A Day in Honor of Jay Bruce

Two years ago today Jay Bruce made his Major League debut. And we went ahead and took it a step too far as usual by declaring that May 27th and every May 27th Jay Bruce day around Major League Baseball.

He celebrated his first day in the big leagues by going 3 for 3 with two walks. Last year he homered twice, tripled and drove in five. What he’ll do tonight is anyone’s guess, but if you’re in Vegas I’d play RED 32 on the wheel because May 27th is just a special day. It’s Jay Bruce’s day.

As for The Beaumont bomber himself, Yahoo! Sports sums is up pretty well how he’s playing right now.

The Reputation: More name value than actual substance, Bruce is nowhere near the player he was hyped to be.

Bruce, who can most likely be had on the cheap as long as you’re not playing with Redlegs fans, is closer to fulfilling expectations than most realize. As in, any moment now. Since mid-April, he’s racked up a .310 average – he was a .308 hitter in the minors – and has offset 29 strikeouts with 21 walks. The power has lagged behind (he’s yet to go yard in May) but he’s doing everything else, recording seven doubles, three triples and a very surprising five stolen bases on the season. If there’s one thing we could count on heading into the year, it was that Bruce was a lock for 20 HRs, and now that he’s finally becoming a dual-category threat and has a surprisingly potent supporting cast surrounding him, he has top-15 outfielder potential hitting in the Great American Launching Pad. I smell a homer barrage coming.

So maybe he hasn’t homered in a month. He’s just a ballplayer. Tonight’s the night. Thanks for two great years in the big leagues Jay.