Jason Heyward Game Report (August '08)

Scouting the Sally - Jason Heyward, OF, ATL

Jason Heyward (2-7, 1 K) - Jason Heyward fell into the Braves lap in the first round of the 2007 draft and has since skyrocketed up prospect charts to the point where he will likely be a consensus top 10 overall prospect prior to the 2009 season. He posted a .323/.388/.483 line with the Rome Braves earning a late season promotion to Myrtle Beach to gain some playoff experience. Heyward struggled the evening I watched him play, but showed polish far beyond his years leaving me with the impression that the sky is truly the limit for the Braves talented young outfielder.

• Impressive physical specimen; Broad shoulders, muscular forearms, and muscular legs all leave room for additional size and strength as he physically matures
• The "Greg Oden" of MILB; Looked much older than a teen
• Looked 1" taller than Freeman when standing next to him
• Very comfortable in the batters box; calm, fluid movements
• Over aggressive and out front on a handful of fastballs
• Power should spike with improved weight transfer
• Laced first pitch fastball for a single up the middle; Ball exploded off of his bat
• Guided a ground ball single back up the middle with two strikes; VERY professional at bat
• Displayed good timing and base running instincts; Great jump from second on steal attempt
• Vintage Darryl Strawberry came to mind when seeing him chase a ball into the corner; Threw ball from RF corner to almost 3B with little effort

Overall, Heyward showed a great deal of polish and baseball IQ on a night when he wasn't at his best. Seeing such a young player with an advanced approach like Heyward's has me believing he's a safer prospect play than most. The best comparison I can come up with is Justin Morneau with double digit stolen base potential. Morneau's career minor league line was .310/.375/.527 with developing power as he continued to mature. I can see Heyward's career following a similar path with his becoming an elite player for a number of seasons. In my opinion, he's currently the second best outfield prospect in the game behind Rasmus and could find himself as the #1 overall prospect in baseball before long.