Blue Jays Prospect Watch: Get to Know Matt Boyd

The Toronto Blue Jays made headlines this offseason when they elected to roll into the 2015 season with six of their top prospects on their Opening Day roster. While a few — like Daniel Norris, Miguel Castro and Dalton Pompey — had to return to the Minors, some have seemingly found the niche in the Majors, like Aaron Sanchez, Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis. Apparently, the Blue Jays have more talent brewing deeper on their pipeline. 

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Matt Boyd, the Blue Jays No. 19 rated prospect, took home the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week Award honors for the week of May 18th and looked equally sharp this past week. The 24-year old lefty is having a big season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Boyd was drafted two seasons ago by the Blue Jays, when they selected him in the sixth round of the 2013 draft. He couldn’t pick up a win in his 2013 half season debut, but his peripherals looked very promising as he struck out 23 batters over his first 24 innings while only walking four and limiting opposing batters to a .167 average over two levels.

He would dominate the Florida State League in 2014, taking home three Pitcher of the Week Awards for the Dunedin Blue Jays. He would bounce up and down between Double-A, struggling in his 10 2014 starts with the Fisher Cats. Thus far in 2015, Boyd seems to be more comfortable at Double-A.

Boyd took home the EL Pitcher of the Week Award for the week of May 11 through 17th and then answered the call by pitching yet another dominating performance this past week. The lefty went seven innings, limiting the Altoona Curve to just three hits and one run for his fourth victory of the year. Boyd has now not lost in his last seven starts, earning the win in four of those outings.

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The lefty prospect now sits at 4-1 on the season over his first nine starts. He has a 1.05 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and is limiting opponents to a meager .167 WHIP. He has struck out 56 over 51.1 innings while walking a mere 13, striking out a little over four batters for every walk he issues.

The Buffalo Bisons, the Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate, has a rotation full of crafty veterans headlined by 38-year old Randy Wolf. Daniel Norris is also now part of the rotation in Buffalo. While it seems that Boyd is comfortable in Double-A and has possibly figured it out and is ready for the next level, there doesn’t seem to be much room to put him.

The Blue Jays rotation in the Majors is armed with veterans — like Mark Buehrle and RA Dickey — so the Blue Jays will certainly be looking to reshape their rotation in the near future. With Daniel Norris in the wings and Aaron Sanchez figuring it out at the big league level, Boyd adds intriguing depth to what could quickly become one of the better young rotations of the future.