Stick to the PROCESS
Matt Boyd is one of the hottest pitching prospects the Blue Jays have in Buffalo, thanks to some fatherly advice
For the first time in his baseball life, Matt Boyd ignored the advice of his father. Kurt Boyd had always taught him to take charge on the mound and attack batters with his fastball. But Matt had reached Double-A. Now he knew better.
He tried to become a finesse pitcher, a corner-painter. He was also distracted by a maxim that has preoccupied many fast-rising prospects who make it to Double-A: Now you’re only a phone call away from the big leagues.
“I wasn’t myself last year,” Boyd said. “I was kind of pitching like a coward.”
No more. Back on the fast track during an extraordinary season that just recently earned him a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, Boyd is stepping up again — as the starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.
The 24-year-old lefthander, a sixth-round draft pick in 2013, was scratched from his Thursday start in Buffalo on orders from Toronto. Boyd told the National
Post after the Bisons’ game Thursday that he was making the bus trip to Scranton, Pa., where he was scheduled to start Saturday.
But the Jays scratched that plan too. Boyd did not get on that bus.
Manager John Gibbons refused Friday afternoon to identify his Saturday starter, but all signs pointed to Boyd. The official announcement was expected after Friday night’s game.
Whether for a spot start with the Jays or a longer-term audition, Boyd certainly has earned consideration. After a dominant term at Class A Dunedin followed by a rough baptism at Double-A New Hampshire last year, the sixfoot-three lefty has begun to heed Kurt Boyd’s advice again.
“My father was always my coach up until the time I went to college,” Boyd said during an interview Wednesday in Buffalo. “He preached to me, ‘ Always attack. Be aggressive out there. Be on the offence. Even though you’re on defence, you’re holding the ball. You’re on offence.’”
In his first 16 starts last year, Boyd posted a 1.39 ERA with WHIP of 0.938 at Dunedin. He had 103 strikeouts and only 20 walks in 902/3 innings.
Then he moved up to New Hampshire, turned tentative and tanked. In 10 starts, his ERA was 6.96.
“I know why it happened,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘ Oh man, I’m in Double-A. I’m close. I could be a phone call away.’ I should have been saying, ‘Stick to the process. Trust in my preparation and keep attacking.’”
He also had a bone chip in his elbow, which he had removed after the season, but insists that was just a minor irritant. His main problem was becoming a defensive pitcher.
During the off-season, in part because of his father’s urging, Boyd vowed to revive the approach that had made him successful.
“My dad reminded me during the season, but I was too stubborn to listen to him,” he said. “He’s usually right, and once again he was. It was kind of a rude awakening last year, but I learned a lot from it.” This year he made 12 starts at New Hampshire, posting a 6-1 record, a 1.10 ERA and a 0.774 WHIP. In 732/3 innings, he struck out 70 and wa lked only 18. At Buffalo, he has allowed one run in each of his two starts while walking none and striking out 12.
He has focused this season on tightening his slider to complement his fastball, changeup and curveball. Meanwhile, his arrival at Triple-A also brought into a rich environment for baseball education. The Bisons’ pitching staff is rife with veteran left-handers, including Randy Wolf, Felix Doubront and Jeff Francis.
Boyd learns by asking questions and simply watching. He mentioned a recent start by Wolf, whose fastball averages 88 miles an hour.
“He pitches off the fastball first time through the order, then starts spinning breaking balls in there, and then he starts using his changeup and slider.” Boyd said. “He’s not blowing people away but he struck out seven guys. He’s helped me out a lot.”
The veterans – all of whom signed minor-league deals in hopes of a promotion to Toronto – keep reminding Boyd to remain unfazed by a poorly located pitch or speculation about a callup.
“My wife’s been very helpful with that too,” Boyd said.
Boyd grew up in the Seattle area and he met his wife, Ashley, when they were students at Oregon State. Married six months ago, they are together in Buffalo. Ashley works from her computer for Remember Nhu, an Ohiobased non-profit that fights child sex slavery in various countries by providing shelter, education and a Christian spiritual foundation.
Boyd and his wife are planning a trip after the season to perform mission work for Remember Nhu in Thailand, working in construction of homes for vulnerable chil- dren and “in whatever capacity the Lord wants us to help in,” he said.
Religion has “been everything” Boyd’s life from childhood. “Both my parents were key in that — great role models,” he said.
His dad also knew a thing or two about a pitcher’s mentality. Matt Boyd is not likely to forget that lesson again.
“I’m focused on attacking. I also want to avoid the trap I fell into last year, thinking about where I could be,” he said, before the speculation started about where he might go next. “So this year I’ve just tried to focus on the moment. I’m really just grateful for where I am.”
As he spoke, he had no idea that by Saturday, he would be in the Rogers Centre, his gratitude overflowing.