Perrotto: Pirates Might Follow Ke’Bryan Hayes’ Lead in One Stat Category (+)
A couple of things immediately come to mind about Ke’Bryan Hayes.
First and foremost is that the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman is one of the premier defensive players in the major leagues regardless of position. The only reason he doesn’t have a Good Glove to his name is because St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado also plays in the National League.
Hayes also has the distinction of having the largest contract in terms of value in franchise history. The eight-year, $70-million deal goes into effect this season.
The question of whether Hayes will hit as well as expected also comes to mind. Hand and back injuries have hampered Hayes over the last two season and he has not been able to fully fulfill his potential with the bat.
However, there is one aspect of Hayes’ game that pretty much goes unnoticed. He stole 20 bases last season.
That figure easily led the Pirates. Shortstop Oneil Cruz was second with 10 steals in his rookie year.
“Yeah, I think that stat kind of flew under the radar,” Hayes said with a smile.
Indeed, it did.
Hayes certainly isn’t slow. However, he isn’t also necessarily fast.
What Hayes is, though, is an alert baserunner who has figured out when he can take an extra base. He has also spent time with Pirates first base coach Tarrik Brock working on the nuances of baserunning.
It all paid off last season when Hayes tied for ninth in the NL in steals while being caught stealing just twice for a 90.9% success rate.
“If you had told me (at the start of) last year he was going to steal 20, it would’ve been something that I probably would said, ‘Meh, I don’t know if that’s going to happen,’” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The one thing that’s really stood out is that he’s become a really smart base stealer. I think that’s a credit to Ke, it’s a credit to T-Brock in terms of their conversations.
“He really did a good job of taking advantage of opportunities last year, and I don’t think that’s going to change. I think that’s only going to grow.”
The conditions could be ripe this season for Hayes to add to his steals total. Major League Baseball has instituted rules for this season to encourage more stolen attempts, including limiting pitchers to two pickoff throws per baserunner and using bigger bases.
“I think it’s going to be a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, especially early on in the season,” Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “I think the runner might end up having the advantage because the pitcher can keep the runner close (to first base) for only so long now. We’ll see what happens.”
The Pirates stole 89 bases last season, which ranked 14th in the major leagues. For sake of comparison, the Texas Rangers led the majors with 128.
While the Pirates won’t suddenly rival some of the running teams of the 1970s and 1980s, Shelton says they definitely could be more aggressive on the bases with the new rules.
Perhaps the Pittsburgh Pirates will have another unexpected member of the 20-steal club in 2023.
“I think we have guys with the ability to steal 20 bases,” Shelton said. “How the rules come into play and how much you get on base comes into play, also. There are a few different factors, but I do feel we have the ability to be more aggressive this year. We’re getting younger, we’re getting more athletic.
“Game situations will dictate that, who’s at the plate will dictate that in terms of how much we run. They have the ability to steal bases and it’s a matter of TBrock getting them in the right situation to steal bases.”
The Pirates were just 27th in MLB with their .363 slugging percentage last year. They don’t have the type of offense that is going to beat an opponent into submission, so a healthy dose of speed could only help.
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