The Toronto Blue Jays have had an up-and-down month of April. But one of those “ups” has definitely been the play of rookie second baseman Devon Travis.
Indeed, it’s fair to say that Travis has been Toronto’s best overall player during the first month of the 2015 season.
In 21 games, the 24-year-old Travis has hit .342/.405/.658 with six home runs, six doubles, 19 RBI and 17 runs scored. His 1.063 OPS leads all qualified hitters on the team.
Entering play on April 30, Travis led the Blue Jays in home runs and was second on the team in doubles. Who would’ve figured that on a team with proven power hitters such as Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson, the 5’9” Travis would have hit the most home runs during the first month of the season?
The offensive production from Travis has been much welcomed by a Blue Jays offense that has seen slow starts at the plate from some of their big stars such as Bautista, Encarnacion and Russell Martin.
Toronto manager John Gibbons has also quickly realized what he has in Travis. When the Blue Jays played their first game of the season on April 6, Travis was the No. 9 hitter in the lineup. Since then, Travis has gradually moved up Toronto’s batting order and has currently been slotted in the leadoff spot as the replacement for the injured Jose Reyes.
With his impressive performance this month, Travis should be a favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Month award. He leads all qualified rookies in batting average, OBP, OPS, home runs, RBI and runs scored during the month of April.
While the high batting average and on-base percentages are one thing, the most surprising thing about Travis has been his display of power. Throughout his minor league career, Travis has hit just 29 home runs in 993 at-bats. So it’s going to be interesting to see if he can keep his power display going.
Speaking of minor league careers, it’s worth noting that Travis has never played a single game above the Double-A level.
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Detroit Tigers that sent Anthony Gose the other way, Travis was originally slated to start the 2015 season in Triple-A. But a strong performance in spring training earned him the Blue Jays’ second baseman job. So far, Travis has seized the opportunity and is on his way to having a great rookie season.
*All stats are from MLB.com and are current entering play on April 30, 2014.
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