Heyward Is Real Deal

Perhaps it was only coincidence, but as the race for the National League Central tightened and went down to the wire, the play of Jason Heyward became more and more notable for the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether it was the grand slam in the second game of the doubleheader to break things open against Pittsburgh or gunning down runners against both the Cubs and Pirates, J-Hey has led by example to help the Cardinals clinch.

Over the last four games, he’s batting .467 (7-15) and overall leads the team with a .292 batting average and is tied for first with Jhonny Peralta with 159 hits. Heyward’s 23 stolen bases are tops on the Cardinals and combined with his 33 doubles is just the second right fielder in franchise history to put up that pair of numbers since Pepper Martin in 1936.

It was clear early on that Jason Heyward was a fit personality-wise in St. Louis. He’s a baseball rat, who brings the same approach as several of his teammates. The Gold Glove defense was known, but has been put on display repeatedly the last couple of weeks.

Hewyard’s batting average has climbed 80 points since May 1st due to hist hitting .305 the last five months of the season.

There’s no measurement or stat for leadership, but look no further than his calming and mature presence on the field when Stephen Piscotty was hurt in the collision with Peter Bourjos.

All of this and Jason Heyward just turned 26 years old in August.

There’s no question the St. Louis Cardinals would like to re-sign Heyward, who can become a free agent at the end of this season.

What remains to be answered is what would Heyward command in the open market–is there a team that will make a ridiculous offer that the Cardinals would be un-wise to match. Will Heyward and his representatives be open to a four or five year deal, perhaps with options that would allow them to sign another lucrative deal when has just turned 30-31 years old?

Is it more sound to sign for a guaranteed long-term deal now or take a shorter term on the premise salaries will continue to rise and it would be more profitable to ink that second deal?

For comparison sakes, this past offseason, Gold Glove rightfielder Nick Markakis signed a 4 year-$44 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He was 30 years old and had batted .276 with 14 homers the year before.

Jacoby Ellsbury cashed in with a 7 year/$153 million deal with the New York Yankees two seasons ago when he was 30 years old. He’s averaged 15 home runs and 69 RBIs a season thus far in his 9-year career, but has stolen over 300 bases.

Where does the skill set of a Gold Glove outfielder capable of batting anywhere in the top six spots of your lineup fall in the comparables? Based on power numbers alone, Heyward is not your pro-typical #3 or #4 hitter. But he could be. And with his age, part of what you will be paying for his potential and added performance in his prime years.

These are all factors and questions that will be addressed soon enough in the off-season, but Jason Heyward has left no question that his value and place with the St. Louis Cardinals would well be worth bringing back for many seasons to come.

Listen to Brian Stull and Bradford Bruns discuss Jason Heyward’s value and contract situation from “The Brian Stull Show”…

SHELBY MILLER 0-24

–While Heyward is getting set to enjoy an appearance in the playoffs with St. Louis, the same cannot be said for Shelby Miller and the Atlanta Braves.

After getting off to a 5-1 start, the right-hander has been winless in his last 24 starts. In twelve of those starts, Miller has allowed 2 or fewer earned runs.

“As bad as my streak has been, we’re still playing hard baseball, and that is all that matters to me,” Miller told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman recently. “It would be a lot different if it was going this way and it didn’t seem like anybody was trying.”

The Braves have been shutout in five of his losses and scored only one run in seven others.

“At the end of the day, where I sit with myself and where my stuff is and how my year has gone, it’s been good,” Miller continued. “Obviously, I’ve had some ups and downs. You learn from those things and you take the positives and develop yourself into a better person, pitcher and teammate.”

Miller’s 164 strikeouts are 20th best in the National League–one behind Lance Lynn, who is tied with Andrew Cashner at 18th.

photo credit: Jasen Vinlove, Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports-USA TODAY Sports