Overcoming the Odds: How Zach Joyce Found His Way Back to Baseball

As fans, we often forget that some things are bigger than baseball for players. They play a sport we all know and love, and there is an expectation that nothing else should matter as much as the game. But players go through many of the day-to-day struggles we find ourselves facing. After all, they are human beings just like us. 

We often highlight successful journeys of players who overcome the odds of being a late-round draft, finding something that made their game click late in their career, or bouncing back from injuries. Zach Joyce’s journey back to baseball has less to do with finding newfound levels to his game or bouncing back from an injury but more with finding a place in his community and meaning in himself and his life. 

Joyce had a successful baseball career in high school and at Walters State Community College, which led him to transfer to the University of Tennessee to play baseball alongside his twin brother Ben. Adversity greeted Joyce as soon as he stepped through the door. In 2020, he underwent Tommy John surgery and ended up stepping away from baseball before he even had a chance to put on a uniform. 

The surgery wasn’t the main reason he stepped away, but it was an even bigger reason. Zach was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. A decision that put himself and his well-being over the game he has known and loved for his entire life. 

“It was almost out of necessity, to be honest,” Joyce said. “I knew at that point I was dealing with pretty severe anxiety and depression. I was having panic attacks basically every day that would cause me to be at the point of passing out and I was still having trouble opening up about it.”

Unable to figure out what was leading to the anxiety and depression, he felt that baseball was part of the reason for his feelings.

“I kind of just wanted something to blame it on, and at that point, I chose baseball, but I slowly realized that it happens to a lot of people,” Joyce said. The coaches at Tennessee were super supportive the entire time and were only focused on me getting better and getting help. My girlfriend also dealt with anxiety, and she was extremely supportive and helpful, as were my brother and my parents.”

Having that support system and those around him who let him know it was okay not to be okay gave him the freedom to focus on himself. As it is for most people, it wasn’t an easy journey to overcome, and battles continue to this day. It took Joyce seeking out resources to help him get through what he was going through. 

“As an athlete at UT we actually had a few resources we could use for mental health. I got connected with a psychiatrist as well as a therapist and began taking medicine to start helping alongside that,” Joyce said. “The biggest resource I found was just opening up to people close to me. Obviously not all at once and not right away, but over time I was able to be transparent about it. It is an extremely vulnerable and uncomfortable feeling but it does help so much. Finding things that helped me such as working out and even going hiking on my own.”

Joyce touches on a huge aspect of overcoming mental health battles... Vulnerability. Not just the vulnerability to seek out the resources he needed to help him but the vulnerability to talk to others about what he was going through. We’ve made significant progress as a society, but unfortunately, stigma still exists around getting treatment for mental health issues. Because of that stigma, many people often don’t seek out care or talk to others about how they are feeling because of the fear of being judged. 

Zach was able to overcome something that was uncomfortable and it became one of the biggest resources he had. Finding that comfort to be able to confide in others and continuing to utilize the tools and resources he had led to Zach eventually working his way back to baseball. He eventually enrolled back at the University of Tennessee. When Zach stepped away, it wasn’t a priority to get back to baseball, but he kept itching to get back on the mound

“The first year and a half after I stepped away, I didn’t watch a single baseball game. I was basically just a regular college student, even working jobs and doing internships,” Joyce said. “Then when Ben came back from TJ and started throwing again the second year, I went to games to support him. I remember having to get up and walk around the first game I went to because I was itching so badly to get back out there.”

Missing the feeling of 1-on-1 competitions, seeing his twin brother Ben out there throwing again after TJ and watching the team atmosphere on the field fired Zach up to play baseball again. And on February 19, 2023, Joyce debuted on the mound against UC San Diego again. He came out of the bullpen for the Volunteers and went two-thirds of an inning, striking out the only two batters he faced. The fastball reached 95 mph, and he had his slider in the mid-80s. Joyce was back. 

2 batters, 2 strikeouts, 3 runners stranded

Electric stuff from Zach in his Tennessee debut! ⚡️#GBO pic.twitter.com/i5sGE9neGA

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) February 20, 2023

“I can still remember the entire outing even though I felt like I blacked out. It had been over 4 years since my last time in a game and we were out in Arizona for the MLB 4 tournament. I know they were trying to get me a clean inning, but I ended up coming in with 1 out and bases loaded,” Joyce said. “Once I got out there I just remember how good it felt and how excited I was. I ended up striking out the 2 guys I faced and the reactions from my teammates was the best feeling. They were all so supportive the entire time and helped me so much.”

Joyce finished the season with 10.1 innings pitched while striking out 17 batters. It was a small sample size of success, but all that mattered was that he was back on the mound throwing. That small sample size still had scouts taking notice. And as the draft rolled around in 2023, Joyce heard his name called in the 14th Round by the Los Angeles Angels, the same team his twin brother Ben played for. 

Ben and Zach have played everywhere together, and that close-knit relationship has been beneficial to the both of them, even it can get overly competitive at times. Still, Zach wouldn’t trade his relationship with his brother for anything. 

“It’s been incredible, and I’m definitely blessed to have a twin brother playing the same sport,” Joyce said. “Obviously, it gets extremely competitive, and we have our rough times, but you always have someone to work with and someone to help you out when you need it. Watching his success has been incredible and how hard he works pushed me even more.”

Zach debuted in 2023 and found success again, pitching 10.2 innings while striking out nine and giving up only three earned runs in A ball. Regardless of his success and making it to the next level in his baseball career, Zach knows that his battles with mental health don’t just end there. He knows it will always take consistent work on his end going into 2024 and beyond. 

“There are still hard days but getting to the point where I am consistent through all of the highs and lows and continue to grow as a person and teammate on and off the field,” Joyce said. “I pride myself in being a great teammate and a person that people can confide and trust in. I want to continue to build that and have a healthy season on the field. Enjoy the moments I am in whatever and wherever they might be.”

Zach’s journey in baseball and life is just beginning. He’s found his way to seeking out community with others around him. Having overcome so much in baseball and life, Zach hopes that sharing his story helps others and lets them know that they aren’t alone on their own personal journey.

“It is an extremely vulnerable feeling but it will change your life if you open up and seek help. It is more tough to be able to do that than to keep it all in,” Joyce said.

“I know I felt like a burden for doing it, but the people that love and care about you notice when things are wrong and that is even more of a burden if they feel like they can’t help. Take it one day at a time. ‘The pain you have been feeling can’t compare to the joy that is coming’ Romans 8:18”

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The Diamondbacks have an incredibly fun farm system and this game featured Druw Jones, one of the biggest names in it. His presence, Robby Snelling's pro debut, and some other names in these farm systems playing win this one made it a good game to check out.

CF Druw Jones, #3 on Diamondbacks T30 and #15 on T100

The tools were as advertised for Druw Jones. He is incredibly athletic and fluid in everything he does. At the plate, Jones did not quite get the results or square any ball up particularly hard. But he had some good at bats, particularly his eight-pitch dogfight of an at bat to lead off the game against Robby Snelling (who looked really really good right from the start). Jones was tracking pitches well, laying off tough pitches, and fighting off a bunch of good stuff as well. The pitch recognition was there, which is something you love to see at his age. His swing itself is a bit of a work in progress. He tends to fly open with his front side and pull his head simultaneously, but he has plenty of time and all the tools needed to fix that. 

I was most impressed with his work in center field. Jones just glides out there and he can really move. The plus plus speed that he has is going to make a huge impact on his game and should allow him to play a really good center field. He made one throwing error on a throw to third where he sailed it way over the bag and into the stands, but he had a few other accurate throws. Jones made an absolutely absurd play in center, going back to the wall after covering a bunch of ground and snagging it with his backhand. A scout next to me could not believe he caught that, and I couldn’t either. This guy gets the hype he deserves and I walked away extremely impressed.

LHP Robby Snelling, #5 on Padres T30:

Snelling stole the show a bit in this game. This was his professional debut and he went three clean innings with three strikeouts. The fastball was mostly 93-94 and got up to 96 on one gun. His slider was 80-83 and the rarely used changeup was in the 84-86 range. His command with all of his pitches was really good and when he can locate the heater like that, his slider is going to be successful. The fastball has some nice firm run on it and plays to both sides of the zone. Maybe his most intriguing skill is his ability to spin the slider, which looked like an above-average breaker with legit break. The slider that he got Jones to go down looking with, as seen below, was a really nice pitch early in the game.

Robby Snelling can really spin it. 2 strikeouts through the first two innings including this one. Got Druw Jones looking after a battle of an at bat.

#4 on @ProspectsLive Padres top 30. pic.twitter.com/zGDV1pTGJi

— Grant (@GrantCarver32) April 7, 2023

Changeup development will be a key for the lefty going forward. He did not use it a ton and it looked a little flat but it was staying around the zone when he threw it so the feel is there. Needs to get a little more consistent movement on it going forward. It was a really strong showing overall for Snelling and his fastball/slider combination combined with his above average command makes him a really intriguing prospect.

CF Samuel Zavala, #3 on Padres T30:

Zavala is still extremely raw but he definitely has some tools. He has plenty of projection in the body and adding some size will do him well. The upper body movement is extremely fluid and his torso movement is loose as well. He got in trouble when he relied on his arms a bit too much and swung through some pitches. The bat-to-ball skills look like a bit of a question mark in this one and when he did get to the ball, the contact was not very impactful. He also had an at bat against a lefty that he really did not see the ball well against, especially the breaking stuff, and went down quickly.

It may not have been the most impressive night for him, but it’s easy to see why Zavala is a guy to watch going forward. The projection and the raw tools are there to be refined, and he has plenty of time to do it.

SS Roman Verdugo, #11 on Padres T30:

Verdugo struggled a little bit with the hit tool in this one, but he did have one ball squared up decently well for a hit. He is very pull heavy right now and will need to adjust that approach going forward. Verdugo is just 18 so he has plenty of time to grow, but he looked a little on the smaller side to me tonight. 

His hands looked quick and the swing was pretty consistent despite the lack of results. How much impact is in that bat is the question going forward, and more reps to refine his approach will do him wonders. 

2B Manuel Pena, #22 Diamondbacks T30:

Pena’s most impressive work tonight came in the field, where he made a really nice play moving to his right and throwing on the run from behind second base to nab the runner at first. The arm strength was shown on that play. He moves well and could be a good fielder at second base if his time at short is done. At the plate, he was patient with the approach and looked to be recognizing pitches well. The impactful contact was not there, but he is a player with a good combination of projection and current skills that make him a guy to keep tabs on.