Adeiny Hechavarria

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2010
A+:  193/217/292, 161 AB, 7 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 25 K, 7-7 SB
AA:  273/305/360, 253 AB, 11 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 BB, 40 K, 6-9 SB

Hechavarria wasn’t quite 21 when he signed and the Jays sent him initially to high class A.  He struggled badly at the plate, possibly due to problems adapting to a new culture.  After a mid-season promotion to AA, he hit much better, although not especially well.  Baseball America rated him Toronto’s 13th best prospect.

2011
AA:  235/275/347, 464 AB, 22 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 25 BB, 78 K, 19-32 SB
AAA:  389/431/587, 108 AB, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 21 K, 1-3 SB

The Jays sent Hechavarria back to AA and he took a small step backward at the plate.  He did get hot after a late-season promotion to the very hitter-friendly environs of Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League.  BA again rated him the Jays’ 13th best prospect after the season.

2012
AAA:  312/363/424, 443 AB, 20 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 38 BB, 86 K, 8-10 SB
MLB:  254/280/365, 126 AB, 8 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 32 K

Hechavarria continued to hit well at Las Vegas, even putting up a respectable walk rate.  He got a late-season callup and played shortstop more or less regularly for the Jays in August and September.  After the season, Toronto sent him to Miami in a huge, twelve-player trade.  BA rated him Miami’s seventh best prospect.

2013
A+:  429/556/571, 7 AB, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 K, 1-1 SB
MLB:  227/267/298, 543 AB, 14 2B, 8 3B, 3 HR, 30 BB, 96 K, 11-21 SB

Hechavarria spent the season as the Marlins’ regular shortstop.  He struggled badly at the plate.  Other than a good month in July, he showed no progress over the season, with an OPS of .573 or lower in every other month.

2014
A+:  125/125/250, 8 AB, 1 2B, 1 K
MLB:  276/308/356, 536 AB, 20 2B, 10 3B, 1 HR, 26 BB, 86 K, 7-12 SB

Hechavarria showed improvement at the plate, although he remained a very impatient hitter.  He had several disabled list stints in the season’s first half with various arm injuries.

2015
MLB:  281/315/374, 470 AB, 17 2B, 6 3B, 5 HR, 23 BB, 78 K, 7-9 SB

Hechavarria had pretty much the same season as in 2014, hitting for a good average with little patience and modet power.  He missed September due to a hamstring injury.

2016
MLB:  236/283/311, 508 AB, 17 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 33 BB, 73 K, 1-1 SB

At the plate, Hechavarria fell off badly.  The main culprit appeared to be his batting average on balls in play, which fell to .269, a drop of nearly 60 points from the previous two years.  Everything else largely stayed the same.

2017
A+ (Mia):  304/407/304, 27 AB, 3 BB, 1 K, 1-2 SB
AA (Mia):  222/222/222, 9 AB, 1-1 SB
MLB (Mia):  277/288/385, 65 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 9 K
MLB (TB):  257/289/411, 265 AB, 12 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 12 BB, 58 K, 4-5 SB

In the early season, Hechavarria was hampered by injuries, missing time with hamstring and oblique problems.  While he was still on a minor league rehab, in late June, the Marlins traded him to the Rays, who activated him the next day.  He spent the rest of the season as the Rays’ shortstop, hitting about like he had in 2014-15.

2018
A+ (TB):  125/125/125, 8 AB, 3 K
AAA (TB):  500/750/500, 2 AB, 2 BB
MLB (TB):  258/289/332, 217 AB, 7 2B, 3 HR, 12 BB, 37 K, 1-1 SB

Hechavarria opened the season as the Tampa shortstop, but he was out from mid-May to mid-June with another hamstring injury.  When he played, his hitting fell off mainly in the form of a loss of his already-modest power.  With one of their top prospects, Willy Adames, ready to take over at short, the Rays designated Hechavarria for assignment at the beginning of August and traded him to the Pirates.

The Pirates have been plagued by extremely bad infield defense all year, which probably explains the acquisition of Hechavarria.  They stated they would use him at short and second, although he hadn’t played anywhere but short at the major league level since 2012.  He’ll be a free agent after the season.