Ke’Brayn Hayes’s debut was beyond late. The third baseman has been cooking in the minor leagues and was about ready to burn before Pittsburgh brought him up.
On September 2nd, 2020, Hayes went 2-5 with 2 RBIs, a home run, and three runs scored in their 8-7 extra-innings loss to the Cubs in his major league debut. Ke’Brayn joined former and current Pirates Starling Marte and Cole Tucker by homering in his first game as a Pirate. Before he was brought up, he was Pittsburgh’s number 2 ranked prospect. During his 5 minor league season, he went 483-1991, 25HRs, 202RBIs, 188 walks, and a career batting average of .279.
So far in the majors, Hayes is 23 for 69, with 4 home runs, 4 RBIs, 12 runs scored, a stolen base, and a .333 batting average in 19 games. He is 23 years old, but the Pirates have a history of trading young talent because of current or future costs.
How he fits with Pittsburgh
Ke’Bryan Hayes fits into the Pittsburgh offense as a middle-of-the-lineup hitter. He doesn’t have that absolute power similar to players like Miguel Cabrera or David Ortiz had in their prime. He does have the build and consistency of an RBI and multiple base hitter. If Hayes ends the season on a high note, Colin Moran could be traded, released, or demoted to the minors in favor of Hayes in 2021. His defense is better than his batting. Hayes charged a bunt by Whitt Merrifield and threw the speedy 2nd baseman and outfielder out at first.
Pittsburgh has always struggled with defense at the third base and shortstop area. The last solid player at third was Pedro Alvarez. Another thing that makes him fit is he’s a chess piece. Hayes can be moved around in the batting order, on 9/23/20 Hayes batted second and hit the go-ahead home run. I imagine he has had time at shortstop and second base, he isn’t strictly a third baseman, in my opinion, he has the size to play all over the infield. His defense and offense have been on-point despite his early strikeouts. Hayes will be a building block for the future.
The effects of being traded
The possibility of him getting traded is slim at the moment, there isn’t enough production from him to get any value out of him. If Hayes were to be on the move it would be the Austin Meadows situation all over again. Meadows was a rising star for Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Blue Jays, leaving Pirates fans unhappy. The organization cannot afford to make that mistake again, and certainly not with a player who has this much potential.
A trade would once again disrupt the Pirate’s momentum. Going back to the example of Austin Meadows, the offense was clicking with Meadows batting, he was hitting home runs and RBIs, other players were able to shine. Jordan Luplow is another example. Hayes has the ceiling talent of a franchise third baseman. The offense and defense would lack, the attitude in the locker room would be down, and the teams play would be at a low if traded.
At the end of the day, Hayes is just getting started in his major league career. He is a couple of years out of his prime and with a fairly young Pittsburgh team, Hayes will be a great young leader when the veterans are gone.
