2 weeks agoPittsburgh Pirates third baseman
Ke'Bryan Hayes (side) is starting on Saturday afternoon. Hayes will cover the hot corner and bat at the top of the lineup. Hayes has been held out of action since the first week of the month due to left side tightness. Fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status, but seeing him return to the lineup suggests he will not be in danger of missing Opening Day. The 28-year-old is expected to be Pittsburgh's everyday third baseman. Last season, the former 32nd-overall selection posted a .233/.283/.290 line with four home runs and 11 stolen bases. He generated a low .279 xwOBA but showed a strong eye at the plate as he held an 18.9 percent strikeout rate. Hayes is known for being an elite defender which will keep him in the starting lineup. Fantasy managers should view Hayes as a depth corner infielder in deeper formats.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Pittsburgh Pirates
2 weeks agoPittsburgh Pirates third baseman
Ke'Bryan Hayes (side) has resumed full baseball activities. Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk noted, "We envision him being available for game activity in the coming days as well." Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status but should expect him to return to the starting lineup very soon. Hayes has been dealing with left side tightness over the past two weeks. When healthy, he should have an everyday role as the starting third baseman. Last season, the former 32nd-overall pick held a .233/.283/.290 line with four home runs and 11 stolen bases. He generated a weak .279 xwOBA but showed a strong eye at the plate as he held an 18.9 percent strikeout rate. Fantasy managers should view him as a depth corner infield option that has more value in points leagues given his low strikeout rate.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Noah Hiles
3 weeks agoPittsburgh Pirates third baseman
Ke'Bryan Hayes (side) is dealing with "left side tightness." He has not been in a spring contest since March 5. However, Hayes was seen taking ground balls on Monday and is expected to step in the batter's cage on Tuesday. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status as a setback could put him in danger of missing Opening Day. Last season, the 28-year-old had his campaign cut short due to a back injury. Across 96 games, Hayes held a .233/.283/.290 slash line with nine doubles and four home runs. He generated a weak .279 xwOBA and a .327 xSLG which were both well below the average marks. However, he is an elite defender as he placed in the 90th percentile in Outs Above Average. If he were to miss time,
Jared Triolo would likely see an uptick in playing time.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Noah Hiles
2 months agoThe word at Pittsburgh Pirates camp is that third baseman
Ke'Bryan Hayes (back) is feeling good entering spring training. PittsburghPG's Noah Hiles writes that he couldn't help but notice Hayes walking around on Wednesday with a big smile on his face. The 28-year-old fell apart in 2024 and played in only 96 games, slashing .233/.283/.290 with a career-worst .573 OPS, four home runs, 25 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 75 strikeouts in 396 plate appearances. However, his back injury was most likely to blame, and he didn't play for the Pirates past Aug. 17. Hayes has an elite glove at third base, so as long as he's healthy, he should see regular playing time. But for fantasy purposes, managers shouldn't be expecting much from a power standpoint given the injuries that he dealt with last year. Hayes' speed and regular playing time will make him useful in NL-only formats, but those in mixed leagues will be avoiding him.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Pittsburgh PG - Noah Hiles
RADIO
