From SB Nation's Jeff Sullivan about our favorite new right fielder, Jason Heyward:
It's hard to say what's been most impressive. The seamless jump from AA? The ability to hit for average? The ability to hit for power? The 18 walks in 111 trips to the plate? The flair for the dramatic? When you're trying to isolate the most impressive aspect of Jason Heyward's game, there's a lot to choose from, and it's only been a month and a half.
Me, though, I'm going to focus on the power. [...] Because, at 20 years old, Jason Heyward's average home run has traveled 413.5 feet.
For reference, the Major League average is about 394. Heyward's early average, when compared to marks other guys put up in 2009, puts him in the company of sluggers like Ryan Howard, Mark Reynolds, and Adam Dunn. In short, he's beat the crap out of the ball, and perhaps appropriately, his first of the season - in his first at bat - was the longest, at 476 feet. That's actually held up as the longest home run hit in the Majors to date.
It's not just that one home run, though. Of Heyward's eight dingers, five have traveled at least 420 feet.
"Ouch!" Said the baseball.