Closing Time: What's happened to Jason Heyward?

It’s easy to see why fantasy players talk themselves into Jason Heyward. He carried a boatload of prospect buzz prior to making the majors at age 20. He posted some fantasy-useful seasons in Atlanta, especially 2012. He looks good in the uniform. He’s athletic and multi-talented, one of the best defensive players in the game (that’s why WAR loves him so much).

And when Heyward shifted teams last winter, it was the Cardinals making the call. If you made a short list of organizations you want to backline, St. Louis is on it. Heyward also was entering a contract year, if that angle means anything to you (it doesn’t always check out if you grade those things in bulk, but motivation obviously varies from player to player).

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But when we spend a Top 75 pick (Heyward's Yahoo ADP this spring), we'd like more offense. At what point do we accept that he's overrated? (I’m as guilty as anyone there; I had him 18th in the outfield – yikes – before the year. I feel extremely fortunate he didn't land on any of my teams.)

Heyward’s bat has been wayward for a few seasons now. He slogged through an injury-riddled 2013 season (.254/.349/.427, 14 homers, two steals), and his pop fell off the map during last year’s 149 games (.271/.351/.384, just 11 homers). He’s off to a sluggish start with his new team, slashing .217/.261/.349 with a couple of homers, one steal. Heyward’s also been dinged up a bit, dealing with a sore groin.

How much of his career slide is attributable to his 2013 beaning? How did his batting mechanics get this far out of whack?

The Cardinals had a hit parade in Thursday’s victory over Philadelphia, piling up nine runs, but Heyward didn’t get in on the fun (0-for-4). He struck out once and grounded out three other times, once into a double play.

Ground balls are a big problem with the Heyward profile – he has a 48.8 ground bias for his career, and it’s jumped to 66.7 percent (a crazy-high number) through April. Sharp contact? Forget it. Heyward’s striking a line drive just 13.6 percent of the time, which largely explains a .250 BABIP.

This is how bad it’s gotten for Heyward – in one shallow head-to-head format of mine (10 teams, tiny benches, four moves per week), he’s sitting on the waiver wire, unclaimed. No one wants to try him out, even for free. Part of that speaks to how important pitching depth is for head-to-head players (most owners ignore offensive depth in that league), but it also illustrates a name brand tarnished.

Heyward began the year as the No. 2 bat in St. Louis, but he’s dropped to the five and six slot over the past four games. If I ran the Cardinals, I might go even lower. Kolton Wong shouldn’t be slotted eighth, for one thing.

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If I were Shuffling the outfielders right at this moment (note: Shuffles are returning next week), I’d keep Heyward in the $9-11 range. It’s been too long since his last useful season. The batting slot might not be returning. Something seems to be wrong here, be it technical or between the ears (perhaps Heyward's confidence is shot at the moment). Sometimes a player can want it too badly, can turn into his own worst enemy. Obviously he's too young to discount completely (Heyward turns 26 in August), but it's fair to be frustrated.

Are you buying, selling or holding on Heyward? Take the temperature and share it in the comments.

• Pablo Sandoval

has always been one of my favorite players, a see-the-ball, hit-the-ball free swinger with a line-drive bat. He’s usually a fun watch and a fun own (and hell, a damn fun imitation).

Alas, maybe it’s time to reevaluate Sandoval. From the left side of the plate, he’s still Kung Fu Panda, frozen-rope machine. From the right side, it’s Sad Panda.

I’ve heard some Sandoval DFS talk this spring that’s focused on a weak opposing lefty, and that’s an angle I can’t support. Sandoval is slashing just .186/.231/.295 against lefties since the beginning of 2014, and he’s 1-for-19 against them this year. At what point does it make sense for him to bag switch-hitting completely? How much worse would he be simply hitting lefty all the time?

I understand the Boston stack theme for Friday, up against struggling CC Sabathia. Maybe Sandoval will temporarily get out of this lefty funk, maybe he’ll be pushed along by the deep Red Sox lineup. But until something changes, I’m looking at Panda as merely a glorified platoon guy. Love the righties, duck the lefties.

• If you’re playing the Saturday streaming game, or interested in a possible temp-to-perm pitcher, can we interest you in Hector Santiago? He’s allowed just one run in each of his last three starts, although he was a touch wild in the no-decision at Texas.

The four overall appearances shake down this way: 2.28 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 22 strikeouts against 12 walks over 23.2 innings. A date in San Francisco isn’t scary to anyone these days. Santiago is still free to add in about 70 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Brandon Morrow’s ownership tag is even lower than Santiago’s, for some inexplicable reason. Petco Park is your friend, man. The problem with Morrow has never been ability, it’s been location (Toronto, mostly) and staying healthy. I can’t promise you he’ll be relevant for the full season, but while he’s still on the mound, I’ll be using him aggressively. He draws the generally-friendly Road Rockies for Saturday.