Prospect Hayes focuses on what he can control
Ke’Bryan Hayes only turned 23 this past January, but the Pirates’ top position-player prospect seems to have learned an important lesson early in life, one that involves worrying solely about what you can control and ignoring everything else.
Then again, Hayes has had practice. A positive test for COVID-19 delayed his appearance at spring training 2.0 by nearly three weeks, ensuring he would not make the major league team out of summer camp.
Hayes also can’t do anything about his contract situation — the Pirates potentially slow-playing his arrival and avoiding Super 2 status by delaying his service time clock from starting, something that’s tougher for Hayes to
overcome when there’s no minor league season.
The slick-fielding third baseman smartly has kept one eye on Pittsburgh while also ensuring he gets his work done at the Pirates’ alternate-site camp in Altoona, preparing himself for whenever his number is called.
“I want to be up there,” Hayes told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by phone Monday. “That’s where we all want to be. But all I can do at the same time is go out there and take care of my body and each day try to get better at something. Whenever it’s time for me to go up there, it’ll happen.”
Although much has been made about Hayes’ clock, the timing might work out just fine for both sides.
The rough estimate for avoiding Super 2 status — when the top 22% of players with between 2-3 years of service time earn an extra year of arbitration — is about a month. Hayes said because of his bout with COVID-19, he has been trying to take it slow, build the right way, and only this past week did he start getting two or three at-bats a night.
It’s smart on Hayes’ part. If he pushes himself too much and gets hurt now, he could ruin a potential promotion. And although it’s not his fault, that might be harder to do since he’s having to prove himself against a revolving door of Pirates pitchers in simulated games, not putting up gaudy numbers in Class AAA that could force management to make a move.
But Hayes, the son of a major leaguer, also takes comfort in that sort of thing, trusting that the process will point him to the right spot.
“Every day I’m trying to go about my work day as if it was a normal spring training,” Hayes said. “Whenever we face pitching, just have competitive at-bats. Trying to hit the ball hard and drive it. That’s all I can really control.”
The positive COVID-19 test was hardly expected, Hayes said. It came at intake, at the end of June, and he was never symptomatic — before or during his time dealing with the virus.
Hayes quarantined for 18 days in a hotel room across from PNC Park, where he said he was mostly able to manage going stir-crazy. PlayStation, Netflix and FaceTime helped him pass the time. So did the Showtime series “The Chi,” “The Joe Budden Podcast” and “Million Dollaz Worth of Game,” another hip-hop podcast.
“The first week was pretty tough,” Hayes said. “Seeing all the videos for whenever they first started practicing, that was hard. Then, I started getting into a routine that made the day go by a little faster.”
After a week of isolating, Hayes said the Pirates providing him with kettlebells and bands and devised workouts and stretches that he could do in his room. The only baseball work Hayes did came the day he got cleared — July 20. The next day, he left for Altoona.
On-field workouts there were challenging at first, Hayes said. His breathing was heavy. His legs were wobbly. It took a little bit for Hayes’ swing to feel normal again.
“I was in a room,” he said. “The farthest I was walking was to my door, whenever they would bring me food and to the shower and back to my bed. Whenever I first started working out and whenever I got to Altoona, taking ground balls the first few days, I could definitely feel my legs were heavy. Breathing was kind of heavy. I just had to be smart with building back up.
“After about a week and a half or two weeks, I started feeling pretty much back to normal as far as my breathing. Started getting some lifts in with actual weight that I usually lift with. Right now, I feel 100%.”
Hayes’ days in Altoona have mirrored what they would in the minors. Pitchers usually arrive at 3 p.m., and for a little bit, as he tries to get more work, Hayes said he would show up then. He has since started arriving with the other position players at 4, starting most days with a saliva test.
From then until team stretch at 5:45 p.m. is early work. Hayes has been working with Class AAA Indianapolis hitting coach Jon Nunnally on being quick to the ball and consistent with his swing.
In the field, Hayes has been working with infield coordinator Gary Green on first-step quickness and also working more out of shifts, which the Pirates have increased in 2020.
“First step, I feel like that’s real critical for me at third,” said Hayes, who has won three consecutive minor league Gold Gloves, making just 17 errors the past three seasons combined. “I’ve been taking a lot more balls at short because of the shifts. It seems like 75-80% of the lefties I’m either playing straight-up shortstop or lined up with the edge of mound.
“For my early work, I’ll do a bunch of ground balls at short, just getting used to different angles. The throw is a little closer, turning double plays, stuff like that.”
Team work starts at 5:45 with stretching and throwing followed by various team defense and fundamental drills, including popup priority, bunt coverage and pitcher fielding practice (PFPs). Batting practice follows before a simulated game with pitchers.
Hayes said he was surprised at how well he has been seeing the ball despite the extra time off, allowing him to lay off bad pitches and drive the good ones to all fields.
Although the Altoona workouts aren’t open to the media, it sounds like Hayes is doing everything within his power to stay ready. The only thing he needs now is for Pirates management to give him an opportunity.
“I’m getting my work in and taking care of my body, doing all of my mobility stuff, recovery, eating well and all those sorts of things,” Hayes said. “Those are the only things that I can really control.
“I feel good. Whenever it’s my time, I feel like I’m ready to go.”
Change of plans
Henderson Alvarez, who threw a no-hitter in 2013 and was an All-Star with the Marlins in 2014, tweeted late Sunday night that his deal with the Pirates fell through. Instead, Jandel Gustave will be the latest pitcher the Pirates are hoping to add to help their pitching depth.
Gustave, who has pitched for the Houston Astros (2016-17) and San Francisco Giants (2019), has a 3.43 career ERA in 43 appearances, including a 2.96 ERA in 23 appearances last season. The Dominicanborn right-hander has a fairly good career strikeout rate (17.4%) but has struggled with his control (10.9% walk rate).
San Francisco designated Gustave for assignment Aug. 2.