Hayes hitting key to being better offensive team

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He’s one of the players the Pirates put their faith and money in. He’s also one of the players keeping them from gaining ground in what appears to be an attainable Wild Card race in 2024.

Ke’Bryan Hayes thought he turned the corner offensively last year after hitting .320 with six homers in August and 13 extra-base hits in September, it has not carried over. Going into Wednesday night’s game, number 85 of the season, Hayes was hitting .229.

In the last couple of years, the Pirates identified a number of core players they want to move forward with in hoping to return to the postseason. Bryan Reynolds became the first Pirate to eclipse the $100-million salary mark last April and after a typical slow start, Reynolds is coming on leading the team with 13 home runs, 46 RBI and a .798 OPS.

Tuesday night withstanding, starting pitcher Mitch Keller is likely the team’s All-Star representative. The right-hander is 9-5 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.24 WHIP with 96 strikeouts in 103.1 innings. The 28-year-old signed a five-year contract for $77 million in February.

The first to get a long-term deal was Hayes, signing for eight years, $70 million in April of 2022. The 27-year-old was coming off his first somewhat full season hitting .257 in 96 games with the potential defensively to do what he did last season, winning a Gold Glove.

In 59 games so far this season, .229 average with a .293 on-base percentage and lowly .598 OPS. Occasionally there are glimpses, he had a pair of two-hit games against the Braves which raised his June average to .224 and on-base to .258 for the month. In 223 at bats this season Hayes has yet to reach 20 RBI with only three home runs and eight doubles.

“Level of concern, we need to get him going,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton on Wednesday. “He’s a big part of our offense. I think at times we see the consistency of at bats and then he goes away from it.”

He’s not the only one to struggle, Jack Suwinski and Michael A. Taylor have been sporadic at best offensively in centerfield. Before a huge comeback in June, Rowdy Tellez was regularly booed at home. There have been injuries and ineffectiveness offensively at catcher. Oneil Cruz has yet to find his form at short and after some early offense out of the right field position, it’s slowed down.

Many of those players are passing through, Hayes has to find it.

Shelton concedes a back issue for a hitter will throw off everything including timing at the plate. Hayes has been on the injured list multiple times with the ailment, including from May 8 to May 29 this season. The coaches and medical staff continue to watch it to that point they will give him more time off than they would desire. The Pirates are just trying to get him to help provide an offensive spark this team is sorely lacking.

With above average starting pitching and a bullpen that is competitive despite injuries and struggles early from a few veterans, the hitting keeps this team below .500.

·     26th in team batting average (.227) and on-base percentage (.296)
·     25th in runs (337)
·     28th in OPS (.656)
·     29th in doubles (116)
·     24th in home runs (80)

Pirates management does not appear to have the desire to make a big add before the trade deadline. That could be because of financial reasons, a lack of tradeable prospects or a belief in guys like Hayes to make a difference.

“We’ve seen when he’s been a good offensive player, we are a much better team,” Shelton said. “He’s an important person to us.”

As fans look to outside rumors of other players available, the quickest way to more runs is having a player like Hayes step up.