Amid questions about durability, Hayes' homer puts thumb issue to rest

BRADENTON, Fla. -- A lot of things have to go right for the Pirates to live up to their own expectations of wanting to win. The offense pivoting in a big way from the historically dreadful 2022 performance is something that has to happen, and it has to be this year.

So, when Derek Shelton said this week that Ke'Bryan Hayes -- a key figure in the Pirates' young offensive core that's had a tough time staying healthy -- is dealing with a sore thumb, the immediate thought might be, "Here we go again."

Hayes was scratched from Thursday's lineup due to the sore thumb, and Shelton stressed that it was out of an abundance of caution. So, when the lineup was posted for Saturday's 3-0 win over the Yankees at LECOM Park, all eyes fixated on Hayes' name penciled in at the very top.

Hayes' first at-bat was a groundout that was hit relatively hard, which -- for anyone who watched Hayes hit at all last season -- is par for the course. Hayes' average exit velocity has never been the problem. The problem has been his inability to consistently hit the ball in the air.

The very next at-bat, Hayes showed everyone that the thumb might be feeling just fine when he unloaded on an 0-1 changeup, hitting a 106-mph line drive that cleared the wall in left-center field for a two-run home run.

"I hadn’t had any at-bats in a while," Hayes said. "In the first at-bat, I kind of had jitters again, just not having any at-bats in a few days. Once I finally started getting back to hitting through the week, I got back on what I’ve been doing during the work day since I’ve been here. I was just hunting for the ball up. I was just able to get a good swing on it."

Hayes confirmed after he was pulled from the game that everything is fine with the thumb, which happened during a swing and miss in the last game he played. This corroborated what Shelton had said two days prior -- that keeping him out was strictly precautionary.

"Yeah. Just a little bit of inflammation," Hayes said. "Nothing serious."

Of course, the concern over Hayes' durability is valid. Ever since he splashed onto the scene as a rookie in 2020, Hayes has battled through injuries and had a tough time staying on the field. Multiple wrist/hand injuries held Hayes to only 96 games in 2021, and his .689 OPS was far below the monster 1.124 OPS he posted in 2020. Hayes missed only 26 games in 2022, but played with a back injury throughout the entire season, and his offensive numbers dipped again because of it.

Hayes has the potential to be a really special player. He's already the best defensive third baseman in baseball (the Nolan Arenado crowd can argue all they want, but the numbers back it up), and a lot of his offensive metrics vastly outperform the actual numbers that are recorded. Hayes hits the ball consistently hard, he doesn't really chase pitches and he puts the bat on the ball a lot. Someone who does all of that shouldn't have a sub-.700 OPS in back to back seasons.

That's what's so frustrating for so many, including Hayes himself. The potential is palpable.

So, when Hayes had this little thumb issue, he wasn't about to force anything. The goal for him is very simple.

"The goal is March 30. Didn’t want to make anything worse," Hayes said. "Just gotta be smart through spring because I want to be out there every day that they put me in the lineup. My goal is to try and be in every single one of those games this year. Just trying to be smart, listen to my body while we’re here in spring. But, at the same time, get those reps and get built up for the season."

Hayes has roped two home runs to the pull side so far in Grapefruit League action, which makes it difficult to curb any enthusiasm that Hayes might be figuring out how to hit the ball in the air for more line drives this year. That's why I took the opportunity to lean on Shelton's expertise as a former hitting coach to figure out if there was some special formula that Hayes needs to replicate in order to have this kind of power to the pull side transfer into the regular season.

Turns out, it's actually quite simple.

"Be on time. I think that’s the biggest thing," Shelton said. "When we see him on time -- I don’t mean to make that too simplistic -- but going back to being a hitting coach, when guys are on time, they have the ability to hit the ball on the pull side and they have the ability to hit the ball hard. When we see Ke' on time, that’s what he does. When you don’t see him on time, it’s on the ground, on the backside. It’s hard, but I think being on time, is a very simple thing but a very important thing."

That might explain why the back issue hampered him so much in 2022. Either way, the early returns for Hayes are promising as long as he can avoid injuries. This might be difficult to believe, but Hayes wants to replicate what he did as a rookie more than the fans want him to.

"If the ball’s showing up middle-middle or middle-in, my body’s in the correct spot to be able to pull it," Hayes explained. "My thought still is just trying to hit it hard through center field; to the left of the batter’s eye. Kind of like what I was doing in 2020 -- the thought process up there, my body being in the right spot, the path of my bat coming down, my back hip driving through."

That's what we saw Saturday, not only on the home run, but also on a 108-mph line drive that ricocheted off the pitcher and went straight to Oswald Peraza at shortstop for an unfortunate out. But, Hayes knows he has to maintain his health in order to live up to the potential at the plate.

And if that happens, the Pirates have a legitimate All-Star on their hands.

"In a perfect world, I think everyone would want to play all 162 (games)," Hayes said. "I don’t want to put a number out there. I just want to be available every single day. I wanted to do that last year, but it ended up not happening. Going into this year, I figured out things in the offseason that’ll make me feel the best I can each and every day. I’m sure there are going to be days where I don’t feel 100 percent. But, if I can be 75 out of 100 or 80 out of 100, being able to be out there for my team is big for me."

MORE FROM LECOM PARK

• The other run from Saturday's 3-0 win came immediately after Hayes hit his two-run homer. Bryan Reynolds jumped on an 0-1 curveball and planted it well over the wall in right-center field. 

Three runs is all the Pirates would muster, but that was all they needed.

• Johan Oviedo looked mighty sharp, hurling three shutout innings with only two hits allowed and three strikeouts. He also led all pitchers from both sides on the day with eight swings and misses. 

Oviedo had his fastball and both of his breaking balls working, which made it quite easy to mow down opposing hitters. The Yankees had a split-squad day and sent their 'B' team to Bradenton, so that context is noteworthy. But, either way, Oviedo had a promising outing, and the stuff looked good throughout his time on the mound.

"We’ve been working really, really hard, especially with Oscar (Marin), all the pitching coaches and stuff, analytics, and about me getting more on top of my fastballs," Oviedo said. "Definitely keep working on getting ahead. Today we mixed fastballs and sliders and curveballs. Just try to keep working, doing what we’ve been doing."

• The rest of Pirates' pitching staff pitched lights out, shutting out the Yankees and holding them to five total hits. In addition, the staff combined for 13 strikeouts and only one walk.

Jose Hernandez, Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski were especially sharp as all three pitched at least one inning and recorded two strikeouts apiece. Mlodzinski pitched 1 1/3 innings, and Shelton wasn't afraid to throw a couple attaboys at him.

"Mlodzinski’s been really good. I thought today might’ve been the best he’s been," Shelton said. "In spring training, you get different variations of hitters. The major league hitters he had in the lineup, he faced and was very effective. He threw the ball well. The ball came out hot today. He’s done a really nice job."

• When I went into the clubhouse to speak with Hayes around the seventh inning, Andrew McCutchen walked in there at the same time and was amazed to see the World Baseball Classic game between Puerto Rico and Nicaragua was only in the eighth inning, despite starting about an hour prior to their game.

Official time of Saturday's game was 2:14. I've said it once, and I'll say it every time if I have to: Praise be to the pitch clock.