Jayce Boyd was a sixth-round draft pick by the New York Mets in last year’s MLB Draft, and has certainly made people within the organization take notice with his performance with the Savannah Sand Gnats through 62 games this season.

After signing with New York, the Florida State University product joined the Cyclones in Brooklyn for 54 games and 201 at-bats. He put together decent numbers in his first professional season (.239/.320/.368), but certainly nothing eye-popping. In 2013, he’s turned into a force at the plate, with last night’s 4-for-4 performance (including a triple, home run, and three RBIs) against Greenville as the team’s cleanup hitter as another reminder.

In the middle of their final first half series in the South Atlantic League, Boyd is among the league leaders in numerous offensive categories:

• .346 batting average (1st)
• .420 on-base% (2nd)
• .471 slug% (T-16th)
• 43 RBIs (9th)

His patience at the plate has been the most notable part of his approach since joining the Mets organization. In Brooklyn, he walked 25 times compared to 30 strikeouts. The same trend is appearing this year with Savannah, as he’s drawn 30 free passes, compared to only 32 strikeouts.

While Boyd is hitting well in just about every scenario thrown his way this season, he’s especially killing southpaws when they take the mound. Only 36 of his 240 at-bats have come against left-handers, but he’s put together a ridiculous .472/.568/.611 line, good for a 1.179 OPS.

Now that he was able to participate in spring training this season and comfortably start the season with Savannah, Boyd has been pleased with how he’s been hitting, sending a clear message to the organization that he wants to be taken seriously.

In an article on MiLB.com, Boyd spoke to Jonathon Raymond about his approach at the plate:

I feel pretty comfortable at the plate, but you always go through ups and downs, no matter what. It’s about minimizing the downs and maximizing the ups, and I’ve been trying to do that all season. Tonight I had a good night, and hopefully I’ll keep it going from there. I just want to keep as even-keeled as possible. You try not to get too low when things are going bad and not get too high when things are going great. Stay there in the middle with what you can control, and good things usually happen when you have that plan and that process.

Spoken like a true ballplayer trying to get better each day. I love the approach, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the second half of the season will bring Jayce, especially since it should be at the next level.