Cubs need Jason Heyward to replicate his 2020 success next season

Cubs stayed the course with Jason Heyward over the years

All anyone remembers about Heyward’s first season with the Cubs is his now-famous locker room speech during the rain delay in Game 7. He rallied the troops and the team emerged from the dugout once the tarp was pulled off and brought home the first World Series title since 1908.

He won a Gold Glove that year – but he fell well short of pretty much every expectation out there with the bat. Heyward hit just .230/.306/.325, well shy of his 293/.359/.439 performance from the year prior with the rival Cardinals. But, at the end of the day, we all looked at the 2016 Cubs with graduation goggles and didn’t pay too much attention to it.

But from 2017 to 2019, Heyward remained a below-average offensive player. His defense obviously adds value in other ways, but for a guy on a $184 million deal, you just expected more. He chipped away year after year, incrementally improving before finally putting it all together under first-year manager David Ross in 2020.

And make no mistake. I mention Ross because he saw what former manager Joe Maddon either didn’t – or simply looked past: Jason Heyward cannot hit left-handed pitching. Knowing that and accepting it completely changed how the outfielder was used (and how he performed) this year.

Cubs need Heyward to replicate what he did this year in 2021

Two years ago, Jason Heyward walked in 8.6 percent of his plate appearances. In 2019, he improved that mark to 11.5 percent – a notable improvement. Then, he doubled down and ranked in the top four percent of the league in 2020 – walking 16.6 percent of the time.

But it wasn’t just that he walked more. Heyward found the sweet spot more than he had in the past and finally looked comfortable at the plate. For much of the abbreviated 60-game season, Heyward teamed up with Ian Happ to carry the Chicago offense.

The two will face a similar test in 2021. No Schwarber, potentially no Kris Bryant. For all we know, Willson Contreras or Javier Baez could be on the move. We just don’t know yet. But we do know the Cubs will look vastly different and Heyward will likely have a somewhat diminished supporting cast.

We know the NL Central is looking like it’s up for grabs, even if the Cubs do re-tool this offseason. But if they want a chance to win back-to-back division crowns, Heyward is going to have to continue his reemergence as an offensive presence.

Without him, the outfield could be an even bigger question mark than it looks like it will be. It may have taken longer than Cubs fans may have liked, but his arrival as a threat at the plate could not have happened at a more opportune time.