House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves might have a familiar trade option for the outfield

By Alan Carpenter

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 26: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 26: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 12: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs watches from the dugout as teammates take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on September 12, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Brewers defeated the Cubs 5-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 12: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs watches from the dugout as teammates take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on September 12, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Brewers defeated the Cubs 5-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Heyward’s Trends

He started in Chicago being terrible, but has quietly been working his way back to respectability.  It’s not “$20 million a year” respectability, but it’s something.

Here are his 3-year trends:

  • Batting average:  .230 up to .259 up to .270
  • Homers:  7, 11, 8
  • K-Rate:  15.7% down to 13.9% down to 12.3% (walk rates steady near 9%)
  • OBP:  .306 up to .326 up to .297
  • BABIP:  .266 up to .284 up to .297
  • wRC+ (Runs Created):  72 up to 88 up to 99… essentially league average this past season.
  • Added 100 points to his OPS score (to .731)
  • Avg Exit Velocity:  86.7 to 86.4, then up to 88.1 with Fly Ball/Line Drive numbers increasing slowly (91.2 in 2018).

He’s still a work in progress, no doubt.  But there’s also the defensive contribution to consider – which probably carries a lot of weight with the Braves.

About that glove prowess…

Now as I was putting this together, my assumption was that we’d look at the defense and simply say ‘okay – this is why the Braves would bite… he’s a stud in right field.’

A funny thing happened though… those trendlines?  They have been heading in the negative direction with Heyward on the field, which may explain why Nick Markakis ended up with his Gold Glove this season.

That said, the numbers still suggest that Heyward (going into his age 30 season) is better in the field than Markakis:  and Jason is still easily in the Top 10 in baseball defensively at RF… something the Braves would have to consider.

So now let’s bring the Braves back into this discussion.  Could they bring Heyward back home to Cobb County?  There are a couple of ways in which we could see that happen.

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