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Jason Heyward
2016 was not Jason Heyward’s year, to put it mildly. The most expensive player in Chicago Cubs history posted a dismal slash line, .230/.306/.325, and if not for his incredible defense and a now legendary World Series rain delay speech, Heyward might have been chased out of Chicago by torches and pitchforks.
After struggling all throughout last season, Heyward went to work after becoming a World Series champion and started working on his swing. As you can see below, the swing on the left compared to the swing Heyward has been putting on display at the Cubs training facility in Mesa, AZ is visible different.
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With this altered swing to go along with a fresh season and hopefully some new-found confidence, Heyward might be looking at a huge bounce back season with the North-Siders. While Cubs fans may be blinded by his poor performance in his first season with the club, Heyward is only one seasons removed from being a 6 WAR player.
Heyward, when his swing mechanics are in check, has one of the smoothest cuts in baseball and can show some power at times. I wouldn’t expect Heyward to club 20+ home runs, but I do think his great bat alongside his elite on-base skills could translate to him scoring a ton a runs, especially if the Cubs consider him as a leadoff hitter.
I wrote this article back December on why Heyward leading off made sense for the Cubs, with a career .346 OBP and his great speed, it isn’t hard to visualize Heyward being able to score 90+ runs with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Addison Russell (all had at least 90 RBI’s last season) hitting behind him. Also, I’d like to add that Cubs TV play-by-play broadcaster Len Kasper agrees with me on Heyward leading off as well, and you can listen to myself interview him on the 312 podcast here. (So THERE, a smart person agrees with my idea)
