When is Ke'Bryan Hayes Coming Back? Fantasy Baseball Injury Return Update

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes hasn't quite found his footing at the plate in his young MLB career, at least not consistently.

The 27-year-old largely scuffled through parts of three seasons to begin his career before hitting .271 with 15 homers, 10 stolen bases, and a .762 OPS across 124 games in 2023, production that was a hair above league average, as per his 101 wRC+. It was surely something to build on entering his age-27 season in 2024. Unfortunately, he has hit just .240 with a single homer through 149 plate appearances before hitting the 10-day injured list with a back ailment.

Even after a slow start at the plate, current and prospective fantasy managers will want to take a look at Hayes' status and if he can get things turned around when he returns to game action.

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Ke'Bryan Hayes Injury Update for Fantasy Baseball

Unfortunately, fantasy managers will have to exercise some patience until an update on Hayes' status becomes available. He hasn't appeared in a game since May 7 before the club said enough was enough and placed him on the IL on May 11. The technical issue is low back inflammation.

Cherington on the back issue that landed Ke’Bryan Hayes on the IL. pic.twitter.com/peRYlGRwcB

— Danny Demilio (@Demilio22) May 12, 2024

It shouldn't be long until an update on Hayes' status becomes available.

Ke'Bryan Hayes Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Despite his usual elite defense at the hot corner, it's been a tough start to the season for Hayes. The 2015 first-round pick has just one homer and eight total extra-base hits through 34 games on the season, good for a minuscule .078 isolated power that ranks 156th of 168 qualified hitters. Hayes sports a meager .139 ISO for his career as power has not yet been a big part of his profile to this point.

Making matters worse is that he has yet to steal a single bag. Hayes swiped 30 bases between the 2022 and 2023 seasons but hasn't even attempted a steal to this point in the season. Needless to say, minimal power and zero speed put a significant damper on Hayes' fantasy value.

Looking for positives? Hayes has raised his walk rate from 5.3% last season to 10.1% this season while simultaneously lowering his strikeout rate from 19.8% to just 16.1%. To this point, that has been about it.

After 15 homers, a .182 ISO, and 10 steals last season, there is hope for a turnaround, but the evidence suggests Hayes' fantasy relevance is hanging on by a string.

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