Hayes performing at Spring Training -- again

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Ke’Bryan Hayes stepped into the right-handed batter’s box at Charlotte Sports Park just after noon on Sunday for his final round of batting practice. The 23-year-old pulled a towering fly ball to left field on his first swing, launching it into the visitors' bullpen just beyond the outfield fence. With that, Hayes smiled and walked out of the turtle-shell cage set up around the plate.

“I just wanted to finish on a good one,” Hayes said. “That one felt really good.”

For the second straight Spring Training, Hayes has mostly been feeling good at the plate. Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has hit .318 with more walks (five) than strikeouts (three). On Friday, he clobbered a home run to left field off Blue Jays starter Chase Anderson. On Sunday, he walked twice in two plate appearances.

• Box score: Pirates 2, Rays 2

If any of that sounds familiar, it should. Hayes was arguably the best hitter in Pirates camp last year until he was sent to Minor League camp so that he could prepare for the Triple-A season. In 34 at-bats over 21 games, Hayes hit .353 with three homers, four doubles, a triple and 12 RBIs during his first big league Spring Training. It was easy to believe that the elite defensive third baseman, coming off a strong season in Double-A, might not be far from Pittsburgh.

Then Hayes reported to Triple-A Indianapolis and went hitless in his first 11 plate appearances, striking out in four of them. Overall last season, Hayes hit just .265/.336/.415 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 110 games for Indianapolis even as home run totals soared throughout Triple-A.

The 2015 Draft pick -- and MLB Pipeline’s No. 41 overall prospect -- admits now that he struggled with the “different style of pitching” in Triple-A, where opponents would throw him any pitch in any count. He mistakenly thought he had to change the mechanics of his swing when, in reality, he needed to adjust his approach.

The swing he had in Spring Training, the one he’s been working to recapture over the last few weeks, was just fine.

Hayes’ main focus with hitting coach Rick Eckstein, he said, is staying in his backside rather than jumping out of it early when he starts his swing. Hayes has also changed how he loads his hands, facing the knob of his bat toward the catcher more. They’re small changes that he hopes will lead to big numbers.

“We’re looking at video from spring to when I was struggling at Triple-A. We were just looking at my gather, getting into my backside more. I’d kind of gotten away from that,” Hayes said. “The last week or so, we’ve really been putting a lot of emphasis on that. He showed me some home runs that I hit in the spring last year, and I was really getting into my backside.”

A lot of that work took place last Thursday, when Hayes had a rare day off from Grapefruit League game action. While the Pirates traveled to Port Charlotte to play the Rays, Hayes remained at LECOM Park and worked with Eckstein. When Hayes took batting practice, Eckstein told him not to worry about where the ball went. The only thing that mattered was how his swing felt.

That approach was a breath of fresh air for Hayes, who possesses baseball savvy beyond his years -- a trait that likely stems from the time he spent growing up around the game during his father Charlie’s playing days.

“You can see it when you watch how they act on the field. They have a way that they carry themselves,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s just like when you go to a Little League game and you’re able to pick out the kid where you’re like, ‘OK, that kid.’ … I think it’s more of a testament to how he carries himself, not only as a player but as a person.”

Hayes’ defensive ability is unquestioned. Some evaluators project he’ll be a Gold Glove Award candidate as soon as he reaches the Majors. He will presumably start the season back in Triple-A, continuing his offensive development. But he may arrive in Pittsburgh this summer, perhaps sooner, if he’s able to sustain the offensive improvements he’s making this spring.

“You’re going to think about it all the time. I just try to get better every day. I can’t control it,” Hayes said. “I try to come in every day with a good attitude, try to help my teammates get better, listen to what they have to say, watch them, watch the guys that are in the big leagues, just try to get better."