Top prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes 'ecstatic' to make his major league debut with Pirates

When Ke’Bryan Hayes signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he took a long look from the PNC Park press box and envisioned himself hitting baseballs into the picturesque city skyline.

It took five years for the Pirates’ first-round pick and top positional prospect to make it to the major leagues, so Hayes almost didn’t believe the news when told by Indianapolis Indians manager Brian Esposito he was being called up.

“At first I was like, ‘You joking with me?’ Because he likes messing around with me a lot because I’ve had him two years in the minor leagues,” Hayes said. “But once he told me, I was ecstatic. I got chills in my body. I mean, it’s what I worked for my whole life and, you can ask anyone back home. I put 100 percent effort into getting where I am today.”

On Tuesday night, a day after he first fielded ground balls and took batting practice against Mitch Keller at PNC Park, Hayes made his major league debut as the Pirates’ starting third baseman against the Chicago Cubs.

Even though the Pirates didn’t hesitate to start Hayes, who batted seventh, Pirates manager Derek Shelton cautioned they will monitor his playing time instead of using him on an everyday basis. Hayes tested positive for covid-19 in June and missed all of training camp while recovering, and his play at the alternate training site at Altoona has been more limited than a typical minor league season.

“He’s going to play. We didn’t call him up not to play,” Shelton said. “The one thing that we have to be aware of, like I said, is the fact that he hasn’t been playing regularly. So we’re not gonna put him in a position where he gets hurt, or we feel like we’re overextending him for certain reasons. If he was coming up a normal minor-league season, it would be different. Probably would run him out there every day.”

What the Pirates can expect is a defensive upgrade at third base. Hayes is a gifted glove who won three consecutive minor league Gold Gloves at third and hopes to solidify a position where the Pirates have been defensively deficient. Hayes got his first chance in the second, when he fielded a Kris Bryant grounder to his left and threw him out at first to end the inning.

Five players have started there this season: Colin Moran, Erik Gonzalez, Phillip Evans, JT Riddle and Jose Osuna.

“I only want to get better,” Hayes said. “I want to win one up here. It was very special for me, each year that I won it. Throughout the year, I wouldn’t really think about it. I would just try to be locked in every pitch. Every ball that was coming to me, in my early work, in my defensive work that I do, I just try to make it as game-like as possible. That way whenever I’m in the game, it doesn’t feel weird to me.”

Pirates radio and television analyst John Wehner even predicted in an interview on 93.7 FM that Hayes not only would be an immediate upgrade at third base for the Pirates but could be the best in the National League. That raised eyebrows, given Colorado has a seven-time Gold Glove winner in Nolan Arenado, who also owns three Platinum Gloves as the game’s best defender at his position.

“Well I think that’s big praise. I’m excited that Ke’Bryan is going to be on the field,” Shelton said. “There’s a guy in Colorado named Arenado that made a (backhand) play (Monday) night that I don’t know if a lot of guys would make, but I think he’s going to be one of the best third basemen when he steps on the field, defensively. I would agree with that. Let’s hope. Let’s not put any pressure on him and say that he’s going to be the best defender on the field at any time. He’s a really good defender. It’s obvious. He’s one three consecutive minor-league Gold Gloves. But we’re just excited that he’s going to be on the field as a Pirate.”

What Hayes has to prove is that he can hit big-league pitching. The son of 14-year major leaguer Charlie Hayes, Ke’Bryan slashed .265/.336/.415 with 30 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 53 RBIs in 110 games at Triple-A Indianapolis last season and was disappointed when he didn’t receive a call-up last September. Hayes hit .280 with a double and a homer in 13 spring training games but was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

What impressed Shelton about Hayes in spring training was how he handled the fanfare, complimenting his slow heartbeat and ability to shine in the spotlight. But Shelton warned the Pirates won’t be putting pressure on him over the final 28 games of the shortened season.

“That was the thing that stood out the most probably in spring training: You come in, you’re seeing a kid that’s hyped as probably the top prospect in the organization and you don’t know how he’s going to be and it’s like he’s been in the big leagues for 10 years,” Shelton said. “He goes about his business very respectful, handles himself, does his work and moves on. I think that’s a credit to how he was raised. When you’re raised as a major league player’s kid, a lot of that goes to the mom, too. I know Charlie’s done a hell of a job with him but Mrs. Hayes has done a really nice job because baseball moms raise kids.”

Ke’Bryan Hayes admitted his first call to break news of his promotion was to his mother, Gelinda, before telling his father, who played 128 games for the Pirates in 1996. Ke’Bryan is wearing No. 13, the same number his father wore with the Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants in a 14-year major league career. Charlie Hayes wore No. 17 with the Pirates — which now belongs to Shelton — before being traded to the Yankees and catching the final out to win the World Series that fall.

“It’s very special just to carry on the legacy,” Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “I mean, I get to wear his number and just represent the family and represent the Pirates. It was very special for me.”