Fashion
    • Film And Television
    • Food
    • Music
    • Review
    • Television
    • Theatre
    • Who’s That Kid
  • News
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Faculty & Administrative
    • Feature
    • Finance
    • Metro
    • USG
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Editorial
    • From The Desk
    • Letters To The Editor
    • Op-Ed
  • Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Rowing
    • Senior Profile
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Squash
    • Swimming And Diving
    • Tennis
    • Track And Field
    • Volleyball
  • About Us

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.