Jason Alias Heyward, nicknamed "J-Hey", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs.
Originally the Braves' first-round selection in the 2007 MLB draft from Henry County High School in Georgia, Heyward began his minor league career at age 17. He appeared in three minor league all-star games and won two minor league player of the year awards. In 2010, multiple media outlets named Heyward the top prospect in all of baseball.
Heyward debuted in MLB as Atlanta's starting right fielder on Opening Day 2010. He was named to the National League (NL) All-Star team that season and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting. While injuries limited his playing time in 2011 and 2013, Heyward enjoyed a breakout season in 2012; that season, he hit 27 home runs, drove in 82 runs, scored 93 runs, and stole 21 bases. Heyward was traded to the Cardinals after the 2014 season. In December 2015, he signed with the Cubs as a free agent; he was a member of the Cubs' World Series-winning 2016 team. Heyward was released by the Cubs in November 2022 and played for the Dodgers in 2023.
Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Heyward throws and bats left-handed. He has worn uniform No. 22 through most of his major league career in honor of a high school friend and teammate who died in a traffic collision. Heyward has been widely regarded as one of the best outfield defenders in MLB. He won both the Fielding Bible and the NL Gold Glove Awards for right fielders in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and he received Wilson's MLB Defensive Player of the Year in 2014.
