Who is Jason Heyward?

Who is this Jason Heyward cat?

Coming into 2009, Braves fans were excited about the potential possessed by young starting pitcher Tommy Hanson.

Coming off a dominant performance in the Arizona Fall League and a good showing spring training, people were anxious to see Hanson get his shot at the majors.

The hype surrounding Hanson typically only comes once every five or ten years.

But despite what Santa brought us last year, Braves fans get something better now. Jason Heyward.

At only 20, Jason Heyward is probably more well-known than some guys who have spent 10 years in the majors, and he has been the biggest story in Braves camp so far.

One day Chipper Jones says he looks like a linebacker. One day Bobby Cox compares him to Hank Aaron. Another day he is smashing cars with his homeruns. Just yesterday Jim Leyland compared him to Albert Pujols.

You can even go online and by t-shirts that say “The J-Hey Kid,” which of course is a reference to Willie Mays.

Born in New Jersey, Heyward played his high school ball in McDonough, Georgia. Back then, he played first base, and was named an AFLAC All-American.

Going into the 2007 draft, Heyward was projected to go somewhere in the top 10, so even though he had caught the eye of Braves scouts and grew up in their home state, they wouldn’t have a chance to get him.

But the teams in front of the Braves all passed on Heyward.

The Giants and Mariners took pitchers at the tenth and eleventh slots. The Marlins and Indians took corner infielders directly in front of the Braves.

Somehow, Jason Heyward had fallen to Atlanta. A top ten pick who played his high school ball in Georgia and was still available at 14, the Braves made the obvious choice to take Heyward.

At this point, Heyward is the third player from the 2007 draft to be named baseball’s top prospect, following David Price and Matt Wieters.

But Heyward could be better than both of them.

Beginning his rapid ascent to the majors later in 2007, Heyward played well in a handful of games at each of the Braves Rookie League squads.

But 2008 was when Heyward really put himself on the map as someone who could live up to his huge potential.

Playing mostly at Rome, with a small stint in Myrtle Beach, Heyward compiled a .316/.381/.473 line in 127 games.
At this point, he was named a top five prospect in all of baseball coming into 2009.

Playing the first half of the season in one of the minors most pitching friendly parks (in Myrtle Beach) Heyward dominated A+ level pitching at just 19 years of age, putting up a fantastic line of .296/.369/.519.

Somehow, those numbers improved when Heyward got the mid-season call-up to AA Mississippi. In just 47 games Heyward hit .352/.446/.611 and prompted the Braves to call him up to AAA, even if it was only for a week at the end of the season.

Heading into 2010, with the label of top prospect and knowledge that he is the most recent Minor League Player of the Year, Heyward, and everyone else, expected him to compete for the Braves starting right field job.

And so far in Spring Training, he has done nothing to disappoint. With his mammoth homeruns and easy demeanor, Heyward is already a fan favorite in Atlanta.
In his first batting practice, Heyward wowed by breaking the sunroof on a car, and denting a Coca-Cola truck.

So far in Spring Training games, Heyward has a .417/.611/.833 line. Yes, his on-base percentage is over .500 now, but that doesn’t really surprise anyone does it?
Monday, he hit a 450 foot blast off of Max Scherzer for his first homer of the year. It hit the roof of a building some 30 feet behind the right field wall of the Lakeland stadium which houses the Tigers.

Oh, and he can run too. He already has a stolen base this spring and has 26 in 238 minor league games. The speed also shows in the outfield, where he has already made some great plays for the Braves.

With every day that passes, Heyward’s five tooled talent causes his legend to grow through amazing plays, monster homeruns and hall of fame comparisons.

But in reality, we haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait until he makes it to the big leagues.

Brett Kettyle