Cubs’ Heyward finds hitting stride
Offseason overhaul of his swing leads to improved, though far from stunning, offensive numbers
Jason Heyward didn’t have big plans for his 28th birthday Wednesday, which he spent playing a couple of innings in the Chicago Cubs’ road loss to the San Francisco Giants, then traveling to Phoenix for a weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He does have reasons to celebrate these days, but they don’t call for a blowout party with streamers and a disco ball. More like a quiet little toast.
After a highly disappointing first half, the Cubs have surged to first place in the National League Central, holding a 11⁄ 2- game lead on the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers going into Thursday. On a personal level, the right fielder has shown slight improvement in his much-scrutinized offensive performance.
No longer is Heyward’s hitting the subject of constant handwringing among Cubs fans, partly because of his contributions to last year’s World Series title, which came mostly in the form of superb fielding and baserunning as well as his clubhouse presence.
There’s likely also some resignation that Heyward’s eight-year,
$184 million contract is here to stay. Barring a huge awakening at the plate, there’s not much chance Heyward opts out of his deal after next season, as he’s entitled to do.
Plus, whereas last year at this time Heyward was struggling to keep his batting average above
.230 and had delivered a mere five home runs, he’s now batting a more-respectable .258 and has gone deep eight times.
His on-base plus slugging percentage has risen from .631 to
.710, another indication the wellchronicled swing overhaul Heyward underwent in the offseason has resulted in an uptick in his output. That he remains well below the major league average OPS of .750 reflects the depths to which Heyward sank as a hitter last season, when his swing was frequently referred to as “broken.”
If Cubs followers were expecting any miracle fixes, they’ll have to settle for an extended repair.
“Out of camp, everybody was still concerned, but I’m thinking, I like the changes he’s made, and it’s still going to take time for him to gain a really good feel for that, so that we’re going to see the results you’re looking for,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I do anticipate a nice surge out of him. I think he’s really understanding what he’s doing, I don’t think he’s overly fatigued and I know he’s very motivated.”
There’s no question about Heyward’s work ethic. Two weeks after the Cubs claimed their first championship in 108 years, he headed to their spring training site in Arizona to begin work on remaking himself as a hitter.
Under the guidance of hitting coaches John Mallee and Eric Hinske, Heyward dramatically altered his mechanics, lowering his hands from shoulder-high to waist level and changing his swing path. He also took up Pilates and meditation, which he still does.
“Starting in the offseason and in the spring, (the objective) was just to get away from my having tension, to be able to relax and not let my hands and shoulders get taken out of the swing,” Heyward said. “Be athletic and tension-free to be able to react. Where I’m at now is still a really good spot, tension-free and relaxed.”
Yet the results have been underwhelming. Although he’s sup- posed to be in his prime, Heyward is not close to replicating his third season with the Atlanta Braves, when playing mostly as a 22-yearold he had career highs of 27 home runs and 82 RBI with a .814 OPS in 2012. Even the numbers from his one season with the Cardinals in 2015, the one that earned him the big contract after he batted .293 with a .797 OPS, seem out of reach now.
In 83 games, Heyward has 10 doubles, fewer than 243 other players. And his OPS would rank 42nd among all outfielders if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.
Heyward falls short because he missed 26 games in May and June while twice serving time on the disabled list with hand injuries, which hampered his ability to establish continuity with his new hitting style.
“Having two DL stints this year is what I’m most unhappy about, because that’s time away from production, time away from getting even more comfortable and more reps in the season,” he said. “This year is an improvement from last year. The thing I can’t control, and that did happen unfortunately, is the two DL stints.”
He does control his defensive play, which remains first-rate. The four-time Gold Glover leads all NL outfielders with 17 runs saved. Heyward is not much of a basestealing threat nowadays but is still regarded as an excellent baserunner. And the intangibles that made him such a good fit in his first season in Chicago are still very much in place.
But while last year his hitting contributions became essentially a bonus as the potent bats of NL MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo powered the Cubs to the third-highest scoring output in baseball, this season the club has fallen to the middle of the pack and could use more punch from its pricy right fielder, particularly after the hamstring injury suffered by power-hitting catcher Willson Contreras in Wednesday’s loss to the Giants.
The ever-optimistic Maddon says he senses it’s coming.
“I have a lot of faith in this fellow,” Maddon said. “He’s very strong mentally and physically, and I think he’s going to be in good shape for the last part of the season.”
That would be something for the Cubs to celebrate.