Chris Davis

by joltinjoe on Jul 27, 2008 2:27 AM EDT Comment 34 comments

The big lefty just hit his 10th homer of the season in the majors and added a double for good measure.

Thus far, he's actually hit better against lefties, which he also did in double and triple A this year. He's batting just a tick over .300 with 6 walks and 22 k's in 89 ab's. he's got an OBP of roughly .345 and a slugging of over .700 for an OPS of over 1.000.

The dude mashed in the minors and appears to have carried that over to the big leagues. He's only 22 and is playing in a great hitting ball park.

What does the community think of Chris Davis? Is he just off to a very hot start? Is he this good? Will he be considered one of the premier sluggers in the game within the next few years?

I'm obviously a big fan but I wanted to see what others thought of him.

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i'd have his babies

by daveh33 on Jul 27, 2008 3:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well no one's good enough to consistently slug .700 sans steroids

But clearly Chris Davis is a badass.

by Fett42 on Jul 27, 2008 9:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

jay bruce's line is currently .261/.317/.411

now maybe ron washington is a better hitting coach than dusty baker, but i’d also think that pitchers in the majors are just beginning to adjust to davis. you might want to wait until after davis adjusts to their adjustment before putting him in a class like that.

ANATOMY OF ERA:
Variables Don't; Constants Aren't

by variablesdont on Jul 27, 2008 10:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Baker needs to move Bruce out of the leadoff spot

It is ruining the kid, doesn’t help that Baker is an idiot.

by Bravesin07 on Jul 27, 2008 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

He still hasn’t learned his lesson after Corey Patterson?

I am like your Dan Aykroyd and biglow would be Jane, the ignorant slut. -Chad

by thecoolest on Jul 27, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

WTF?

How is batting leadoff going to ruin someone?

by rwperu34 on Jul 27, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Umm

Clearly, when that isn’t his true skillset, I’d say the answer is fairly obvious. Now that may not ruin him, but I think it’s fairly obvious that he’s not a prototypical leadoff guy.

by killa on Jul 27, 2008 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How specifically?

Are you saying he’ll be more likely to try to get on base than hit for power? More likely to try to steal a base? I don’t follow.

And also, why is Jay Bruce batting lead-off more destructive than Grady Sizemore or Ricky Henderson batting lead-off? In each of the last 4 years Sizemore has hit more than 20 home runs, and this year he seems to be on pace to cross 30. For the time being (though not over his entire career), does anybody think that Bruce will hit more than that? I agree that Bruce isn’t the prototypical leadoff guy, but I don’t think it’s such a terrible decision that it will ruin him

www.loftylantern.com

by OldProspects on Jul 28, 2008 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kinsler's skill set isnt leadoff and look what he has done,

good ballplayers adjust to everything, including where they bat.
Bruce=overrated!

The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ

by NYTXFAN on Jul 28, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Response

Some may actually suggest that this is a GOOD decision for him from a developmental standpoint. A leadoff man needs to know how to work counts. And while Jay Bruce is skilled beyond his years at many things baseball-wise, one thing he could stand to improve is his pitch selection.

So . . .the Reds are putting a player who needs to improve his strike zone judgment in a position that demands the development of good strike zone judgment habits. And this is supposed to be a bad thing?

Now, if we’re seeing articles next March that contain things like, “Bruce has dropped about 10 pounds from his frame and over-hauled his swing to hit line drives rather than flyballs” and “Bruce mentions names like Juan Pierre and Jacoby Ellsbury as guys he’d like to emulate,” then okay, you got me.

by mrkupe on Jul 28, 2008 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

how many at bats has corey patterson logged at leadoff for the reds?

i’m pretty sure that dusty baker’s clubhouse is where strike zone judgment goes to die.

thinking about it, that makes little sense, but it sounded good in my head for a moment.

ANATOMY OF ERA:
Variables Don't; Constants Aren't

by variablesdont on Jul 28, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yes

Anybody remember an all time home run king batting leadoff for a few years?

by rwperu34 on Jul 28, 2008 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Left Handed Mark McGwire

by Bravesin07 on Jul 27, 2008 11:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not even close...

more like a Left Handed Chuck Norris or Jack Bauer. Or maybe a hybrid of all three, with some Babe Ruth tossed in?

by BobbyMac on Jul 27, 2008 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

left handed chuck norris

classic! After all, he is a Texas Ranger.

“Cause when the eyes of a Ranger are upon….”

The Giants need to sign Harry Doyle.

by jrose643 on Jul 27, 2008 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mike Jacobs

Ok, yeah, Davis had better minor league #’s, and is up at age 22 not 24, but..

-Similar swing + physique.
-Both mashed in the minors (Davis admittedly much more consistently)
-Neither really walked much in the minors despite their power numbers
-Remember Jacobs also had a good first run in the bigs: he put up .310/ .375/ .710

So yeah Davis is better but I wouldn’t say that he’s the next premier slugger, I would think of him a better player in the same mold as Mike Jacobs.

Go Jays

by providence bruins on Jul 27, 2008 12:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like that comp

I was struggling to come up with someone, but I think that works.

by El Duq of Hurl on Jul 27, 2008 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jacobs is looking like a 30 homerun guy at best...Davis

hit 36 last year and now has 33 between AA, AAA and the majors. He looks like he is legitimately a 40+ homerun guy.

The only thing comparable is that they have a similar first 100 at bats in the majors. And as you said Davis is doing it at 2+ years younger. And at 22 he is an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier than a 28 year old Jacobs.

I would say his production will be closer to Prince Fielder than it will be to Mike Jacobs.

by tt68 on Jul 27, 2008 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But how could Jacobs only be a 30 homerun guy?

He hit 46 on my MLB 2K8 team!

I am like your Dan Aykroyd and biglow would be Jane, the ignorant slut. -Chad

by thecoolest on Jul 27, 2008 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

Until this year, Jacobs only once had a year where he hit more than 20 home runs. Chris Davis hit 36 last year, and already has 33 this year. Despite being, as you say, older, it took Jacobs 2078 atbats to hit 71 home runs. Davis hit 74 in 1045 minor league at bats.

I don’t really know what to make of Prince Fielder. Is he the 30HR hitter that he looked like in the minors and this year, or the 50 HR hitter he was last year? Fielder also has a significantly better eye than Davis, both in terms of drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. I wonder if a better comparison might be Ryan Howard (who was also drafted in the 5th round!) Davis got very good faster, (Howard didn’t explode until he was 24) but it’s obviously still an open question whether he’ll ever reach the same power levels that Howard does. Howard walks more, but he also strikes out more than Davis does. I think Howard might be a reasonable best case scenario for Davis

www.loftylantern.com

by OldProspects on Jul 27, 2008 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Either way

We’re talking about some pretty lofty comps here. If Davis can develop a better eye and cut down on the K’s…..Look Out!

Ripken.....thanks for the memories...

by bodyiq on Jul 27, 2008 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What's problemmatic about all of this

Is that what distinguishes Ryan Howard from every 23 year old who does solidly in A+ is that he dramatically improved from there. That being said, speaking strictly of HR potential, I’m having trouble thinking of any recent prospect who’s been significantly better as young. Obviously people like Pujols and Cabrera were much better than Davis is – as hitters, but not necessarily as power hitters. Is Davis pretty much as good as a power hitting prospect as there has been recently?

www.loftylantern.com

by OldProspects on Jul 27, 2008 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gotta Remember

That Davis wasn’t a full-time hitter until two years ago. In JUCO he pitched as well. Keeping that in mind, in addition the fact that he has changed positions and the fact that he was better in AA that he was in Hi-A, and better in AAA than he was in AA, I’m really impressed. I think Howard with less Ks and less BBs is about right…

by Dfarth on Jul 27, 2008 7:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think he'll regress like Bruce did

as pitchers start to adjust to his approach.

by number_twentyone on Jul 28, 2008 12:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Then you haven't watched him play

After watching him play for the Rangers the last couple of weeks I think the opposite will happen. There have been several times where Davis has been really fooled on a pitch and struck out and then later in the game seeing the same pitch and hit a home run. I have seen him do that several times and off pitchers who were pitching well. He seems to be great at making adjustments and all his coaches have had high praise for his ability to make adjustments.

by brentash on Jul 28, 2008 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So you think he's going to turn out to be a better than a .700 SLG hitter?

by Fett42 on Jul 28, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No I don't mean his numbers will be better

I just think he will continue to adjust and develop and become a better all around hitter. The .700 SLG is from a very small sample size. I doubt he continues to hit home runs at this rate, but I still think he will hit a lot of home runs. I don’t think that all of the sudden the league is going to figure him out. I think he will get better all around as he becomes more comfortable with the pitchers and the league. That doesn’t mean he will SLG .700 but probably .600+

by brentash on Jul 29, 2008 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A lefty Ryan Braun.

Similar power, k rates and walk rates. Both are ex-3rd baggers and most importantly the ball just explodes off both their bats.

by wolviex18 on Jul 28, 2008 4:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A lefty Ryan Braun

Similar power, k rates and walk rates. Both are ex-3rd baggers and most importantly the ball just explodes off both their bats.

by wolviex18 on Jul 28, 2008 4:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Davis

Hard to say just yet. I think he’s going to make better contact than Jacobs.

I also believe his SZ judgment will come around. He won’t be like Lance Berkman or anything, but I can see a day where Davis has 50 BBs in 500 ABs.

Yes: 125-150 Ks, too.

"That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet."

by criminal type on Jul 28, 2008 10:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

why the hell is he batting 9th?

he was 8th forever… and now that he’s been moved, i was not expecting it to be down…

by daveh33 on Jul 28, 2008 7:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ron Washington is goofy

Also, Texas is overloaded with left handed bats and bats RHB first and second most days. So they’re usually squeezing 5-6 LHB in those other seven spots, and he just bats Davis behind Blalock and Murphy among the lefties for some odd reason.

Offense doesn't doubt me, but my first and primemost thing is defense and punt return and kickoff return

by Brett Perryman on Jul 28, 2008 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs