Kids these days, you all have it so good. All your video games have the most primo controllers. I went and googled Joystick just to find out how much these things have changed over time and what I saw shocked me. Well, that was partially my fault seeing as I went to google images and had the filter off. Note to self: never look up ‘grab my joystick’ ever again. But I digress, the controllers for these new systems are amazing. The Wii-mote? The coolest. The Playstation one? Stellar. When I had video games at your age — and yes I’m going to pretend you’re all way younger than me and spoiled so just play along — all I got was two buttons, Rob The Robot and a power glove. A FREAKIN POWER GLOVE, PEOPLE. But of course, you just got what the industry calls filler cuz that’s what this industry is full of. There’s no way I can write 500 plus words about Matt Joyce unless I started talking about his family heritage or his love for deep sea fishing. Did you really wanna hear about that? Didn’t think so. Of course, you didn’t wanna hear about joy sticks either but this Joyce stick should probably be in your lineup for week two of 2013 fantasy baseball. Don’t believe me? Well then read on!
There are things that are usually best left alone. Caves full of badgers, women with big hands and large Adam’s apples, and hitters who are off to a slow start — and that’s exactly what Matt Joyce has been. Through Saturday Joyce was 2/10 with one solo shot being his claim to fame on the year. But those stats are what he did at home with the Rays, a place where Joyce’s power hasn’t always played the way you’d want. Over a three year stretch with the Rays from 2010 to 2012, Joyce has a .439 slugging percentage at home and a .480 slugging percentage away. I know, it seems miniscule, but it’s the difference between 19 HRs and 27 HRs during that same span, so it matters. Know what else matters? Where Joyce gets to play on the road. He’ll start the week off in Texas, where the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington resides. It’s a baseball heaven for hitters in general, but for lefties it’s a beautiful place to be with that 325 foot short porch in right field. Combine that with getting to finish the week in Fenway Park — another hitter-friendly park — and you have yourself a person you could learn The Creep from without even having to grow that nasty, wispy mustache to do it. Another factor to consider is that April is one of Joyce’s best months. From that same 2010 thru 2012 time period, Joyce has a .308 average to go with 7 HRs and a .555 slugging percentage in 146 at-bats.
Even if he faces a lefty or two this week in those 6 away games, there’s an opportunity to catch a hot streak right when it starts as Matt Joyce is still only 9.8% and 6% owned in ESPN and Yahoo leagues, respectively. So if you’re struggling at OF or UTIL, re-Joyce in Matt and what he’ll bring to your team for week two.