Jason Heyward - the Great Non-White Hope?

With just three games and a total of twelve Major League at-bats under his belt, Braves rookie sensation Jason Heyward has already been anointed many things:

- National League Rookie of the Year favorite.

- The heir apparent to Chipper Jones as Braves star.

- Can't miss Major League star.

But could Major League Baseball be looking at Heyward to fill an even bigger role?

For years, Major League Baseball has been showing a steady decline of African-Americans playing the game at the highest level. As of 2008, the percentage had declined to 8.2 percent. As a sport that celebrates itself as the first to break the color barrier, this has been a troublesome trend for baseball, one which it has taken numerous steps to try and correct.

For a game that has seen tremendous growth in diversity amongst Asian and Latin-American players, Major League Baseball has been befuddled by the decline in African-American players. Sure, it could be seen as a bi-product of the growth in other nationalities, but league officials are also quick to point out that a career in professional baseball doesn't stir the African-American community the way that leagues like the NFL and NBA do, specifically in the realization of immediate playing time and money. That said, MLB has taken steps to bring the game to more urban areas to try and grow the popularity of the game at an earlier age amongst a more diverse pool of players, and they feel that the initiative will help correct this trend.

But there is one more thing that Major League Baseball needs.

They need a poster boy. That's where Jason Heyward comes into this conversation.

Sure, Heyward is just 20-years-old, but the last player to take on that burden for the African-American community was Ken Griffey Jr., a player that broke onto the scene at the age of 19 and took it all in stride with a smile on his face and a monstrous swing at the plate. Griffey was a talent unlike the league had ever seen when he became a star in Seattle.

Heyward seemingly has a lot in common with Griffey; a quick, electric swing, youth, charisma, and plenty of promise. If he has even half the career that Griffey did, then he becomes a bankable star for the league to build their diversity platform around. And you can't tell me that the thought hasn't already crossed Bud Selig's mind, or that there was coincidence that one of baseball's most outspoken champions for player equality, Hank Aaron, threw out the first pitch of the season, with Heyward catching it.

Now, I may be off base here, and maybe I'm wrong in that baseball needs a star to grow the game in the African-American community, but take a few moments and watch the Little League World Series. Kids grow up playing the game and dreaming of the big leagues because they want to be the next Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Pujols, or Joe Mauer. They idolize the stars of the game and their love for the game grows based on the exploits of those players. Having a player of Griffey's caliber to appeal to the community would be a tremendous boost to the efforts that Major League Baseball is already putting in place. All they need now is a player to present himself into the role.

That's a lot of expectations for the 20-year-old Jason Heyward to take on. All he has to do is live up to them.