Ke’Bryan Hayes resumes swinging

Well, here’s a bit of good news for our Pittsburgh Pirates, who are in the midst of a slump, losing six of their last seven games. Young star Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has only played in two games this season following a wrist injury, has made some strides in his rehab and has resumed swinging this week without pain or discomfort.

That’s a positive development after Hayes experienced a setback in his recovery a few weeks ago, and with any luck, it won’t be long until we see him back in the lineup for the Buccos. According to the Trib, Pirates director of sports medicine Tom Tomczyk had this to say:

“The short-term plan for Ke’Bryan is to continue to build up the swing volume in the cage, respond and see how he comes out of that. There is a goal that he hits on the field in the coming days, hopefully later this week.”

It also sounds like the team isn’t ruling out some time in the minors for rehab, though I’d expect that to be short-lived if it does happen.

Hayes’ return can’t happen fast enough for the Bucs, who have been really struggling at the plate and have put up just four total runs in the last four games, including shut out losses to both the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. They currently stand 23rd in the majors in batting average, 29th in slugging percentage, 25th in on-base percentage, 29th in homeruns, and 27th in runs.

Hayes is not going to be a savior, but he should help with that somewhat. And when you’re struggling at the plate like the Pirates have lately, any little bit helps.

If Hayes hit the field later this week like Tomczyk says, he could potentially be back in the lineup as early as next week. And while that may feel a little optimistic, hope is all we have right now with the way the Bucs are hitting the ball.