His rookie campaign was very promising. He hit .277 with 18 HR and 72 RBI to go along with 11 SB and a nice .393 OBP for a rookie. Jason showed a lot of patience at the plate and seemed to get a lot of big hits for the Braves that season as he finished second to Buster Posey in the National League Rookie of the Year vote.
His sophomore season was another story. There were injuries that caused him to over compensate at the plate and it really messed with his approach. He hit just .227 and his OBP plummeted to .319. He was limited to only 128 games and there were indications that maybe he was Jeff Francoeur 2.0, meaning not as good as advertised. The comparison seemed logical since they both play right field and were locals. (Heyward wasn't born in Georgia, but did grow up there)
But then year 3 started and Heyward seemed to be a man on a mission. The Braves let go of hitting coach Larry Parrish and brought in Greg Walker from the White Sox. All reports were that Heyward let his shoulder get healthy in the off-season and then hit the cages with Walker and Chipper Jones. I heard reports of Heyward being, "a man possessed" and that he was incredibly focused on breaking out this year. He hasn't disappointed. While he isn't an MVP candidate, he's back to being the middle of the lineup guy he was in 2010 and when he's at the plate, it just seems like he's going to get that hit. Through 129 games this year, Heyward is hitting .272 with 24 HR, 69 RBI, 19 SB and his .343 OBP is decent. Heyward is striking out more this year, but let's not forget the guy is 23 years old.
I don't believe Heyward is going to be a .325 hitter ever in his career. But .300 at his peak with 30 plus homers and 25 steals is within his grasp. His defense also goes unnoticed much of the time even though he's one of the best in the National League in right field. His arm is impressive and opponents are figuring out you shouldn't run on him unless you know for sure you're going to make it.
The biggest indication that Heyward is back on track is the fact that he's making pitchers pay again for bad pitches. The great hitters always do that. Take a look at this home run he recently hit in San Francisco. A hanging breaking ball from Clay Hensley goes over the right field wall at AT&T Park.
I can't wait to watch this guy patrol right field for the Braves for years to come. Now let's just hope the Braves pay up and keep him right in the middle of that lineup.
