Atlanta Braves Jason Heyward Begins BP Session, Possible Return Date

Atlanta Braves outfield Jason Heyward, who recovering from a broken jaw, took the next step in his recovery on Wednesday afternoon taking a BP session from Braves minor league pitcher.  This is good news coming out of Atlanta’s camp but may not be great news for Braves’ fans.

Aug 17, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (22) watches his home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

I say this because everyone is wanting a spark to our offense right now and many feel he’s the right piece to the puzzle.  For the Braves to succeed Jason, the player we saw prior to the injury, returning to the lineup would definitely beneficial.

Tom Hart spoke on Heyward’s recovery prior to tonight’s game, “He has been taking swings for a while now, he started on Friday at Turner Field taking batting practice…today though he had the chance to test his swing against a live arm, Triple A pitcher Mark Lamb was brought in for the sole purpose of throwing to Jason today and it was hopefully a drill that Jason can replicate the next couple of days.”

Heyward spoke on his outing today against Lamb, “It’s more of seeing arms, whenever that is, that is the biggest thing, I need to see arms…I need to see somebody other than a coach throwing BP.”

“I think it was a really good first day, I didn’t feel off but I know it’s going to get better so that’s a good thing,” Heyward told reports after the workout.

He saw about 30 pitches from Lamb.  About the first third of which were fastballs and then when they got through that and everyone got warmed up, then it was just a normal pitch and catch session – Jason had no idea what was coming.

Hart went on to talk about Heyward’s return, “The timetable is still to be determined as far as when he will return but the real thing holding him down right now is the opportunity to really stretch out his legs, to play defense, to do some baseball running so that he makes sure he doesn’t injury himself when he does return to action.

Supposedly rumors are flowing that Jason could be in the lineup as early as next Monday but that may be pushing it.  The last thing we want to do is put him in action before he is ready and he struggles.

When asked if he was pleased about how it went today, Heyward responded “Oh yeah, it was good.  I know everyone keeps asking but for me I’m just getting ready to play.  I know it’s nothing to get excited about but I got work to do and I’m not going to be satisfied till I’m back up.”