One of the things I was looking forward to next season was seeing what Stephen Piscotty could do in the big leagues. Well, unless he comes up and plays off the bench, that won’t happen as we just acquired Jason Heyward.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Jason Heyward. I love his glove, and I think his bat has untapped potential, but I was really looking forward to seeing Piscotty grab the RF role. (Nothing against Randal Grichuk, but I think RF was there for Piscotty to take.)
Now, if we don’t re-sign Heyward, then this simply buys time for Piscotty to fine tune his approach and slot into RF next year.
But what if we do re-sign Heyward? After all, he’s the reigning Gold Glove OF-er at his position, isn’t that somebody you’d try to keep around?
Part of me is drooling at the prospect of Peter Bourjos playing next to Heyward. A *ton* of fly balls will die in between the two of them. Plus, Heyward will help cover up Jon Jay‘s average glove when plays.
And for the record: Bourjos’ should be our starting CF next year, no ifs, ands, or buts. He complements Heyward perfectly in the field.
But we’ve put so much time and money into developing players like Piscotty (ditto for Shelby Miller, which is why I’m sad to see him go.) Shouldn’t we at least give him a chance?
I can already hear your rebuttal: “Doug, baseball is a business like anything else. You can’t get sentimental.” Maybe that’s true, but I want to see our kids get a chance. Especially Piscotty. Unlike many people, I don’t care about his power. Give me a guy who can hit for average and get on base at a good clip and I’m happy. That’s what Piscotty does, which is why I’m excited to see him.
As you can tell, I’m torn. Perhaps Heyward does leave and this all resolves itself, but if he stays, I’ll be happy to have him, but wonder what could’ve been.
As always, thanks for reading.
Eh, Piscotty is a decent prospect but he’s nothing special. Terrific arm, above average contact, below average defense and power. His value only comes in lack of expense, he’s nobody to worry about losing playing time and as his power maybe develops Holliday will soon need replacement from him, Grichuck or whatever other option appears