Former Knight Matt Boyd of Oregon State Makes Big League Debut.
June 27, 2015Starts at Rogers Centre for Blue Jays
A change in attitude has resulted in a change of address for former Corvallis Knights pitcher/first baseman Matt Boyd, a standout on the 2010 West Division champions.
It seems that the left-hander from Oregon State altered his approach last season after Toronto promoted the Mercer Island, Wash., native to New Hampshire in the double-A Eastern league from Dunedin in the high-A Florida State League. Boyd dominated in the FSL, going 5-3 with a 1.39 ERA and a microscopic 0.94 WHIP and 103 strikeouts in 90.2 innings. But he struggled in two stints with the Fisher Cats, going 1-4, 6.96 in 10 games.
"I wasn't myself last year," Boyd told reporter John Lott of the National Post newspaper in analyzing his problems. "I was kind of pitching like a coward," and not being as aggressive as he was in the past.
He did a 180 heading into 2015, with impressive results. Attacking hitters again, he was tremendous at double-A New Hampshire (6-1, 1.10), impressive at triple-A Buffalo (1-1, 2.25), and on Friday his fresh approach earned him a spot in Toronto's starting rotation.
Boyd, 24, became the fifth Corvallis Knight to reach the major leagues when he started against Texas on Saturday at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Replacing rotation regular Aaron Sanchez, who is out until the July 13-16 All-Star break at the very least, Boyd gave up four runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings and was tagged with the loss in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Rangers.
With his parents and wife looking on, Boyd struck out seven, including the first two major-league hitters he faced, veterans Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Rua.
He threw 69 strikes in 103 pitches and did not issue a walk, but was victimized by three solo home runs in the homer-friendly Rogers Centre.
"It was pretty surreal, getting to live my dream," he said. "I wasn't really nervous, just excited.
"The first three innings I was kind of coming out of my delivery a little bit, a little jumpy. More than anything, it was just excitement.
"It's definitely something to build on. The goal of a starter is you always want to get deep in the game, put your team in a position to win."
He tied a team record for the most strikeouts for a first-time starter, and received a standing ovation when he left the game with two outs in the seventh.
"It's awesome to pitch in front of this crowd," he said.
Might he stay in Toronto for more than a cup of coffee?
"If he pitches well, hey, maybe it's his time," Toronto manager John Gibbons told Toronto media on Friday in announcing Boyd's promotion.
"Good pitcher, he has a bright future with the organization," he added. "He has been pitching well, he was dominating down in Double-A, couple starts in Triple-A and looked really good.
"So why not? Give him a shot and see where he goes...Sanchy is back throwing, but I don't know how long he is going to be."
Afterward, Gibbons said Boyd would get another start, most likely at Boston on Thursday night.
"You never to know what to expect when somebody's making their debut, but he's a confident guy," Gibbons said. "I thought he did a great job...He looked good and confident, so he ought to feel good."
Boyd joins Brent Morel (2007), Andrew Susac (2009), Matt Andriese (2009) and Matt Duffy (2010) as former Corvallis Knights who've reached the highest level of professional baseball. Morel made his MLB debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2010; Susac and Duffy broke in with San Francisco in 2014 and Andriese debuted with Tampa Bay earlier this season.
Coincidentally, Andriese started for Tampa Bay on Saturday against Boston and tossed 6 innings of one-hit scoreless ball while walking none and striking out 5 to earn the win in the Rays' 4-1 home victory. So, Corvallis Knights' alums combined to start major-league games on the same day for the first time in history.
Matt Duffy and Andrew Susac also started today in the big leagues at third base and catcher, respectively, and had big days for the Giants as Duffy went 3-for-4 with a double, homer and 2 RBIs and Susac delivered the game's winning hit with a bases clearing three-run double in the 7th-innnig to give San Francisco the 7-5 win over Colorado at AT&T Park.
In total, twelve former Knights have appeared in the big leagues including Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Bud Norris (2005); Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Chris Stewart (2001); Cleveland Indians reliever Marc Rzepczynski (2006); San Jose Giants pitcher Tommy Hanson (2005); Buffalo Bisons first baseman Matt Hague (2005); Los Angeles Angels Director, Player Development Bobby Scales (1997); and New York Yankees Area Scout Mike Thurman (1993).
A two-way player for the 2010 Knights following his freshman season at Oregon State, Matt Boyd hit .196 (10-for-51) with a homer and seven RBIs in 23 games as a position player, and was 0-1, 1.55 in 14 games as a pitcher, with four saves and 33 strikeouts in 29 innings. He was honorable-mention all-WCL, and ranked as the league's No. 22 pro prospect by Perfect Game.
"Packed houses, real rivalry games, players getting chippy and emotional, you don't see that kind of emotion in summer ball anywhere else," he said, speaking of his Knights' experience. "That was awesome. Playing in front of my home fans and having all that, it could not have been any better."
Boyd was 22-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 101 games with the Beavers from 2010 through 2013. Primarily a reliever his first three years, he became OSU's Friday-night starter as a senior and earned All-American honors by going 11-4 with a 2.04 ERA.
He helped lead OSU to a Pacific-12 Conference championship and a berth in the College World Series, where he shut out Indiana 1-0 in his lone starting appearance. He finished his college career with eight saves and 216 strikeouts in 258.1 innings.
Matt signed with the Blue Jays shortly after being selected in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, and rocketed through their farm system en route to Toronto, with stops at Lansing (A Midwest, 2013); Dunedin (A Florida State, 2013-014); New Hampshire (AA Eastern, 2013-14) and Buffalo (AAA International, 2014).
He was 13-12, 2.44 in three seasons in the minors, with 243 strikeouts and only 55 walks in 243 innings, and was rated as the No. 19 prospect in the Toronto organization before the season by MLBPipeline.
The lefty was selected in the 13th round by Cincinnati in the 2012 draft after his junior year at OSU, but did not sign. He returned for a second season with the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League and made the all-star team. He also appeared with Team USA during the summer of 2011.
"Simply put, Boyd knows how to pitch," Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson said after that summer. "It's a good velocity, a good breaking ball and he really, really competes.
"He loves to be on the mound."
