J-Hey 10 Years Later

So I just talked about Stephen Strasburg, in his 10th season, and how far he's come from being a rookie phenom that everyone's talking about. And it looks like we have a Jason Heyward custom up today, so...let's do that again.

Jason Heyward's rookie year in 2010 was a big deal, to say the least. He came into a middling Braves team and gave them a jolt of energy, with 144 hits and 72 RBIs, and a 2nd-placing in the ROY race. Heyward was one of those guys where the name may have outweighed the stats, and even to this day he's kind of like that, but back in the day he was just this powerful, speedy Braves outfielder that buttressed this strong team. You can also make the case that Heyward's year led to the establishment of the strong youth movement that's made the team great today, as one year later Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran and Mike Minor become big Braves fixtures.

Then he has his big 2015 season in St. Louis, misses out on an ASG nomination because the baseball gods are cruel, leads the team to the postseason only to lose out to the Wild Card team...so he joins says Wild Card team, wins a World Series with him and...has existed ever since.

The difference between Heyward and someone like Strasburg or Posey that came in 10 seasons ago is that you can point to statistical highlights with Strasburg and Posey, like a strikeout-leading year, or an MVP or something. Heyward's a pretty statistically unspectacular player, sad to say. He's never hit more than 100 RBIs, he's got a career .262 average, and he's never led the league in anything. He can be a valuable player, and has finished with a WAR over 5 four times, but...with the Cubs, he's been nothing more than fine.

This season is another example- he's had another 100+ hit season, he's gonna have his 50th RBI soon, and he's hitting .257. You can name more spectacular things about the other 2 Cubs outfielders. At least Nick Castellanos is hitting .357. At least Kyle Schwarber has 32 homers, which is a career high for him. Heyward...is just doing his usual modest stuff, which...to be fair, he was even kinda doing in 2010.

Jason Heyward can be a great player, but on the whole...he's just alright. He does his job. He's a perfectly lawful player. You want pop, the Cubs have Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo.

The Cubs have a winning streak going. Consider the Cardinals have dropped a few, I pray it continues.

Coming Tonight: Let's do a change of pace from guys who've played 10 seasons. Here's a guy who's played 11. His stadium's getting torn down soon.