According to the Longview News-Journal, 22-year-old Rangers’ 1B Chris Davis has been called up to the majors. Although he doesn’t have Jay Bruce’s hype, he may have a bat that’s equally capable of serious impact in the bigs. Here’s a look at Davis’ numbers over the last two seasons:
| AB | BB:K | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | HR | RBI | ||
| 2008 |
AAA | 111 | 13:29 | .333 | .402 | .685 | 25 | 10 | 31 |
| AA | 186 | 13:44 | .333 | .376 | .618 | 42 | 13 | 42 | |
| 2007 | AA | 110 | 12:27 | .300 | .376 | .691 | 21 | 12 | 27 |
| A+ | 420 | 22:125 | .295 | .337 | .570 | 43 | 24 | 93 |
Davis boasts more raw power than anyone in the minors, and has improved his approach (and results) as he moved up each level. I’m very excited about this kid.
In keeper leagues, now’s the time to grab Davis if he isn’t already someone else’s property. He’ll probably struggle a bit at first, as he’s likely to have some trouble with strikeouts in the bigs, but he also tends to learn new levels very quickly after a short adjustment period. Unfortunately, that means it’s not that likely he’ll set the league on fire right away while Hank Blalock is recovering these next few weeks. That might mean a trip back to AAA when Blalock returns. That said, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Texas benches or trades Blalock or Catalanotto sometime soon in order to open up this C/DH/1B logjam they’ve got with Davis, Max Ramirez, Salty, and Smoak all looking like future impact players.
For fun I’ve compiled a projection (based on his BB:K and ball-in-play numbers) for what I think Davis can do if he plays full-time the rest of the year, assuming 275 ABs:
.265/.317/.513 14DB 18HR 20:70BB:K
The Runs and RBI will depend on where he’s likely to bat in the order, but he’s got the bat to drive in a lot of runs. This projection assumes a LD% of 20%, a FB% of 43%, and a HR/F of 20%–all good numbers, but significant drops from where he’s at in the minors this year. Also, I hear the Ballpark in Arlington is a pretty fun place for lefty sluggers to hit.
Obviously I think Davis is going to be a pretty good power hitter, and if he can improve his plate discipline the way he has throughout his minor league career, he could be a great one. There aren’t many opportunities to move on a fantasy player with this kind of upside, so don’t be slow about picking him up. If there’s a young 1B in the league with Prince Fielder’s upside, Chris Davis is it.
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