Jason Heyward Out of the Lineup With Sore Thumb

Via a David O’Brien story in the AJC on Saturday, Braves rookie outfielder Jason Heyward finally admitted that his sore thumb was bothering him. Heyward was out of the lineup on Saturday although he did appear as a pinch runner and is expected to be out of the lineup once again on Sunday.

Heyward clearly is not about making excuses but probably has played too long with the injury. He is expected to meet with the Braves hand specialist and there is no timetable to how long he might be out. Gregor Blanco got the start in Center Field on Saturday with Melky Cabrera shifting over to Right.

Through May 30th, Jason Heyward was hitting .301. Over his last 24 games he is hitting .172 with 33 strikeouts. Heyward indicated that his thumb is so sore that he has not been able to grip the bat in an effort to load up his swing. It has especially appeared to have bothered him on pitches away as he has been unable of late to drive anything to the opposite field.

Hopefully the specialist find anything seriously wrong with the thumb and with some rest Heyward can get back into the lineup soon.