Can Jason Heyward Fucking Hit Ever

[SKO]

Back-to-back multi-hit games, solid contact, line drives and hitting to all fields.

So are we just getting fooled again or can Slappy ride this the rest of the year?

some of those hits have been very cheap. I mean I hope he can keep hitting but I'm not sold yet that anything other than BABIP has changed for the most part. I'd also like to see him learn how to take walks again.

His exit velocities have been fine for school zones.

Yeah going back to the start of the series in Cinncinnati when he also had a couple of multi-hit games he has a .037 ISO, 1 XBH, a hard-hit rate of just 20% and a soft-hit rate of 40%. Even if you narrowed it all of the way down to just the last two games, an even more useless sample size, he's still got a 42.9% soft hit rate vs just 28.6% hard, which is below his last good season.

So yeah, nothing's changed. Some bloopers have found holes. Fuck him. When Addison and Willson are back I hope he finds himself glued to the bench for anything other than late inning defense.

[Chuck to Chuck]

Back-to-back multi-hit games, solid contact, line drives and hitting to all fields.

So are we just getting fooled again or can Slappy ride this the rest of the year?

some of those hits have been very cheap. I mean I hope he can keep hitting but I'm not sold yet that anything other than BABIP has changed for the most part. I'd also like to see him learn how to take walks again.

His exit velocities have been fine for school zones.

Yeah going back to the start of the series in Cinncinnati when he also had a couple of multi-hit games he has a .037 ISO, 1 XBH, a hard-hit rate of just 20% and a soft-hit rate of 40%. Even if you narrowed it all of the way down to just the last two games, an even more useless sample size, he's still got a 42.9% soft hit rate vs just 28.6% hard, which is below his last good season.

So yeah, nothing's changed. Some bloopers have found holes. Fuck him. When Addison and Willson are back I hope he finds himself glued to the bench for anything other than late inning defense.

I'm less "fuck him" than "what the fuck happened to him?" He doesn't appear to have gone "I got da money, now... BURP!" He's no McStiff. At least, not from appearances.

[SKO]

Back-to-back multi-hit games, solid contact, line drives and hitting to all fields.

So are we just getting fooled again or can Slappy ride this the rest of the year?

some of those hits have been very cheap. I mean I hope he can keep hitting but I'm not sold yet that anything other than BABIP has changed for the most part. I'd also like to see him learn how to take walks again.

His exit velocities have been fine for school zones.

Yeah going back to the start of the series in Cinncinnati when he also had a couple of multi-hit games he has a .037 ISO, 1 XBH, a hard-hit rate of just 20% and a soft-hit rate of 40%. Even if you narrowed it all of the way down to just the last two games, an even more useless sample size, he's still got a 42.9% soft hit rate vs just 28.6% hard, which is below his last good season.

So yeah, nothing's changed. Some bloopers have found holes. Fuck him. When Addison and Willson are back I hope he finds himself glued to the bench for anything other than late inning defense.

I'm less "fuck him" than "what the fuck happened to him?" He doesn't appear to have gone "I got da money, now... BURP!" He's no McStiff. At least, not from appearances.

I mean he seems like a good dude. If I saw him in the street or even went to a game I would not boo him or fling feces at him like I would Milton Bradley. But that's Jason Heyward, The Man. Jason Heyward, the Non Player Character in the RPG called Major League Baseball that I do not view as a human being so much as a cog in a machine? fuck that guy. He sucks.

[Shooter]

Back-to-back multi-hit games, solid contact, line drives and hitting to all fields.

So are we just getting fooled again or can Slappy ride this the rest of the year?

some of those hits have been very cheap. I mean I hope he can keep hitting but I'm not sold yet that anything other than BABIP has changed for the most part. I'd also like to see him learn how to take walks again.

I assumed that pitchers were just pumping strikes at him because he's become Billy Hamilton minus the stolen bases, but he's seeing 43.5% strikes vs. 42.4% career (and 44.8% last year). The problem is he's hacking at everything: 47.5% swing rate this year vs. 43% career and 41.3% last year.

[SKO]

Back-to-back multi-hit games, solid contact, line drives and hitting to all fields.

So are we just getting fooled again or can Slappy ride this the rest of the year?

some of those hits have been very cheap. I mean I hope he can keep hitting but I'm not sold yet that anything other than BABIP has changed for the most part. I'd also like to see him learn how to take walks again.

I assumed that pitchers were just pumping strikes at him because he's become Billy Hamilton minus the stolen bases, but he's seeing 43.5% strikes vs. 42.4% career (and 44.8% last year). The problem is he's hacking at everything: 47.5% swing rate this year vs. 43% career and 41.3% last year.

It sounds like part of their advice to him was that last year he was too passive on good pitches early in the count and they wanted him to be more aggressive. So early on he was able to get some hits by swinging away at pitchers who were just pumping strikes, like you said. Once pitchers have adjusted and stopped giving him stuff to hit early in accounts he didn't adjust and start taking walks again, he just kept swinging at garbage.

[R-V]

I got da money, now...

not racist

[Quality Start Machine]

Back-to-back multi-hit games, solid contact, line drives and hitting to all fields.

So are we just getting fooled again or can Slappy ride this the rest of the year?

some of those hits have been very cheap. I mean I hope he can keep hitting but I'm not sold yet that anything other than BABIP has changed for the most part. I'd also like to see him learn how to take walks again.

His exit velocities have been fine for school zones.

Yeah going back to the start of the series in Cinncinnati when he also had a couple of multi-hit games he has a .037 ISO, 1 XBH, a hard-hit rate of just 20% and a soft-hit rate of 40%. Even if you narrowed it all of the way down to just the last two games, an even more useless sample size, he's still got a 42.9% soft hit rate vs just 28.6% hard, which is below his last good season.

So yeah, nothing's changed. Some bloopers have found holes. Fuck him. When Addison and Willson are back I hope he finds himself glued to the bench for anything other than late inning defense.

I'm less "fuck him" than "what the fuck happened to him?" He doesn't appear to have gone "I got da money, now... BURP!" He's no McStiff. At least, not from appearances.

I thought you thought they all looked alike.

[Saul Goodman]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

[Quality Start Machine]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

In fairness to Joe, what's he supposed to say? "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so I put him where he does the least amount of damage"?

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

In fairness to Joe, what's he supposed to say? "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so I put him where he does the least amount of damage"?

Actually I'm annoyed that he's still batting 7th ahead of Baez.

[SKO]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

In fairness to Joe, what's he supposed to say? "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so I put him where he does the least amount of damage"?

Actually I'm annoyed that he's still batting 7th ahead of Baez.

Yeah there've been a couple instances where Heyward making the 2nd out of the inning ahead of Javy has allowed them to take the bat out of Javy's hands.

[Saul Goodman]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

In fairness to Joe, what's he supposed to say? "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so I put him where he does the least amount of damage"?

There's a lot of things he could say that aren't provably wrong. "I like Heyward 7th, he's been working hard and he might get some RBI opportunities there." Or "I'm putting Heyward seventh because I like the lefty/righty thing with Javy up next." It's not hard. Don't tell me he's productive when he isn't, though. Is that too much to ask?

[Canadouche]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

In fairness to Joe, what's he supposed to say? "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so I put him where he does the least amount of damage"?

Actually I'm annoyed that he's still batting 7th ahead of Baez.

Obviously Joe knows that Javy gets better protection with Heyward batting in front of him.

[SKO]

This is not the revelatory piece BN made it out to be, but I was intrigued by this:

"I like Heyward in the 7-hole. He's been really productive," Maddon says.

Batting 7th, 2017: .266/.319/.375.  Sigh.

In fairness to Joe, what's he supposed to say? "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so I put him where he does the least amount of damage"?

There's a lot of things he could say that aren't provably wrong. "I like Heyward 7th, he's been working hard and he might get some RBI opportunities there." Or "I'm putting Heyward seventh because I like the lefty/righty thing with Javy up next." It's not hard. Don't tell me he's productive when he isn't, though. Is that too much to ask?

I remember every time someone asked why Castro and his sub .600 OPS was still batting cleanup in June of 2015, the answer was just "Joe likes him in that spot." Provided similar "reasoning" for Zobrist batting 3rd or 4th not long ago. He bases his lineups on what he hopes guys will be and not what they are. 

[Saul Goodman]

Rivero is good, but still.  That AB was pathetically feeble.