Contrary to the popular notion, no news wasn’t necessarily good news for the Braves in regard to injured star Jason Heyward on Saturday.
Heyward, who is being bothered by a sore right shoulder and a swollen right knee, had an MRI on Friday, but the results came back “unclear” according to Rome manager Randy Ingle.
Heyward is scheduled to have more tests on Monday. The recently-named SAL All-Star has been out of the lineup for the past two games, and won’t return until Monday night at the earliest, Ingle said.
Heyward said on Friday that he had never before had problems with his shoulder or knee, and said he isn’t sure what caused the injuries to flare up.
For now, the extent of his injuries is anyone’s guess.
“We’ll just have to wait and see what the tests say on Monday,” said Ingle.
Heyward, rated by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in the Atlanta farm system, is batting .330 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. He ranks among the league leaders in hits (74) and has scored a team-leading 44 runs.
In other Rome news:
MEMORY LANE
This week’s amateur draft brought back memories for Heyward, although he can’t believe it’s already been a year since he heard his own name called.
“It doesn’t seem that long ago,” said Heyward, who was a first-round pick (and No. 14 overall) by Atlanta last June. “The time has just flown by.”
Heyward said draft day was thrilling.
“Your whole life changes in one second,” he said.
Heyward, incidentally, is friends with Griffin High’s Tim Beckham, who was selected by Tampa Bay with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
“We’ve played together at a couple of (youth-league all-star) showcases,” said Heyward, who then smiled and said: “He’s good people.”
Heyward wasn’t surprised to see Beckham be the No. 1 pick.
“The guy is a player,” said Heyward. “He deserves what he got. I’m happy for him.”
Billy Nicholson, the Rome Braves’ bench coach, can also vouch for the skills of the Griffin High standout.
Nicholson was an assistant coach at last year’s AFLAC All-American game in San Diego for a team that contained both Beckham and Heyward.
“(Beckham) is very polished and has great instincts; he’s a lot like Heyward,” said Nicholson, who coaches at Centennial High. “He’s for real.”
UNHAPPY GILMORE? NOT SO MUCH
Despite his recent demotion to rookie-level Danville, third baseman Jon Gilmore was exceedingly upbeat on Saturday.
“Hopefully I can go to Danville, get some at-bats and get my confidence back,” said Gilmore, who leaves for Virginia today. “This can be a good thing for me.”
Gilmore, a supplemental first-round pick in last year’s draft, was batting .173 with no homers and three RBIs in 22 games for Rome.
He was told Friday night that he was being sent to Danville, which plays its Appalachian League opener this week.
“Maybe I can be back in Rome before the season is up,” said Gilmore. “If not, hopefully I’ll start here next year.”
Sammy Sime was called up from extended spring training on Friday and replaced Gilmore on the roster.
Sime opened the year with the Braves but was sent to extended spring on May 1 after batting just .139.
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