Oakland Athletics: Matt Joyce Finally Playing Well
By Joey Lopez
Matt Joyce is finally starting to produce. Unfortunately for the A’s, Joyce’s timing is just a little too late.
The Oakland Athletics made a few questionable moves leading up to this year including their signings of Trevor Plouffe, Rajai Davis and Matt Joyce. Plouffe’s time with Oakland did not last long and for a while it looked like Davis and Joyce were both on their way out as well.
The A’s have struggled with consistency all year, but it seems as if Davis and Joyce have turned a corner this month.
Davis is performing much better than he was in the first-half of the season. Davis is slashing .319/.372/.514 in the second half. He has slowed down some this month, but Davis has been encouraging.
As for Joyce, however, the A’s should be perfectly content with their outfielder’s performance this month.
Joyce is slashing .317/.370/.805 with 5 HR and 12 RBI this month. Since the All-Star break, Joyce is slashing .276/.360/.571.
Joyce struggled in the first-half and failed to find consistency at the plate. He hit .220/.330/.409 with 11 HR and 33 RBI prior to the All-Star break. On the year, Joyce is hitting .233 with 18 HR and 51 RBI.
Oakland Athletics
Better Late Than Never
While Joyce’s resurgence has been entertaining, the A’s probably wish Joyce had started the year off with better numbers. Joyce was tough to watch in April, May and June. The A’s parted ways with Plouffe and even fan-favorite Stephen Vogt earlier in the year for a lack of production.
Due to his lack of production early on, it seemed as if Joyce would also be dealt. The A’s kept Joyce around, however, and he is finally starting to produce quality at-bats. But the A’s probably would have liked to have seen Joyce hitting well in April, May and June, too.
Despite breaking out in August, Joyce should continue to provide the A’s with a valuable option in the outfield. One of the most remarkable statistics this month for Joyce is his hard-contact percentage (41.1%). He has had some great at-bats this month and collected a home run on Friday in Houston.
Heading into 2018, the A’s will have plenty of talented prospects waiting to showcase their abilities. Having Joyce in the mix, though, provides the A’s with much needed depth.
The A’s should be happy that Joyce is finally playing with some consistency. If he can close out the year with some productive numbers, Joyce’s value heading into 2018 should be much higher than it was this year.