PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — After spending time on the field this spring alongside major leaguers, Ke’Bryan Hayes feels like he belongs.
“I feel like I definitely could do it,” he said. “It’s probably better for me to go to Triple-A first to get that seasoning in and face those types of pitchers because they’re going to throw different things at me.”
Triple-A is where Hayes, a 22-year-old third baseman and the Pirates’ top position-player prospect, will begin the season. The Pirates sent him to minor league camp Monday as part of a series of roster moves.
Hayes hit .346 with two home runs, four doubles and a triple during spring training. He has always been an elite defender — scouts say he could play third base in the major leagues now, despite never playing above Class AA — but last year, the bat caught up. Hayes had a .375 on-base percentage, seven home runs and a .293 average in 508 plate appearances in Altoona.
“Continued to show he’s a really strong defensive player, continued to show his offensive improvements are moving forward, and continued to show the man-strength that he’s coming into,” general manager Neal Huntington said.
Hayes did his learning by observing rather than asking questions. He noted the order in which players completed their daily tasks, when they lifted, how they communicated. He said he wants to work on being aggressive and doing damage at the plate, his first-step quickness defensively and his baserunning. The strong spring performance was a good start.
“I think it’s pretty important,” he said. “First impressions are pretty big, not only the way you play but the way you go about it. I think that’s one big thing with the Pirates is who you are as a person, how you carry yourself.”
Pirates reassign Craig, Kramer
In addition to Hayes, the Pirates optioned infielder Kevin Kramer to Indianapolis and reassigned first baseman Will Craig to minor league camp.
After hitting .311/.365/.492 with 15 home runs at Indianapolis last year, Kramer had five hits and 20 strikeouts in 40 major league plate appearances in a late-season call-up. Hayes and Cole Tucker will play the majority of third base and shortstop at Indianapolis, but Kramer will work at both spots in addition to second base.
“We’ve talked with him about taking a few balls in the outfield and seeing if that comes naturally to him, not because we’re trying to create a utility player, but because we’re trying to find a pathway to our major league team because we like the bat,” Huntington said.
Craig, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2016, hit 20 home runs at Altoona last year and posted a .947 OPS in the Arizona Fall League.
“He’s an RBI collector,” Huntington said. “He’s a good hitter with power. He’s an improving defensive first baseman. It’s a man with a quality head and heart.”
The Pirates also reassigned Nick Franklin, Geoff Hartlieb, Christian Kelley, Arden Pabst, Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Waddell to minor league camp.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: March 18, 2019, 1:53 p.m.
