He is the brightest future star in baseball this side of Stephen Strasburg. Some scouts even rate Atlanta Braves rookie Jason Heyward higher — in part because he’s already producing in the big leagues and because, as a position player, his risk of injury is much smaller.
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In his first visit to Nationals Park, the 20-year-old quickly showed why there’s so much hype surrounding him.
What stood out immediately was the monster home run Heyward hit off veteran Livan Hernandez in the fourth inning Tuesday. The ball soared over the wall in center field — a line drive that never lost steam until it finally slammed into the batter’s eye. But that came off a sinker Hernandez left over the plate.
The at-bat to watch came in the first. With runners on first and third, Heyward could have become overanxious in an RBI situation. He went ahead in the count 2-0 and watched Hernandez snap off a breaking ball tantalizingly close to the plate. Heyward could have lunged at it. Most young hitters would have. Instead, he let it pass. Hernandez then fooled him with an absurd 70 mph breaking ball. But when Hernandez went right back to that pitch, the rookie wouldn’t bite. Against a pitcher who makes a living tricking batters, Heyward had a hard-won walk.
That knowledge of the strike zone separates the 6-foot-5 Heyward, named the National League rookie of the month for April, from his peers. Washington later issued him an intentional walk. The best part of the game-ending double play in the ninth? It kept Heyward from coming to the plate with two men on base in a 6-3 game.
“That kid — he’s one of those guys at a young age you’re already kind of looking to when he’s coming up,” Nats manager Jim Riggleman admitted. “We really didn’t want him up there representing the tying run.”
