Ke'Bryan Hayes' glove no longer makes up for poor offense

Ke’Bryan Hayes’ eight-year extension at the dawn of the 2022 season positioned the former first-rounder as the future of baseball in Pittsburgh. A Gold Glove last season rewarded the club’s faith in the slick fielder, but Hayes has become an offensive liability that could weigh down the Pirates into the next decade.

Hayes has mostly been a serviceable hitter, with a brief flash of power last year, but even in his injury-shortened 2021 season, he has done enough in the field to offset his offense. This has not been the case in 2024. According to Statcast, Hayes has a negative-16 batting run value with just a positive-3 fielding run value, both the worst marks of his career.

Ke’Bryan Hayes’s glove is no longer making up for his weak offense, and that’s a problem in both the short and long term for Pirates.

Hayes’ fielding run value isn’t terrible; in fact, he ties for second among third baseman behind Seattle’s Josh Rojas. Hayes is tied, though, with Ryan McMahon, Joey Ortiz, and Alex Bregman, all of whom have significantly better offensive stats. Among his peers, Hayes stands out for his lackluster hitting.

Hayes barrels the ball just 2.1 percent of the time. On the bright side, Steven Kwan, who currently leads the Majors in batting average, has a barrel rate of 1.8. Former batting champ Luis Arraez’s rate is 1.5. What’s the difference? Launch angle.

The launch angle of an average Ke’Bryan Hayes at-bat is 4.2 degrees with an 88.8 exit velocity. Kwan and Arraez launch the ball closer to 13 degrees. That’s the difference between a soft grounder and a bloop hit. 

Hayes’s reduced defensive value could possibly be attributed to his persistent back injuries. In previous years, his ability to move laterally garnered him praise. This year, he has earned just one out above average on plays to either side.

Regardless of the cause of Hayes’s defensive downturn, his value to the club and on the trade market has taken a nosedive. The hope that his sparkling glove can weather his offensive slumps may be dwindling and, with it, the hope that Hayes will live up to the high expectations the Pirates imposed when they signed him to a long-term deal.