Cubs hitting coach Malle glad to have Heyward on his side
The Chicago Cubs made a huge addition to the roster with Jason Heyward officially signing an eight-year, $184 million contract earlier in the week.
While Heyward is a few months away from making his debut with the Cubs, hitting coach John Malle is looking forward to using him in Chicago's new lineup.
"When Jason was in high school, I was the hitting coordinator for the Marlins, and flew out and worked him out when he was 17, in Atlanta. He was hitting balls to the moon. He was more upright," Malle told ESPN.com. "Now he's putting the ball in play, having developed a swing that is going to make more contact. Getting to know him now and his evolution of his swing will give me a better idea of what he's trying to do now."
While Mallee has spent time studying Heyward from mostly the opposing dugout, he has noticed a difference in Heyward's swing in comparison of other right-handed batters.
"He gets started a little later than most people. It looks a little rushed -- not that it's wrong or bad, it just looks different," Malle said. "It's not out of sequence or anything it just looks rough for a left-handed swing. Doesn't mean it's not effective because it is."
As Heyward's new hitting coach for the Cubs, Malle is already looking at ways to help his newest hitter improve at the plate.
"When you look at Jason the one thing that jumps out is the high ground-ball rate this year (1.80) compared to years past," Malle said. "So getting to the bottom of why there were more ground balls, that would be the first thing that I might talk to him about."
While Malle looks for ways to help enhance Heyward's production, the hitting coach has had first hand experience to what the outfielder's capabilities are. In Game 3 of the NLDS against his then-team the Cardinals, Heyward launched an impressive home run of NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta.
"You don't see that very often and he put a beautiful swing on it and drove it out to the opposite field. That location pitch is not easy to handle," Malle said. "He's an educated hitter because of his experience. He knows how to sit on pitches and understands tendencies. I don't know if he was looking for that pitch but it sure looked like he was."
Overall, Malle is just looking forward to Heyward being on the Cubs' side for now and in the future.
"Low strikeouts, high walks. The way he runs the bases. His instincts are tremendous," Malle said. "And I don't know how many balls he stole from the outfield so I'm glad his defense will be on our side now."
