Jarrod Martel Dyson (born August 15, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
Dyson was drafted by the Royals in the 50th round with the 1,475th pick of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft out of Southwest Mississippi Community College. He made his MLB debut on September 7, 2010.
Amateur career
Born and raised in McComb, Mississippi, Dyson attended McComb High School, where he starred in baseball and football as a running back. At McComb, Dyson earned All-Division honors but was passed over by most scouts due to his slight stature. Dyson later attended Southwest Mississippi Community College. At Southwest, Dyson tied the single-season record with seven triples and set a record with 47 runs.
Professional career
Minor League career
Dyson was drafted by the Royals in the 50th round, 1,475th overall, of the 2006 amateur draft. He signed with the team for $5,000. Dyson began his professional career that year, playing for the AZL Royals and hitting .273 with no home runs and 19 stolen bases in 51 games. He played in 10 games in 2007, all for the Burlington Bees, hitting .270.
He spent 2008 with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, hitting .260 with 39 stolen bases in 93 games. He split the 2009 season between the Bees (17 games) and Northwest Arkansas Naturals (63 games), hitting a combined .276 with 46 stolen bases. He began 2010 in the minor leagues, splitting the season between the AZL Royals, Blue Rocks, Naturals and Omaha Royals. He hit .299 with 24 stolen bases in 71 games.
Kansas City Royals
2010
Dyson was first called up to the major leagues in September 2010, joining the Royals and getting some playing time in center field. He played in 18 games and hit .211/.286/.404 with nine stolen bases in 57 at-bats. He made the team out of spring training in 2011, and took on the role of a pinch running specialist. He was regarded as one of the faster outfielders in the game.
2011
With Melky Cabrera having a breakout season in center field, Dyson spent the majority of the season in Triple-A. When in the Major Leagues, he served as a late-inning pinch runner for Billy Butler and Brayan Peña. Dyson hit .205/.308/.227 in 44 at-bats, stealing 11 bases. In the minors, he hit .279 with 38 stolen bases in 83 minor league games that year.
2012
The Royals originally had Lorenzo Cain as their starting center fielder, however Dyson gained significant playing time as a result of injuries to Cain.
In 102 games, Dyson finished the 2012 season with 76 hits in 292 at-bats leading to a .260 batting average. He also had nine RBI, eight doubles, five triples, 30 walks, 52 runs scored and 30 stolen bases, further highlighting his speed and baserunning talent. He spent 15 games with the minor league Omaha Storm Chasers that year as well, hitting .333 with seven stolen bases.
2013
In 2013, Dyson set a career best with 34 steals and had a slash line of .258/.326/.366.
2014
In spring training in 2014, Dyson tied for the major league lead in stolen bases with 10, while not being caught once. He finished the regular season tied for third in the American League with 36 steals. He was often used as a late inning pinch runner and defensive substitute, taking over in center field while Lorenzo Cain would shift to right field taking the place of Norichika Aoki. He played in a career high 120 games and had career highs in batting average (.269) and RBIs (24) at the time. His .269 batting average stands as his second-best total in a year.
2015
On January 28, 2015, the Kansas City Royals and Dyson avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract for $1.225 million. Dyson, who was expected to be the Royals' fourth outfielder, could also make $25,000 for reaching 350 plate appearances and $50,000 if he was chosen for the All-Star Game. He batted a slash line of .250/.311/.380.