For years, one of the main struggles offensively with Ke'Bryan Hayes was getting him to consistently pull the ball. His high exit-velocities and contact rates have been discussed plenty, but it hadn't resulted in the power numbers that a player with those peripherals should produce.
It may only be three games, but Hayes has certainly done well lately pulling the ball in the air. He has pulled an extra-base hit in three straight games, the last two being home runs. On Saturday, it was a home run on a low-and-in breaking ball that he was able to still extend on, sending it over PNC Park's left field wall.
The Pirates would go on to beat the Cardinals, 4-3:
Hayes credited that swing to being able to see the ball and move his body better, which allows him to attack pitches differently.
"It gives me confidence to be aggressive, knowing that I’m moving the right way, and my body is in the right position," Hayes said. "[I] feel like I can see the ball a little better. I can take more chances."
Behind the scenes, Hayes and hitting coach Andy Haines have been doing a lot of mechanical work, focusing on making sure his body is in those right positions and he has the right approach to be aggressive. After a prolonged slump, it appears that a breakthrough may have happened this past road trip during a scheduled day off.
"Sometimes you work on things and you don't get rewarded," Derek Shelton said. "He had the really good work day in San Francisco, like we talked about, and then hit two or three balls right on the screws right at people. It's nice to see when you put in hard work that it's rewarded."
Hayes has shown bursts like this in the past. The question is if he will be able to build off of it.