Jay Allen Bruce (born April 3, 1987) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees. The Reds drafted Bruce in the first round with the 12th overall pick of the 2005 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2008. He was named an All-Star three times and won two Silver Slugger Awards.
Bruce was born in Beaumont, Texas on April 3, 1987, the youngest of three children of Joe, a plumber, and Martha Bruce, a special education schoolteacher. His older sisters are Amy and Kellan, who is mentally disabled. As a child, Bruce played both baseball and football, but he stopped playing the latter when, due to the risk of injury, Martha refused to sign the necessary consent forms. His mom said: "[Football] was just so rough and kids got hurt. When it came time for him to move up to the next level, I wouldn't sign the consent form. I told him, 'all the work you put into baseball could be wiped out on one play.'"
Bruce attended West Brook High School in Beaumont, where he was a third-team All-American. In his senior year he batted .538 with 12 home runs, 31 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. Bruce had accepted a scholarship to play college baseball at Tulane University but opted instead to turn professional out of high school. He was drafted 12th overall in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft, immediately behind fellow center fielder Andrew McCutchen, and signed for $1.8 million, the fifth-largest signing bonus the Reds had ever given at that time.
Bruce's professional career began in 2005 in the Gulf Coast League, playing for the Reds' short-season rookie team. He hit .270/.331/.500 in 122 at bats in 37 games before moving on to the Reds' rookie affiliate Billings Mustangs. There he hit .257/.358/.457 with four home runs and 13 runs batted in (RBIs) in 70 at bats. Baseball America ranked him the top prospect in the Pioneer League, and the second-best prospect in the Gulf Coast League.
In 2006, he was promoted to the Reds' Low-A affiliate Dayton Dragons, where he excelled batting .291/.355/.516 (6th in the Midwest League) with 16 home runs (tied for 4th), 81 RBIs (4th; leading all Reds minor leaguers), and 42 doubles (leading the league), in 444 at bats, placing him on many top prospect lists. He was a Mid-Season All Star, an All Star Game Top Star, a Post-Season All Star, a Baseball America Low Class A All Star, and was named a Baseball America Minor League All Star. Baseball America named him the top prospect in the Midwest League.
For the 2007 season, Bruce was promoted to the Reds' high-A team, the Sarasota Reds of the Florida State League, then quickly promoted to the Reds' Double-A team, the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League. He was a Mid-Season Florida State League All Star, and was selected to the 2007 All-Star Futures Game. Bruce was then promoted to the Reds' Triple-A club, the Louisville Bats of the International League. For the season for the three teams he batted .319/.375/.587 with 46 doubles (tied for 7th among all minor leaguers), 8 triples, 26 home runs (tops among all Reds minor leaguers), and 89 RBIs (3rd among all Reds minor leaguers) in 521 at bats. He was again named a Baseball America Minor League All Star, as well as a Baseball America High Class A All Star. He won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award, and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award. He was ranked as the top prospect in the Reds organization, Florida State League, and International League, and Baseball America rated him the best hitter for average and best power hitter in the Reds' minor league system.
Reds General Manager Wayne Krivsky informed Bruce and the media that Bruce would not get a look in the big leagues in 2007. However, during the Reds' final game of the 2007 season, Bruce was recognized for winning the Minor League Player of the Year award. Going into 2008 he was ranked the top minor league prospect in baseball by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.
Bruce was invited to the Reds' 2008 spring training. He hit .262 in his first spring training. On March 20, he was reassigned to the team's minor league camp and started the season at Louisville, where he batted .364 with 10 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 49 games before he was promoted. Entering the season he was rated by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Reds organization, and by both MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus as the top prospect in baseball, and by ESPN as the second-best prospect in baseball, as Baseball America rated him the best hitting prospect in the International League.
On May 27, 2008, Bruce got the call to join the Reds. He made his major league debut that day against right-handed pitcher Ian Snell of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bruce started in center field, batting 3-for-3 with two singles and one double. He drove in two runs, scored twice, walked twice, and stole a base. In his second game, on May 28, also against Pittsburgh, he added a double, another stolen base, and two more walks. Bruce became the first Major League player since 1977 to reach base in his first six plate appearances.
On May 30, Bruce went 4-for-5 in a 3–2, 11-inning win over the Atlanta Braves. Bruce doubled in the tying run and scored the winning run in the 11th inning, after leading off the inning with a single. On May 31, Bruce launched his first Major League home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, to give the Reds a walk-off win. One day later, on June 1, he went 2-for-3 with a home run, a single, two RBIs, and a base on balls. Bruce had a 1.000 slugging percentage after his first six games; the only major league player since 1969 to achieve a higher slugging percentage for his first six games was Mike Jacobs in 2005.
On June 2, Bruce hit the third home run of his career while going 2-for-4 in Philadelphia against the Phillies' Kyle Kendrick. In his first full week in the majors, he batted .577 (15-for-26) with three home runs, three doubles, and nine singles in addition to six bases on balls. He also scored 12 runs and batted in seven more runs. The Reds had a winning percentage of .714 (5–2) during his first week. Before Bruce was called up to the majors, they had a winning percentage of .451 (23–28), and had lost five of seven games. Bruce had a 12-game hitting streak during July.
To open August, after nearly half of a month without a home run, Bruce hit home runs in back-to-back games against the Washington Nationals. Two games later, Bruce hit his 10th home run of the season and his third of the month against the Milwaukee Brewers. In the final game of the Brewers' series, Bruce hit his 11th home run of the season. Following the trades of veteran outfielders Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, Bruce hit his 12th home run of the season in a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
For the season, he batted .254/.314/.453 with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs in 413 at bats. On defense, in 2008 he tied for the lead among all major league outfielders in errors, with 11. He was the 6th-youngest player in the NL. He was named to the Baseball America Major League All-Rookie Team and the TOPPS Major League Rookie All-Star Team. He came in fourth among rookies in voting for the National League's Jackie Robinson Award.
On April 6, Bruce started his first-ever Opening Day game. After missing time due to injury, Bruce bounced back with back-to-back homers on April 21 and 22 against the Chicago Cubs. On July 11, Bruce fractured his right wrist while making a diving play in right field in a game against the New York Mets. On September 14, Bruce made his return against the Houston Astros, pinch hitting with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Bruce's two-run single gave the Reds a 2–1 lead that would hold up as the game-winning hit.
Bruce batted .223/.303/.470 for the season with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs in 345 at bats. He was tied for 5th among NL outfielders, with 11 assists.