Kevin Gorman: Future can't get here fast enough for Pirates prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes
BRADENTON, Fla.
Ke’Bryan Hayes is in his second spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates and, once again, looking like their third baseman of the future.
Maybe even the very near future.
The Pirates’ top position prospect has been dreaming about making his major league debut, especially since being snubbed for a September call-up last year.
“I’ve been thinking about that ever since I got drafted and went to PNC Park and got to see the field,” said Hayes, the No. 32 overall pick in 2015. “It’d be great because I just look back at where I started when I was a little kid. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do growing up. … It would be everything.”
Hayes is practicing more patience than Pirates fans, who can’t help but wonder why he isn’t competing for the starting job. The son of former Pirates infielder Charlie Hayes, Ke’Bryan is a three-time Gold Glove winner in the minors who already might be the team’s best defensive infielder (which isn’t saying much).
Only his bat is holding Hayes back.
That might be hard to digest, given his hot start. Hayes went 4 for 6 (.667) with a walk in his first three games, doubling off the right-field wall in his first at-bat against Minnesota on Saturday, singling at Philadelphia on Sunday and hitting a pair of singles at the New York Yankees on Monday night.
That’s reminiscent of last spring, when Hayes batted .353 with a 1.16 OPS, three home runs and a team-best 12 RBIs, including a grand slam against Tampa Bay in the home opener. It’s instructive, however, to remember Hayes often is facing minor-league pitching as a late-game replacement.
Problem is, Hayes followed that red-hot spring with an ice-cold start at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he slashed .265/.336/.415 with 30 doubles, 10 homers and 53 RBIs. He batted .211 in June before finding his groove with four homers in July and batting .327 with three homers and 15 RBIs in August.
Yet when rosters expanded in September, the Pirates passed on Hayes.
He admits to being “kind of bummed a little bit” but used it as motivation to be more consistent with his bat.
“I was consistent with it at the end of the season, but there it was up and down for me a lot last year,” Hayes said. “I think the biggest thing was being able to hit plus-velo and off-speed at the same time.”
The trouble for Hayes is the off-speed pitches. It’s not that he doesn’t recognize the pitches but more of a mechanical issue. He loves hunting fastballs, so much so he was shifting his weight to his front foot and didn’t pull the trigger. So Hayes spent the offseason working on his plate discipline. The Pirates want to tap into the power potential of the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder, who turned 23 on Jan. 28.
“That’s just my body not being in a strong position to swing,” Hayes said. “That’s the No. 1 hurdle for hitters. Once hitters are able to do that, you’re able to play in the big leagues. That’s the one thing I need to conquer, and then I’ll be ready.”
Until then, Hayes is excited to see the Pirates push a defensive agenda. That’s why Erik Gonzalez will compete with Colin Moran for the starting job this spring while Hayes waits in the wings and works out his kinks at the plate.
Look for Hayes to start the season in the minors and finish it in the majors, forcing the Pirates’ hand as their youth movement is underway. It’s only a matter of time, maybe months.
“It’s very exciting to know I’m right there,” Hayes said. “At the same time, I’ve got to take it day by day and not think about it too much and continue to work on the things I need to get better at. Eventually, that day will come.”
The future can’t come fast enough.
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Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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