Tom Brennan - THE RESURRECTION OF JAYCE BOYD

Tom Brennan - THE RESURRECTION OF JAYCE BOYD

Jayce Boyd was drafted in the 6th round in 2012, not so low but also not so high...but the Mets once drafted a similar style hitter named Daniel Murphy in the 13th round of 2006, and Lucas Duda in the 7th round of 2007, so it's clear that good things can sometimes come from lower draft selections.

After a .239 debut in Brooklyn in the 2012 short season, Boyd caught fire in 2013 in Full A ball, hitting .361 in 65 games where he looked like his was a career in meteoric ascent.  He hit .330 overall between there and St Lucie in 2013, with TJ Rivera-like power.  Add some power, and it seemed the excitement for Jayce Boyd would be for real.

But he was experiencing real health issues over the final months of 2013 and ended up needing post-season surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, which seriously slowed his career progress.  (Inane Question: if Tommy John surgery is named after Tommy John, is thoracic outlet syndrome named after Thor?)

Despite this challenging injury, he still managed to continue to hit fairly well...in 2014, hitting .293 with a .382 on base % in AA, then .281 between AA and AAA in 2015.

But just 77 games and .259 in 2016.  Another career ruined by injury, it seemed.  Early 2017 seemed to confirm that dire possible prognosis.

In 2017, assigned to AAA, he played sparingly, with just 105 at bats through June, hitting around .250, with little power.  

Heading for a career swan song?  Nope.

HEADING FOR A RESURRECTION IS MORE LIKE IT.

Boyd finally began to get more playing time in July.  After all, the powers-that-be must have thought "the team just keeps losing...what do we have to lose? OK, OK, Boyd, right, your name is Boyd? Grab a bat."  And grab the bat he did.

In 20 July games, .302/.367/.566.  Just getting warmed up.  

In his first 15 August games, Boyd has gone beyond Ruthian:

.422/.490/.822    

From August 13-21, he has gone 16 for 27, with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, and 13 RBIs.  SONIC BOOM!

Over the last 7 weeks, the 6'1" 220 Boyd, whom we could for the first time refer to as Slugger, also fanned only 13 times in about 114 plate plate appearances, not surprising for a guy who'd always made good contact. 

In those 102 official July/August at bats, he smoked a resounding 9 doubles, a triple, and 7 homers  

With this surge, he's at a sweet .300/.377/.537 for 2017.

So coming out the other side of long injury adjustment struggles and limited playing time, the righty Booming Boyd Bat has dramatically emerged...with legitimate power.  The spike in weight (likely muscle) over his early career days, which I recall as being around 185, has seemingly added the needed pop to garner attention.

A few more weeks of hitting like Daniel Murphy and he will have thrust himself back into the picture for 2018 major league consideration...or even a 2017 call up.

I speculate that his chief concern may be his throwing.  

Formerly exclusively a first baseman, he has not played there (except for a few innings) since 2014, in part of course because Dominic Smith has manned first, but likely also due to the thoracic outlet surgery-related injury lessening his throwing ability.  With Smith promoted, he still is not being used at 1B, which reinforces that perspective.  

He has been used only in the outfield and as DH.  

To be further fair and balanced, his lack of speed is also not a feather in his cap.  Just 11 career steals.

Time will tell, but Jayce's recently resurgent and power-packed bat may still make a way for him to get to the big leagues.  If he can adequately throw, that is.  

I am watching to see if this RESURRECTION continues.