Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Heyward has shown to be an all-round talent.
 In the minor leagues, his ability to hit for batting average and power, speed, plus defense and arm strength sufficient to play right field, caused him to be considered a five-tool player.
 Further, his plate discipline and ability to draw walks are unusual for a player his height.
 He generates much of his power as a pull hitter.

From very early in his career, Heyward has played with an outside anticipation of developing into one of the most dominant players in the league.
 However, he has mentioned being uncomfortable with the pressure that comes with such expectations.
 Journalist Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opined that the pressures of stardom obliquely induced the overall descent in performance from his rookie season.

Heyward still has a hole in his swing that has yet to resolve.
While he was in the minor leagues, his unorthodox swing was not regarded as a significant issue, but rather was perceived to have worked for him because of his enormous talent.
 To the contrary, one scout compared it to an awkward golf swing. "
You watch him, he really stiff-arms the bat out there," noting Heyward almost fully extends his arms to attempt to power the head of the bat through the strike zone.
 He does not protect the inside of part of the strike zone as well as the outside.
That creates a weakness that allows pitchers – especially power pitchers – to throw inside, thus exploiting an inability to attain contact on inside pitches efficiently.

"The ball he hits well is the ball out away from him," according to the same scout. "
If pitchers pitch around him, on the outer half, he'll crush it. ...
That's why Niese hit him: He went up and in, and Heyward's a diver."
Indeed, charts from STATS LLC depicting Heyward's "Hot Zones," or a hitter's zones of maximum effectiveness, corroborate the scout's findings.
 Through April 25, 2014, Heyward had swung at 22 of 55 pitches in 2014 that qualified as "up and in," crossing the plate either to the upper left ninth of the strike zone or slightly higher or inside of it.
None of those 22 swings had produced a hit.

However, an injury contributed to lost power in 2011.
Before that point, Heyward dropped his hands after the start of the swing and rotated his front shoulder in an upward motion in his mode as a pull hitter.
Normally, the front half of his upper body generates bat velocity.
During the time the injury had not properly healed, it hindered his ability to generate torque from his front shoulder that contributed most to driving the ball.

In spite of not reaching his offensive projections, his defense has delivered as promised.
Heyward has been rated as one of the top right fielders, if not the top right fielder, in MLB.
The Fielding Bible staff has said that he "is the best defensive right fielder in baseball, bar none."
He is an expert at instantly picking up and reacting to the path of the batted ball and following it with efficient routes.
Such defensive ability was demonstrated on a fly ball off Justin Turner's bat during the 2013 season.
The same play was part of a demonstration in 2014 of Major League Baseball Advanced Media's Statcast system, a hybrid of PITCHf/x, FIELDf/x and a radar-based play tracking.
Statcast analyzed that Heyward got a jump off the fly ball the bat in ​²⁄₁₀₀ second, ran at 18.5 miles per hour (29.8 km/h) and took a route with a 97% efficiency.
The ball had 4.0 seconds of hang time and he ran 80.9 feet (24.7 m) for the catch.

In rating of three zones to where the ball is hit in right field in his first five seasons, he was above average at saving bases on shallow-hit (+31) and medium-hit (+40) balls.
His greatest strength came with deep-hit balls (+140).
In 2014 alone, he saved +40 bases on balls hit to the deepest part of right field, which was the equivalent of 20 doubles.
The enormous ground coverage makes up for what would be considered a slightly below average arm among right fielders.
Commented Fielding Bible founder John Dew
Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Heyward has shown to be an all-round talent.  In the minor leagues, his ability to hit for batting average and power, speed, plus defense and arm strength sufficient to play right field, caused him to be considered a five-tool player.  Further, his plate discipline and ability to draw walks are unusual for a player his height.  He generates much of his power as a pull hitter.
From very early in his career, Heyward has played with an outside anticipation of developing into one of the most dominant players in the league.  However, he has mentioned being uncomfortable with the pressure that comes with such expectations.  Journalist Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opined that the pressures of stardom obliquely induced the overall descent in performance from his rookie season.
Heyward still has a hole in his swing that has yet to resolve. While he was in the minor leagues, his unorthodox swing was not regarded as a significant issue, but rather was perceived to have worked for him because of his enormous talent.  To the contrary, one scout compared it to an awkward golf swing. "You watch him, he really stiff-arms the bat out there," noting Heyward almost fully extends his arms to attempt to power the head of the bat through the strike zone.  He does not protect the inside of part of the strike zone as well as the outside. That creates a weakness that allows pitchers – especially power pitchers – to throw inside, thus exploiting an inability to attain contact on inside pitches efficiently.
"The ball he hits well is the ball out away from him," according to the same scout. "If pitchers pitch around him, on the outer half, he'll crush it. ... That's why Niese hit him: He went up and in, and Heyward's a diver." Indeed, charts from STATS LLC depicting Heyward's "Hot Zones," or a hitter's zones of maximum effectiveness, corroborate the scout's findings.  Through April 25, 2014, Heyward had swung at 22 of 55 pitches in 2014 that qualified as "up and in," crossing the plate either to the upper left ninth of the strike zone or slightly higher or inside of it. None of those 22 swings had produced a hit.
However, an injury contributed to lost power in 2011. Before that point, Heyward dropped his hands after the start of the swing and rotated his front shoulder in an upward motion in his mode as a pull hitter. Normally, the front half of his upper body generates bat velocity. During the time the injury had not properly healed, it hindered his ability to generate torque from his front shoulder that contributed most to driving the ball.
In spite of not reaching his offensive projections, his defense has delivered as promised. Heyward has been rated as one of the top right fielders, if not the top right fielder, in MLB. The Fielding Bible staff has said that he "is the best defensive right fielder in baseball, bar none." He is an expert at instantly picking up and reacting to the path of the batted ball and following it with efficient routes. Such defensive ability was demonstrated on a fly ball off Justin Turner's bat during the 2013 season. The same play was part of a demonstration in 2014 of Major League Baseball Advanced Media's Statcast system, a hybrid of PITCHf/x, FIELDf/x and a radar-based play tracking. Statcast analyzed that Heyward got a jump off the fly ball the bat in ​²⁄₁₀₀ second, ran at 18.5 miles per hour (29.8 km/h) and took a route with a 97% efficiency. The ball had 4.0 seconds of hang time and he ran 80.9 feet (24.7 m) for the catch.
In rating of three zones to where the ball is hit in right field in his first five seasons, he was above average at saving bases on shallow-hit (+31) and medium-hit (+40) balls. His greatest strength came with deep-hit balls (+140). In 2014 alone, he saved +40 bases on balls hit to the deepest part of right field, which was the equivalent of 20 doubles. The enormous ground coverage makes up for what would be considered a slightly below average arm among right fielders. Commented Fielding Bible founder John Dew
Jason Heyward