Can the Jason Heyward to Cooperstown talk now subside?

[JohnBriggs12]

Can anyone remember more hype for a rookie than what this guy has received? He's now down to .234 with one hit in his last 6 games. He's been striking out at a Russell Branyan pace of once every 2.67 ABs. He's had one extra base hit in his last 10 games.

 

No question he's a very talented 20 year old but when all is said and done, I still like Escobar's ROY chances.

[Invader3K]

I was just thinking this before. He's probably going to be a good to very good MLB player, but all the overhype on him has gotten very old. He's going to struggle this year, and all the early comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr. and the like have gotten pretty silly. The other night on ESPN I saw them trying to compare his rookie season to Griffey, Aaron, Mays, Mantle, etc. I think that is a bit over the top.

[Funketown]

I gotta agree with you Briggs. I don't think there's a single player that I would give more than a 10% chance of reaching the HOF before playing a month in the majors. Yeah, he has the potential to be great, but he could also be good, mediocre, bad, or terrible.

[craigharmann]

Anyone remember Kevin Maas? I remember people hyping him many years ago....how did his career turn out?

[sheethead]

Kind of reminds me about all the hype surrounding Brandon Jennings after his 50+ point performance. The media loves to overreact.

[Tbadder]

I'd trade anyone on the Brewers even up for Heyward--and so would you.

[MJLiverock]

I wouldn't trade Braun even up for Heyward. Braun isn't that much older and is a proven elite hitter and under a nice contract.

[Oldcity]

Yeah definitely not Braun, and maybe not Gallardo either.

[JohnBriggs12]

I wouldn't trade Braun or Escobar for him either. Even if Heyward is great, the Braves or any team that would acquire him only control him through age 25. The Brewers control Braun through age 31 and Escobar through age 28 and while it's likely he'll be a very good if not great player, he's showing signs he's not there yet.

[joepepsi]

Can anyone remember more hype for a rookie than what this guy has received? He's now down to .234 with one hit in his last 6 games. He's been striking out at a Russell Branyan pace of once every 2.67 ABs. He's had one extra base hit in his last 10 games.

 

No question he's a very talented 20 year old but when all is said and done, I still like Escobar's ROY chances.

It would be great if Alcides won ROY. I wouldn't call Heyward overhyped just yet. The sample size is still small, but he's sportin' an .832 OPS after his current 1 for 17 slump. Before that his slash stats were an impressive 298/411/617. Every player goes through a 1 for 17 or 2 for 20 or worse slump over the course of a season.

[Tbadder]

Okay, okay I'll give you Braun, but even defensively heyward's probably better. Gallardo (the new Gallardo who walks people and goes barely beyond five innings<) no, you gotta give Gallardo for heyward.

[Ennder]

Every year there is someone hyped this much, last year it was Wieters.

[homer]

Every year there is someone hyped this much, last year it was Wieters.

Agreed. Call it the "Pujols Effect". Every year there's supposed to be a rookie that completely dominates. It's only really happened once since Pujols and that was Braun. Any others?

[Warning Track Power]

I wouldn't trade Braun or Escobar for him either.

Braun is understandable but Escobar? Really? I'll trade two Escobars for Heyward. Heyward is a 4-tool player and Escobar is a 3 1/2-tool player right now. Escobar will never hit for power and his D is a work in progress. At the high end, Escobar is a 4-tool player and Heyward is a 5.

[Schlitz001]

Fangraphs did an article recently about how Heyward swings and misses at a lot of breaking balls in the dirt. Pitcher's have likely figured out how to pitch Heyward better, which is what happens with hot hitting rookies who come up to the majors. He is still the leading canidate for ROY. Now it's his turn to try and adjust to Major League pitching.

 

It was pretty exciting to watch his first homerun on opening day.

[dlk9s]

I'm just excited because Heyward's rise to promise resulted in the SI article about him, which taught me about the East Cobb baseball league that he played in which has sent a bazillion guys to the pros, which got me thinking about when I should buy my 1-year old son his first glove because I live in East Cobb. I will live my dreams through my little boy!

[MilwaukeeCounsell]

People need to keep in mind that he is only 20 years old. He has the chance to do anything with his career (HOF, bust in 2 years).

 

But right now, he is a good player. Look past the average, as that doesn't tell very much. He has an OPS+ of 120, which is just below was Justin Upton had last year as a 21 year old. He is very impressive and will be even better as he adjusts to major league pitching.

[endaround]

Every year there is someone hyped this much, last year it was Wieters.

Agreed. Call it the "Pujols Effect". Every year there's supposed to be a rookie that completely dominates. It's only really happened once since Pujols and that was Braun. Any others?

Longoria.

[joepepsi]

Ryan Zimmerman

[BrewCrewForever]

Every year there is someone hyped this much, last year it was Wieters.

Agreed. Call it the "Pujols Effect". Every year there's supposed to be a rookie that completely dominates. It's only really happened once since Pujols and that was Braun. Any others?

Longoria.

Longoria was very good his rookie year, but I don't think he was quite on the same level as Pujols and Braun. But he was close. Fred Lynn and Ichiro probably had the other best rookie years that I can think of.

 

 

[young guns]

If you want to include pitchers, Dontrelle, before he wore down at the end of the year, was pretty dominate.

[Gobias Industries]

Tulowitzki was really, really good when you factor in his defense that same year as Braun.

[prophet]

Doc Gooden was a sure fire hall of famer too. I remember the hype until he got stupid.

[dadofandrew]

He was rushed and he'll struggle, like most every 20 year-old.

 

It's sad the media jumps all over a youngster like that after a couple good games. ATL is needlessly starting his clocks.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

We haven't seen anything yet. Wait until Bryce Harper hits.