Can MLBbro Ke’Bryan Hayes Finish Strong After His First Pitch Moment With His Father?

Can MLBbro Ke’Bryan Hayes Finish Strong After His First Pitch Moment With His Father?

by | Aug 31, 2022 | THE THREE SPOT

To say that things haven’t worked out for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Ke’Bryan Hayes is pretty much a foregone conclusion. The Bucs are battling it out with the Oakland A’s for the worst record in the majors and the number one pick in next year’s MLB Draft.

Both teams are experiencing losses in bunches. But prior to Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, a cool moment happened between two generation players.

Ke’Bryan Hayes got to catch the ceremonial first pitch from his father, former Phillies third baseman and Yankees World Series contributor Charlie Hayes.

 

 

The younger Hayes spoke on how cool the moment was via Justice delos Santos…

“To be able to follow in his footsteps and then be on the field together, get a first pitch – that was the first time we’ve ever did that. It was pretty cool.” 

It might not be the last. According to MLB.com, Ke’Bryan stated that there might be another opportunity to link up for another first pitch in New York when the Pirates play the Yankees in September. This moment might be even more special considering that it was the elder Hayes that closed out the 1996 World Series with a catch that started the franchise’s last dynasty of championship success.

 


The injury bug has bitten Ke’Bryan Hayes since his rookie season. His latest trip to the IL was a 10-day stint with a mid-back muscle strain. He had been held out of three games prior, trying to rest the injury to no avail. Since coming back, the Pirates hope that he can keep trending upward at the plate.

In the ten games before being injured, Hayes had slashes of .297/.350/.405 which is an improvement during a season in which he’s been up and down at the plate.

After getting off to a solid start through May 15th, the combination of his already elite defense and batting slashes of .301/.398/.381 with a .350 wOBA (weighted on base average) and 125 wRC+ (weighted Runs Created plus), had him positioned as one of the more valuable third basemen in the game based on the advanced stats.

 

 

Then Hayes went into a massive slump dropping slashes of just .222/.274/.346 with a .274 wOBA and 74 wRC+. The longer that slump continued, the more fans started to criticize the Pirates’ decision to give Hayes the biggest contract extension in franchise history at eight years and $70 million, which runs through at least 2029.

MLBbro Ke’Bryan Hayes Gets The Biggest Bag In Pittsburgh Pirates History | The Franchise Cornerstone Has Security

MLBbro.com believes that Hayes’ improvement will come with certain changes in his mechanics and discipline. The power that he has hitting the ball is still unquestioned as his numbers such as exit velocity, hard hit rate and chase rate can attest. But what is exactly the issue with a believed power hitter that is not hitting home runs? It’s in the swing.

According to Noah Wright’s analysis on FanSided.com, it’s broken down to a few things.

Ke’Bryan’s launch angle on his swing is at 4.7 degrees. This leads to ground balls that take away from power numbers. Up until this point in the season, Hayes has a ground ball rate of over 50 percent. With a reputation of hitting for power, this leads to a lot of frustration for everyone involved.

Hayes also hasn’t consistently pulled the ball due to the issues with his swing listed above. He pulls the ball less than 30 percent of the time while hitting the ball in the middle of the field at a higher rate (40 percent).

With an increase in pull rate to 40 percent and an adjustment in his launch angle a few degrees, if Hayes can keep his hard hit rate and exit velocity at the same levels, more balls could be deposited in the seats.   

Can this happen? Sure it can. MLBbro.com covered the same issues with current San Diego Padres player, Josh Bell when he was with the Washington Nationals. His launch angle and ability to guide the ball led to great results this season. Much of the analysis from Mark Dero of the MLB Network can apply to Ke’Bryan Hayes going forward.

It’s hard to see a player get blamed for scoring a huge contract and get caught up in struggles that are surrounding his team. But in sports, that’s why players get the big bucks. But he does have the potential to be a f30-homer guy?  He doesn’t strike out a lot and is patient enough to draw walks. 

But with plausible evidence of his power based on how the ball jumps off the bat, if Hayes can make a few tweaks in his swing, this MLBbro will be a monster throughout his contract.

Daz Cameron Is Back In The Big D | The Second Generation MLBbro Is Always Instant Impact

Daz Cameron Is Back In The Big D | The Second Generation MLBbro Is Always Instant Impact

by | May 23, 2022 | 6TH SLOT

Daz Cameron is no stranger to the big leagues. He made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2020 and since, he’s split time playing in the minors and with the big league team.

This season, the 25-year-old has appeared in four games with Detroit and he wants to make sure that he performs well enough to stay in the big leagues throughout the season.

Cameron has recorded a hit in his last two games, definitely a good sign for the talented outfielder.

On May 17, he went 1-for-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He made his next appearance five days later against the Cleveland Guardians and recorded his first RBI of the season in his first at-bat of the game.

He also flashed some leather against the Guardians too. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he robbed a potential home run hit by Amed Rosario and turned it into a double play.

 

 

Cameron finished the game with two hits to go along with his RBI.

Putting Cameron at the bottom of the lineup has proved to work well so far. The ninth batter is sometimes seen as another leadoff hitter.

You want a player who knows how to get on base and can keep the defense on its toes at the bottom of the lineup, and Cameron fits that really well.

He has speed and can hit for average and power. And the brother knows how to track down balls in the outfield. With the Tigers dealing with multiple injuries, Cameron is now being called upon to step and make some things happen for his team.

Daz Cameron | Second Generation MLBbro Is Trying To Stick In The Bigs

 

Last season, Cameron was making some noise on the field and it was gaining some attention across the league. There was a stretch where he hit three home runs in nine games. His bat was on fire and he was helping the Tigers in a big way at the plate.

On Father’s Day last year, he hit a two-run single in the 10th inning to give the Tigers a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. And what made things even better that game was his father, former MLB player Mike Cameron, was in attendance and it was the first time he saw his son play in person at the big league level.

 

 

“That was definitely something that I will never forget,” Daz Cameron told the Detroit News after that performance. “I was glad to see my family here.”

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Cameron is a talented ball player and he’s already proven that he has what it takes to play on the big stage.

 

If he can be consistent and make an impact at the plate and in the field, the Tigers would have to consider keeping him around much longer. There’s a reason that he’s a player they keep calling up, they know what he brings to the team.

It’s all about how he performs when he gets that opportunity, and so far this season, he’s giving the Tigers a reason to keep him around. This brother is someone you want to keep tabs on throughout the season.

Speed Demon Delino Deshields Jr. Reunites With His MLB Dad On Cincinnati Reds

Speed Demon Delino Deshields Jr. Reunites With His MLB Dad On Cincinnati Reds

by | Sep 1, 2021 | THE THREE SPOT

Newly acquired outfielder Delino Deshields Jr. is being reunited with his father who is the first base coach for the Cincinnati Reds after being traded from Boston.

There will be a family reunion held in Ohio soon for the Deshields family as both senior and junior are now members of the Cincinnati Reds organization after the Red Sox traded Deshields for cash considerations Tuesday.

 

 

“I’m excited, nervous, proud- the whole gamut,” said Deshields Sr.  when asked about the new reality where he is now his son’s first base coach.

Deshields Sr. also known as “Bop” played 13 seasons in the Majors with five different teams.  In his Major League debut, Deshields became one of what is now 12 players to record four hits.  For his career he hit .268 with and 463 stolen bases.

 

 

Delino’s sister Diamond may be the best athlete in the family.  She was the third overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and was named to the All-Star game in 2019 where she also won the Skills Challenge.

When it comes to pure speed, there is a short list of players in any sport who may be able to keep up with Delino Deshields Jr.  Deshields was the eighth overall selection by the Houston Astros in the 2010 draft.

 

 

His time in H-Town was summed up by him getting hit in the face with a 90MPH fastball in April of 2014.  He was then selected by the Texas Rangers after the 2014 Winter Meetings in the Rule 5 Draft and was on the Opening Day roster to begin the year.

 

 

During his time patrolling center field in Arlington, Deshields was constantly making great catch after great catch.  His speed allows him to turn plays nobody would ever make into web gems.

In December of 2019, Deshields was traded to the Cleveland Guardians in a deal that sent Cory Klueber back to Texas.  This was the last time we saw him in the Big Leagues as in just 37 games that year Deshields hit .252 with no home runs, seven RBI and three doubles.

 

 

Before the 2021 season, Deshields signed a Minor League contract to return to the Rangers but would not end up making the 40-man roster as he was sent to Triple A Round Rock for 66 games where he stole 16 bases and posted a batting average of .263 before he was again traded at the beginning of August, this time to the Boston Red Sox.

In Triple A this season Deshields has been successful on over 87 percent of his stolen base attempts and has a batting average of .252 with a .385 on base percentage.

 

 

Deshields was eligible to be traded after the July 31st trade deadline because he was not on the Red Sox 40-man roster and played this season on a minor league deal.  He will be sent to the Reds Triple A affiliate, the Louisville Bats but with Major League rosters expanding to 40 players in September, Deshields should have a spot on the team for their playoff run.  

 

 

The speed factor Deshields adds to the roster could play a major role in the Reds winning or losing the one game wild card match they are fighting to play in.  The Reds rank dead last out of 30 Major League teams with only 27 stolen bases this year, and they trail the next team by six.  Delino was 21-24 when stealing bases this season.

That extra base or even just a few steps can be the difference in whether or not we get to see the 2021 version of the Big Red Machine late in October.

MLB Draft Second Generation Bros | Dusty’s Son Darren Gets His Shot At The Big Time

MLB Draft Second Generation Bros | Dusty’s Son Darren Gets His Shot At The Big Time

by | Aug 4, 2021 | THE TWO HOLE

By Charles Nyonga | MLBbro.com Contributor 

 

Houston Astros Manager Dusty Baker has had another Hall of Fame season.

He’s not only positioned the cheating scandal-ridden Astros comfortably in first place in the AL West Division, while keeping the organization respectable and ethical, but his son Darren was a 10th-round draft pick by Dusty’s former team (Washington Nationals) in the 2021 MLB Draft.