It would be an understatement to say the Cubs’ Jason Heyward has had an eventful career in professional baseball. Heyward was the 14th pick of the Braves in the 2007 draft, and the Georgia-raised outfielder’s star continued to rise thereafter. As a prospect, Heyward topped out as Baseball America’s No. 1 overall farmhand after the 2009 season.
“Even if he opens 2010 at Triple-A Gwinnett, Heyward will be starting in Atlanta at some point during the year, and he has all the ability to emerge as one of the game’s premier players,” BA wrote then.
The towering Heyward did not start 2010 in the minors, though, instead beginning as the Braves’ top right fielder. And he made an enormous impact from the get-go, smashing a first-inning, three-run homer off Cubs righty Carlos Zambrano in his initial at-bat. The Braves went on to win that game and 90 more en route to a wild-card berth, owing in no small part to a 4.6-fWAR Heyward effort in which he batted .277/.393/.456 in 623 plate appearances.
It seemed that the rookie version of Heyward was indeed destined for greatness, but his career hasn’t been particularly consistent since then. Heyward remained a Brave from 2011-14, a 2,196-plate appearance run in which he batted .258/.340/.422 with 14.9 fWAR, but they decided after the last of those seasons to trade the homegrown standout to the Cardinals in a deal for right-hander Shelby Miller. That wasn’t indefensible from the Braves’ point of view, as Miller was then an up-and-coming starter with a few years’ team control remaining and Heyward had just one season left before reaching free agency.
[RELATED: Butterfly Effects & The Jason Heyward Signing]
If you go by fWAR, Heyward had his best in St. Louis (5.6), hitting .293/.359/.439 with 13 homers and a career-high 23 steals in 610 PA. Heyward was part of a 100-win team that year, but after the Cardinals bowed out of the NLDS against the Cubs, the free agent went to … the Cubs. They handed him an eight-year, $184MM guarantee, but Heyward’s regular-season numbers have fallen flat dating back to then. During his first four years as a Cub, Heyward batted an underwhelming .252/.327/.383 line across 2,151 trips to the plate, leading to 6.0 fWAR. Heyward’s typically outstanding defense has kept him afloat, as he has logged 42 Defensive Runs Saved and a 27.2 Ultimate Zone Rating as a Chicago outfielder (overall, he has put up 143 DRS with a 99.5 UZR as a big leaguer). Of course, it’s not always just about statistics.
On Nov. 2, 2016, the Cubs and Indians were tied 6-6 through nine innings and stuck in a rain delay in Game 7 of the World Series. It was two teams trying to break long championship droughts, but on Chicago’s side, Heyward went into Knute Rockne mode in the locker room.
“We’re the best team in baseball, and we’re the best team in baseball for a reason,” Heyward told his teammates (via Tom Verducci’s book “The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse“). “Now we’re going to show it. We play like the score is nothing-nothing. We’ve got to stay positive and fight for your brothers. Stick together and we’re going to win this game.”
“Right then I thought, We’re winning this f—— game!,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said.
The Cubs did just that when the 17-minute delay ended, defeating the Indians in the 10th to pick up their first title in 108 years. It’s hard to quantify how much Heyward meant to that team on an emotional level. He went 0-for-5 in that game and posted a miserable .307 OPS during the postseason, which came after he recorded a personal-worst 72 wRC+ in the regular season, but that Game 7 speech will always live in Cubs lore.
While the Cubs haven’t won another title since 2016, Heyward’s production has trended upward going back to then, as he has been something close to a league-average hitter. Still, that’s not great for a former can’t-miss prospect who’s owed another $86MM through 2023. In all, Heyward has been a bit better than average as an offensive player during his career, having batted .261/.343/.412 (107 wRC+) with 144 homers and 110 steals in 5,580 PA. However, consistently stellar defense has helped the 30-year-old accumulate 31.1 fWAR, which is a higher amount than the vast majority of major leaguers have piled up, and he may have helped key a Cubs title behind the scenes. All things considered, how would you grade his career to this point?
(Poll link for app users)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I don’t want to say C.. and at the same time don’t want to say B. But I’ll say B-
He certainly didn’t meet expectations. But he definitely had some great seasons.
Jason Heyward is currently sitting at 21 of active position players…. He is ahead of Freedie Freeman in the same amount of seasons played. Just putting things into perspective.
Heyward has been solid, he’s been a disappointment with the bat (because the media made him out to be the next Hank Aaron) but his defense in right field is game changing.
A lot of people bash Epstein for the Heyward contract (because most fans only judge players on offensive performance) but IMO, the Cubs were forward thinking in signing Heyward.
In today’s game of launch angle, having a defensively superior right fielder (especially with the tricky RF in Chicago) is important. Heyward’s reputation alone takes away extra base hits. Just go back and watch some games, no one “tests” Jason Heyward in RF. No one tries to take an extra base. They come out of the batters box content with a single when they hit the ball to RF.
I’ll admit, I do not watch every game but out of all the games I have watched, I’ve only seen one player take an extra base against Heyward and that was Bryce Harper in his rookie year.
Heyward has almost a year on Freeman. While they both came up in the same year, Heyward started on opening day with the Braves. Freeman, was called up in September.
Yes or no, did Freedie Freeman play in 2010?
Trash take. Must be a cubs fan.
Trash comment, excellent name
I hope your not comparing freeman to heyward. Cause freeman is arguably the best first baseman in the league. Heyward hasn’t put up anything close to the stat line that freeman has
@bravaescj—-it is perfectly fine to compare Heyward and Freeman. I honestly had no idea how close they actually are in seasons, games played, at bats, etc.
In comparison, Freeman is clearly the better offensive player, especially since Heyward signed the big contract. And nobody would care about Jason Heyward’s numbers career if he didn’t sign that big deal.
We will wait for a poll on the career so far of guys like Neil Walker, Starlin Castro, Ike Davis, Danny Valencia who all debuted around the same time as Heyward.
In comparison to his big deal—he is probably a D, bordering a C.
In comparison to ten years as a major leaguer—probably a B.
@drasco036:
Heyward’s RF defense certainly is valuable. However, it is remarkable, how willingly the Cubs chose to acquire Castellanos despite his decreased production for Detroit and plugged him in RF, knowing about his defensive shortcomings. They obviously deem Heyward’s impact lower than you do.
Gruß,
BSHH
BSHH—the Cubs actually acquired Castellanos to replace the trash in centerfield last year (Almora)….Heyward happened to be good enough to play center also. Castellanos acquisition had NOTHING to do with Heyward in rightfield.
Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time calling right field defense “game changing.” Unless you’re playing SS, CF, or C, you aren’t changing many games with your defense.
As for Heyward, his career has been fine. He’s been a good MLB regular. That being said, he has also been a major disappointment and hasn’t come close to living up to his talent. Major underachiever.
Heyward covers a lot of ground with his speed and throws out many runners, and/or prevents runners from taking an extra base with his arm. He averages 14 runs saved a year. Think of all the ONE run games a team plays each year.
RF in Wrigley is very difficult. No foul ground, brick walls, lot’s of fair territory (353 down the line, 380ish to the power alley). and of course the winds.
Don’t let that 368 in right field marker fool you; that is much closer to the foul pole than to the alley. Wrigley is actual off-center a bit, and the deepest part of the park is just to the right of straightaway center, and it is probably about 405.
oh gee i wonder
Uhhh Yes. This is not even a question and the locker room speech narrative is a bunch of drivel. Cubs won because Bryan Shaw stunk.
Yes.
This article doesnt mention Hayward was hit in the face by a pitch and may be a bit gunshy. Started a tend of the helmet with face shield.. Average at best, Defense well above average, which never says why a player who is average or below average hitter just does well in the field and not at the plate.
I keep telling people this over and over, his jaw got CRUSHED and it’s taken him years to get back to normal.
That all may be true but it didn’t make time stop and we still have to evaluate him in reality not what is a best case scenario that doesn’t exist.
As someone who has taken a pitch to the head and lost around the minute of memory of the moments before the hit I understand being gun shy. I wasn’t even little league good but after that you could throw a pitch into the dugout and if think it was coming right at me.
Even for a player with Hayward’s talent that has to be a tough thing to get past.
I don’t doubt the lingering effects a ball to the face takes on you, but he’s not the first or the last (unfortunately) that it will happen to you. What we do know is that he has admitted publicly to at least 2 times (once with ATL, once with CHC) where a lingering injury (right shoulder inflammation in ATL, wrist injury in CHC) “tweaked” his swing causing some of the worst offensive totals of his career in 2011 & 2016.
Whose to say that those tolls haven’t permanently effected his swing? Only once has he ever had an .800 OPS season (his career-high 27 HR season in 2012). Heyward is Juan Pierre reincarnated in power forward’s body.
Heyward and Winfield. Same body type. Same position. 67% of Heyward’s hits are singles. 65% of Winfield’s hits were singles. Winfield is a HOF. If Heyward plays 22 years like Winfield, I’ll be curious to see how their stats match up.
I mean water is wet
It isn’t
I find it funny, that the worst contract for the Cubs is Heyward, and for the Cards it is Fowler. Yet those two players did pretty damn good for when they played for the other team.
82.5M vs. 184M (100.15M difference)
…sorry 101.5M difference
RunDMC, amazing how you and others FORGET that the Cardinals offered Heyward a deal similar to the Cubs, but he didn’t want to play in STL. So Mozeliak signed Fowler as his OPTION B.
I’d have to know that to forget. Just stating the financial difference between the 2. Heyward spurning them actually turned out better for them. They kept $100M to overpay Goldy.
Fun fact: Did you know that one of Goldy’s alma mater’s is the University of Phoenix (2013)? I wonder if he played on their baseball team.
I assume you know, or really just joking, Goldschmidt was playing in the Majors in 2013, finished 2nd in the MVP, and played college ball at Texas State?
I really didn’t. Being a Braves fan, he was dead to me the moment he left ATL. Don’t deny we gave him lofty expectations he could never live up to, but it goes with the territory of being a hometown kid. (Don’t let me down, Lieutenant Dans…smh).
Goldy graduated in 2013 from Univ. of Phoenix (online) with a bachelor’s of science degree in management & did a couple of commercials for them as a spokesperson.
Facts
Cubs fans have no right to complain about Heyward when they voted him to the top 9 outfielder list in the preliminary ASG voting last year. Same goes for Schwarber and Almora…
Well he had a .812 OPS and 14 HR in the first half last year, along with his typically very good D and baserunning. Not that crazy that he got all star votes
It is crazy that he got enough of said votes to be an all star though.
He didn’t. Heyward wasn’t an all star last year
Yes it’s a disappointment. I’ve watched tons of Cubs games over this contract and I don’t even know what happened to him. The “His face was crushed by a pitch” argument seems ok to me.
Yeah but he did just fine hitting in 2014 and 2015. I don’t think Jason would blame a broken jaw for 2016. He had a hitch in his swing and things went worse for him that year. He’s worked to get to league average again but that’s the best we should expect at this point. A 20 HR season isn’t out of the question though.
20 HR isn’t out of the question since he hit 21 last season.
Never seen such a massive guy profile as a Punch and Judy hitter
Its still odd watching today
If you are judging his career, it’s a B. If you’re judging him based on the contract he signed then it looks worse. Yeah he’ll probably never live up to the contract, but he’s not bad either.
Great point, and it’s very key here. I’m throwing the contract out of the equation because that’s on Theo. When you look just at what Heyward has done on the field, he’s a solid C to me. Good defense. League average bat. Teams can make good use of a player like that. The Cubs just overpaid for it, but that knock is on them.
Yes, he’s a slightly above average player being paid like an All Star caliber player.
It’s not Heyward’s fault that he’s being paid as much as he is. Blame it on Theo and Mozeliak.
Just some really unfortunate injuries dating back to even his rookie year that kept him out of the All-Star game. Bold take: That thumb injury changed his career trajectory. Played through it and got into some bad habits and his swing has been wonky ever since.
I’ve always thought of him that needed to have the right teacher, but it never seemed to happen. He’s put together some good seasons, and it isn’t his fault the Cubs gave him that much money. He’s polarizing because there’s something about his bat that always leaves you expecting more from it.
B-.
I have a simple, unpopular opinion, and that is if a team wins a World Series then the contract is worth it!
How many GM’s got elected into the Hall of Fame because they made really savvy moves but never won a World Series Title?
Isn’t the goal for a GM to win a title? Isn’t the goal every free agent contract given out by a team to result in a World Series?
I do not have a time machine to go back to 2016, remove Heyward from the team and see how that season plays out. Does it result in more wins? Does it result in a Title? I cannot possibly have the answer so ergo Heyward’s contract was not a “bad contract”.
Did you REALLY just use “logic” along the lines of “I don’t have the answer, therefor I’m right?”
Trashco036 is a complete joke, look at his other comments.
His offensive numbers were flat in ATL too. Cubs overpaid for a defense first right fielder. Over valued and over rated.
What’s interesting is that even now you can go back and find a Forbes article from the signing stating CHC got a steal, based on future projections.
Disappointment? Yes. Surprise? Nope.
He certainly hasn’t lived up to his potential. That said, he’s hardly a bust. He’s a roughly average, woefully streaky hitter, an apparently impactful clubhouse presence and a brilliant defender. He’s obviously turned out to be something less than the sum of his parts as a functional player, but there are a heck of a lot of players who’d like to have five Gold Gloves, an All Star game and a championship on their resumes.
I was anticipating seeing a poor man’s Bonds with Heyward’s potential, maybe Bobby – but he turned into a functional version of Jacoby Ellsbury instead.
As I said when he was acquired by Stl. He’s a tad overrated but he was a need for the Cardinals and he was ok for the price we paid. As for the cubs he’s been a huge disappointment with last year being an exception. You take those numbers if he’s in CF for a good portion but he’d not as good in CF as he’s been in RF defensively.
If the cubs could they’d unload him but they basically can’t due to the price and iirc some no trade comes into play. What they can hope is he continues to have a season in 2019 moving forward and someone will take the bait if he allows it.
I remember when he was coming up, the storyline was that he was the heir apparent to Chipper and would herald in the next generation of Braves. A decade later it was actually Freddie who took on that role.
He has had a very good career but didn’t quite live up to the superstar potential that he had
He’s been overrated since day one. He’s been living off of his minor league hype throughout his entire career. I still can’t believe he got the contract that he did.
A decade later and it’s like people are still waiting for this guy to finally figure it out and become the player they thought he could always be lol.
Bust…..
Would the Cubs do it again? No
B-
Boy genius epstein blew it again.
Don’t go to Cooperstown in 20 years. You’ll probably drop dead when you see Theo’s plaque.
By WAR he is considered a perennial All-Star and worth more than Freeman. WAR isn’t typically bullish on first baseman though. It also goes to show you can’t always gamble on WAR aline. Defensively, Heyward only averages 1.6 plays a game! Put it this way, 2 outs, bottom of the ninth, is Heyward in your first 10 picks to be up there? I could think of 40 outfielders I’d prefer to have at that moment.
One of the more overhyped players in recent memory. I get his defense is solid, but he has never shown the ability to consistently hit. Keeps tricking teams into massive overpays though….strange. Less than a 1% chance of HoF at this point.
C- for me. He’s average. Above average glove, below average bat. Equals out.
Over priced. Good D, poor bat.
D for disappointing.
D for Dollars overspent
D for defense only
How many WS rings does Heyward have ?
Now how many WS rings does Mike Trout have ?
Heyward: Gold glove and a cardboard bat. Not his fault Theo gave him all that cheese. If he was making, say, $10 million a year and hit .260-something with 20 HR, with his defense, he’d be a fan favorite in any city.
@lou—exactly….
He’s as big as Cam Newton and hits like he’s impersonating Rod Carew. Stand up, stay on your heels, and swing the f***ing bat, Jason.
EVERY GM has good F/A signings and bad ones.. If you can get a WS Ring from a bad signing, you accomplished your job.
For a brilliant defender, bbref has him below replacement last year and barely above in 2018. Its reputation only at this point.
Heyward will go down in history as the game’s largest singles hitter to ever play.
Dave Winfield is 6′ 6″ and 220 pounds. He had over 2000 singles.
Someone please explain to me when Heyward was EVER a power hitter—before last season he hit more than 20 home runs ONCE. In the three seasons before he came to the Cubs he hit 14, 11, and 13.
He has had a slugging percentage over .450 TWICE.
Jason Heyward’s entire career is going to be highlighted by and linked to 2016–which, offensively was abysmal. If he had that offensive year in 2018 or 2012 or ANY OTHER year, nobody would care. Look at his last three years with the Cubs—they pretty much add up to his career averages.
C if you consider the expectations and early success. B by any other stretch
Cub fan here, and as much as I wish JHEY had better hitting stats, he is still a damn fine player,. I graded his career as a B.
One of the rare cases of someone who is extremely productive yet also extremely disappointing. Has the skill set to be an All-Star caliber hitter, but has been a complete head case in regards to approach.
I don’t think it’s fair to call him a head case.
I like him and I want him to do better but how come no one is talking about the degenerative condition in his back? I’ve watched him play as a Cubs for a long time and he just doesn’t make hard contact; and when he signed he was 26/27… you don’t hit the wall at that age unless something is really wrong.
He’s a fine ballplayer, but not a $20M+/season guy. If he were making $10-$15M I’d be fine with him.
How many players actually live up to any huge contract they sign? Not many.
B overall. C as a Cub.
This is exactly what I was going to say. Hes slowly improving as a Cub though. 21 hours last year from 7 in 2016 is a huge improvement. And he always had stellar defense.
As a Braves fan, Heyward has been a disappointment, but through no fault of his own. He was touted as the next Hank Aaron which is a ridiculous thing to hang on any 20 year old.
His jaw was shattered and his shoulder was torn up in separate injuries. The shoulder sapped a lot of his power, and I think fundamentally changed his swing mechanics. He has remained an elite athlete, and his defense and attitude can not be questioned.
Had those injuries not changed him as a player, there is no telling what he might have been. To me, while that contract is crazy, it’s worth it for that World Series for the Cubs. I just wish we hadn’t been robbed of seeing what he could have been.
His first career home tun off Carlos Zambrano and the call from Chip Carey was awesome and I’m a Cubs fan. “Welcome to the show” will always be imbedded in my head. Just like Chip Carey’s call on Kerry wood’s 20th k vs Houston “Here comes the hook”
So often labels are unfair. The next Henry Aaron? There’s only been one hasn’t there? Bobby Murcer was “The next Mickey Mantle” for example. He had a really nice career but what a burden to put on him. Mike Trout is “The next Mickey Mantle” some say. And they may be right on that one! Just once I’d like to see a prospect labeled as “The next Dustin Ackley” Or he’s the “next Jesus Montero” Just kidding. Sort of.
I’ll give him a C
I’ll give his baseball life an A+.
Heywards gets a solid C-. He is a below average hitter with a terrible contract. If not for his above average defense, he would be a D player in my book.
Oops, letting bias get in the way off facts again, ChiSox???? Heyward is a lifetime .261 hitter——only in his first season at .257, was the average hitter over .255….so actually, though slightly—-he is an above average hitter.
OPS, you ask—-Heyward lifetime—.755………..only this past season, with the crazy home run totals in baseball was the average OPS higher than that at .758. So, again an above average hitter.
Even you admitted his defense is above average—-no need for stats there.
Contract—-ask him if he thinks it is terrible.
This post is, frankly insulting. I’m not even going to bother debating with your narrow minded arguments. I’ll simply refer you to his lifetime batting statistics (All of his batting stats). If you can look at those and come back and tell me he’s an above player with a straight face, I will concede… that you’re probably one hell of a poker player.
Heyward is a grade F He did not live up to his contract. With his career stats, I do not know why the Cubs signed him. Some Cubs fans think the Cubs never make mistakes. The worst FA contract in baseball history.
The didn’t ask you to grade the contract, they asked you to grade the career. Taking the your opinion out of the equation, he’s a ten year major leaguer with above average stats. Ten years. B.
No outfielder who’s only hit more than 20 HRs during a 10-year career can be a ‘B’. Sorry, I know, I know—you’re a Cubs fan. We know you guys are, er, “special” when it comes to rating players in those red, white and blue uni’s, but c’mon! This is a violation.
*only hit 20 or mor HRs TWICE…
As Braves fan… Was thrilled when traded. Huge holes in swing. Has never hit 30 HR. Never driven in 100. Never scored 100 runs. Worst batter in postseason history with at least 100 AB. defense diminishing as fast as basebath decline. Career C. Terrible contract.
Heyward or Engel?
Let’s grade trout f no World Series ring f Kershaw no World Series ring , Harper F no World Series ring , heyward A World Series ring
He sucks
Overall Heyward has had a solid career but up and down as of late. If I hate rate his Cubs contract vs his value in that uniform it would not be good. Not the worst in baseball but it’s on the list of very regrettable. He does some things well but you just can’t swing the bat that poorly. You don’t see enough game changing opportunities in the field to make up for league average hitting at that price tag. That being said I know he is a year or so from a big swing adjustment and that does seem to have him trending upward and he’s not at such an advanced age he couldn’t return to Braves or Cardinals form. Some hope. But when you consider what defensive wizards who can’t hit much get paid on the market it’s a fraction of Hayward’s pay. He got paid for what he’d done which at his age was honestly logical thinking because he hit the market so young there was no reason to expect his bat to go silent. I thought he might even do better in that lineup with a young core coming into their own. It just hasn’t happened as of yet. Cubs fans defending it better not be complaining about the lack of spending and tight budget their own because they need to look no further than his deal. Verdict is definitely still out on Darvish. Horrible first year but some have linked that to injury which at first I was skeptical of but he looked like vintage Darvish down the stretch. If he’s what he was with the Rangers that’s a huge boost and goes from a bust signing to a possible glimmer of hope this team can keep its window open