deja vu

Never saw Darryl Strawberry at Smith-Wills Stadium. But Jason Heyward, an eerily similar player, may be stirring the same kind of buzz a few miles away at Trustmark Park. The 19-year-old Heyward, one of the top prospects in all of the minors, hit his first Double-A home run Thursday night, a towering blast to the deep gap in right-center. He had three other hits, including a pair of opposite-field doubles. After 10 games with the M-Braves, Heyward is hitting .417 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, the one homer and 10 RBIs. Strawberry, who was 20 when he played for the Jackson Mets in 1982, hit .283 that year with 19 doubles, 9 triples, a franchise-record 34 homers and 97 RBIs. He was in New York the next year. Heyward might be in Atlanta this September. Strawberry was a left-handed hitting right fielder who stood 6 feet 4 and weighed 180 pounds in ’82. Heyward is a left-handed hitting right fielder who stands 6 feet 4 and weighs (a chiseled) 220. Both have basketball backgrounds. Both were first-round picks. Strawberry became a big league star in short order after leaving Jackson, where tales of his homers are legend. Heyward’s just get started, really, but he looks to be on that track. If you were there Thursday night, you know. You’re talking about it today.