Cubs' Jason Heyward endures with defensive expertise

Jason Heyward's first two months with the Chicago Cubs helped reinforce a prominent sentiment among baseball people: His swing requires lots of maintenance. The inevitable rough patches were bound to prompt some Cubs fans to ask, "We paid $184 million for this?''

Amid the 0-fers and the lack of production at the plate, no one could accuse Heyward of a lack of focus or effort. That's particularly true in the field, where he has a penchant for putting his physical well-being at risk in pursuit of fly balls.

Heyward's definitive moment in a Cubs uniform thus far came May 20 in San Francisco, where he ranged far into "Triples Alley'' in right-center field to make a diving catch on a hit by Giants outfielder Denard Span. Heyward's body contorted into an awkward position as he slid face-first into the wall, and he was fortunate to escape with only a bruised right rib cage.

Teammates Kris Bryant and Jake Arrieta responded by gushing over Heyward's defense, and long-time Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow called it "one of the most spectacular catches I've ever seen in right center'' in the 17-year history of AT&T Park.

Heyward's former Atlanta Braves teammate Freddie Freeman saw the play on the highlight shows and nodded in recognition. The catch gave him flashbacks to Heyward's tenure with the Braves, from 2010 to '14.

"He's the best right fielder, defensively, that I've ever seen,'" Freeman said. "I mean, there were literally line drives over my head, and I would turn around, and he's diving, and I'm like, 'How did that happen?'

"The reads he gets off swings are just incredible, and he has a first step like no one in this game. There's a reason why he's fighting for Gold and Platinum Gloves every year. He can change the game defensively. He takes runs off the board and saves pitchers all the time. We got spoiled with that in right field for five years here."

In keeping with his low-key personality, Heyward is driven more by internal expectations than praise and awards. For as long as he can remember, defense has been part of the job, and to him, every airborne baseball that finds grass instead of his glove is a personal affront.

Practice makes perfect

During his formative years in Atlanta's acclaimed East Cobb Baseball program, Heyward developed an appreciation for a strong work ethic and a well-rounded portfolio. Eugene and Laura Heyward, both Dartmouth grads, taught their son the importance of commitment and attention to detail, and young Jason came to understand how small building blocks could pave the way to bigger goals.

Hitting was fun, but playing defense was also a means of contributing to the group effort. Those long, idle stretches in the outfield were never regarded as simply a way to kill time between at-bats.

Heyward's upbringing is a central theme when he reflects on the skills that have earned him three Gold Gloves, an eight-year, $184 million contract and a reputation as a defensive force for the Braves, Cardinals and now Cubs. The devotion to fundamentals that governed his approach in suburban Atlanta youth ball and at Henry County High School in McDonough, Georgia, still applies at Wrigley Field.

"It started when I was 7 or 8 years old," Heyward said. "We had some good teams when I was growing up. We had some good coaching, and it gave us a sixth sense of where everybody needed to be on the field. You think about where the ball needs to go before it happens. Things like that allow you to slow the game down naturally and not let it get to you.

"I also loved to practice. Anything we talked about at practice, I was going to work on as hard as I could. If I was playing center field, I knew where the ball needed to be. If I was playing first base, I knew where the ball needed to be and where I needed to be. I wanted to know the game from every perspective."

Heyward's defense has helped sustain him through some fallow offensive stretches in his career. After finishing second in the 2010 National League rookie of the year race, he dipped to .227 with a .708 OPS in his second season. Following a 27-homer breakout in 2012, he hit a total of 38 home runs the next three seasons combined. He is an inveterate slow starter, with a career .705 OPS in April, .737 OPS in May and much better numbers in June, July and August.

"The Cubs don't need to worry about anything," Freeman said. "He always starts off a little slow. When the weather starts heating up, so does he."

Nevertheless, much of Heyward's value as a player is tied up in his glove. According to Baseball-reference.com, he has an offensive WAR of 17.5 since his big-league debut in 2010. That's tied for 53rd among MLB players in that span. For sake of comparison, Asdrubal Cabrera, Chase Headley and Erick Aybar are among the players with greater offensive WAR since 2010.

During that six-year stretch, Heyward has a defensive WAR of 10.3. That is the best among MLB outfielders and fifth among position players. From 2013 to 2015, Heyward rated 70 bases above average on balls hit to the deepest parts of ballparks, as calculated by Baseball Info Solutions. The next-best right fielder on those deep balls was Curtis Granderson, at 24 bases above average.

Appropriately, Heyward's glove and legs have carried him in his honeymoon period with the Cubs. Through the team's first 51 games, Heyward had a forgettable .229/.325/.309 slash line and two home runs in 175 at-bats. But his 12 defensive runs saved place him fourth among MLB right fielders, behind Stephen Piscotty, Yasiel Puig and Adam Eaton, and Heyward leads the Cubs with seven stolen bases. Chicago's 37-15 start bought him some time to work through issues at the plate.

Long strider

If his glove never slumps, that's because Heyward's natural gifts make him so well-suited for a corner outfield spot. He's athletic with a strong arm and the ability to chew up big patches of ground in a hurry. At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he's more of a classic long strider than a blazer.

"He's my favorite person to watch run the bases," Cubs catcher David Rosssaid. "I feel like seven of my strides are one of his.

"I've never seen a ball get hit over his head. He's so tall, for one, and he gets great jumps on the ball. He's expecting it every pitch. He has such great body control, he can still get his glove to the ball even if he gets turned around."

Heyward's willingness to invest the time is the X-factor in the equation. He'll prepare by seeing how the sun plays or accounting for the wind or taking hops off the wall, no matter how familiar he is with the terrain. Once the game begins, he'll think along with that day's battery and make small adjustments that could mean the difference between a catch and a double in the gap.

"There's only so much you can do before the game," Heyward said. "You have to know your pitcher on the mound and the pitch selections that he and the catcher are making. Are they going in or away, hard or soft? What's the count, the score and the situation in the game? That's all a factor in where you want to play somebody."

Although Heyward's YouTube compilation doesn't rival that of former Atlanta teammate Andrelton Simmons in terms of length, a video of his 2014 defensive highlights runs more than seven minutes. Heyward'smost enduring play from the 2015 season came at Busch Stadium, where he lost a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Kendrys Morales in the sun but somehow managed to stick his glove out and snag the ball. Heyward's phone lit up with congratulatory messages after that Web Gem.

Interestingly enough, when Heyward talks about defensive role models or players he loves to watch, the landscape is not confined to outfielders. He became a fan of Simmons and fellow shortstops Alex Gonzalez and Yunel Escobar during his tenure in Atlanta, and he has been similarly impressed by Jhonny Peralta in St. Louis and Addison Russell in Chicago. If you didn't know better, you might suspect he's a shortstop trapped in an outfielder's body.

What's more, he rejects the notion that it's a challenge to stay engaged in the outfield because so little happens out there in the pasture.

"People think you're not involved, but you are very much involved,'' Heyward said. "You're the last line of defense if the ball gets through the infield. Whether it's a throw or a ball hit to another guy in the outfield, you want to be in every spot you can. There's always something to be done and somewhere you can be on a play.''

Jason Heyward learned that valuable lesson a long time ago on the youth fields of Atlanta: Offense comes and goes, but defense never rests.