Ike Davis

[MFS62]

The lefty hitting first baseman was drafted last year by the Mets. He was slow to adapt to wood bats, and didn't show the power last yearthat the Mets had expected. This year, he hit seven homers at A ball and was promoted to Binghamton, where he has hit three more.

I saw Davis play yesterday in the Binghamton, New Britain game.
He got three hits, put the ball in play to get a runner home from third (Which puts him ahead of anyone now on the Mets roster), and made some really nice plays at first.

Welcome to the family, kid.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Baseball America tells us why they like Ike


Because they liked his above-average power and pitch recognition skills, the Mets selected Arizona State first baseman Ike Davis with the 18th overall selection in the 2008 draft and bestowed him with a $1.575 million bonus. But Davis sure had a strange way of repaying New York�s faith.

Davis, a 6-foot-5 lefthanded batter who was leading ASU batters in all triple crown categories before missing time with a ribcage injury as a junior, didn�t homer in his first 75 pro games. In fact, he didn�t do much of anything with his first 312 plate appearances, batting a composite .260/.330/.338 in his first three months of pro ball. To make matters worse, he spent that time with short-season Brooklyn (�08) and high Class A St. Lucie (�09)�two age- and experience-appropriate levels.

Things have been different, though, since the 22-year-old Davis connected for his first pro home run on April 28. In nearly the same number of plate appearances (296) since, he�s batted .291/.389/.520 with 12 home runs and 18 doubles in 70 games, all while turning in a fine 40-to-62 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Davis earned a promotion on June 23 to Double-A Binghamton, where he�s kept up the pace.

"He�ll have power. I like him quite a bit," a pro scout for an AL club said back in May, when Davis appeared more bust than boom. "He�s the type of player who will hit a ton of doubles and play good defense. He�s just a really good player who understands the game and does everything correctly."

Mets vice president of player development Tony Bernazard can�t hide his enthusiasm for Davis� development, saying, "He�s coming along well for a player in his first full year. He�s a great defender and we believe he�ll hit for power. You can see it in how he�s hit a lot of doubles. And the best part is, he�s kept up while playing in every game."

[metirish]

Saw this today

First baseman Ike Davis is hitting .326 with 10 homers and 29 RBI in his last 37 games

[Frayed Knot]

Not bad for a guy who hit ZERO HRs over like 200 ABs last year in Brooklyn.

Lots of folks busting on this pick over the off-season.
Patience people.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I've had a boner over this guy for a couple months now. He is absolutely destroying right handed pitching -- 339/429/636//1.056 -- and is relatively harmless vs lefties 236/333/291//624.

I don't know how much a player's splits tend to improve over time, but geez. Give this kid a RH-hitting platoonmate (Sheffield?) and let him go to work!

[nymr83]

thats a pretty good job of crushing the righties!

[Edgy MD]

BINGHAMTON -- Ike Davis made his return to the Binghamton Mets lineup one day earlier than planned.



And what a return it was.

Davis, who hadn't played in a week due to sore ribs, hit a two-run, go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Binghamton Mets to a 3-2 victory Wednesday night over the Portland Sea Dogs in the second of a three-game Eastern League series at NYSEG Stadium.

"It's always great to hit a ball hard, and it's always great to get a 'W,' " said Davis, who entered the game in the fourth inning as a replacement for the injured D.J. Wabick. "We all know we're not going to make the playoffs. But at least we can finish up here and maybe break some hearts, beat some teams and get some confidence. You always want to have confidence going into the off-season."

Mike Antonini (7-3) pitched seven solid innings to get the win as the B-Mets (49-79) snapped a four-game losing streak. Portland (61-67) loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. But Jose De La Torre struck out Iggy Suarez then got Daniel Nava to ground out to second to end the game.

Davis, one of the top power-hitting prospects in the Mets' organization, hadn't played since Aug. 18, when he went 0-for-1 in a game that was suspended due to rain. In that game, Davis re-aggravated an pre-existing rib injury. He started feeling better during the team's road trip to Connecticut this past weekend.

Davis, who will be playing in the Arizona Fall League this year, took live batting practice the past two days. The original plan, B-Mets manager Mako Oliveras said, was to have Davis return to the lineup tonight.

But midway through Wednesday's game, Wabick left the game due to dizziness, and Davis came in. He flied out to center field in his first at bat, swinging at the first pitch he saw from Portland starter Ryne Miller.

"The first time you're up after being out for a while, I think you're always a little anxious to prove you're back," Davis said. "The second time up, I really wanted to have a good at-bat and see a lot of pitches."

[Edgy MD]

Ike joins the US team next week at that International Baseball Federation's Baseball World Cub in Europe starting next week.

Eddie Rodriguez is manager and looks to defend Davey Johnson's championship.

http://web.usabaseball.com/teams/index.jsp?team=940&content=roster

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy DC wrote: Ike joins the US team next week at that International Baseball Federation's Baseball World Cub in Europe starting next week.

I saw advertising billboards for that event in Prague this summer.

[MFS62]

I was going to post his year's stats, but got that weird message mentioned in the Admin forum.
I'll try again when its fixed.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Ike winds up #18 on BA's season-ending 'Prospect Hot Sheet'

Note that this is not necessarily the same thing as being in the top 20 prospects in all baseball. 'Hot Sheet' is more like a list of this year's best selling albums rather than a prediction of which one's will still be getting played 10 years from now and it doesn't include a bunch of just-released records either as many of them haven't had time to rack up sales yet.
Still, it's a good showing for a kid many were quick to write off 2 months into his pro career.



Age: 22

Why He's Here: .298/.381/.524 (128-for-429), 20 HR, 31 2B, 3 3B, 71 RBIs, 58 R, 57 BB, 112 SO, 0-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Davis overcame a startlingly slow start as a pro (.260/.330/.338 without a home run through his first 312 plate appearances) to assert himself as a top first base prospect. (He played two games in right field, too, in preparation for the World Cup.) And if spending half a season with Binghamton, the worst team in the minors, had any ill effects, it was not apparent in Davis' performance. He hit significantly better in Double-A than he had in high Class A (.951 OPS vs. .863), and from April 28, the date of his first pro homer, to the end of the season he batted .303/.388/.551 in 415 PAs.

One of five college first basemen taken in the '08 draft's first round�a group that includes Yonder Alonso, David Cooper, Allan Dykstra and Justin Smoak�Davis this season led the quintet in average, home runs, RBIs, OPS (.906) and isolated power (.226). The power came at a cost: He also averaged the most strikeouts per at-bat (26 percent) and posted the lowest walk-to-strikeout ratio (.48), indicating areas for improvement.

[Frayed Knot]

And from their on-line Q & A:


Q: Does Ike Davis have a chance to be a everyday 1b or even a allstar?

A: Definitely. I watched him take BP for Team USA before they left for the World Cup (I believe they're on MLB Network right now) and he showed more raw power than anyone else there, including Justin Smoak and Pedro Alvarez. It's not a simple swing, but he's produced this year and there's plenty of raw power there.

[Edgy MD]

That strikeout rate still makes me dubious about throwing him in the Mets lineup in 2010.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah but he could push Chris Carter and Muffy for a job, maybe by midseason.

[Edgy MD]

Agreed there.

Basically, that's how I like to do it. I like to see young players handed nothing, but earning their playing time in a brutal crucible of big league competition, rising to the top in bloody sweaty sexy stinking mess, emerging like the Beatles out of Hamburg, ready to destroy the world.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: That strikeout rate still makes me dubious about throwing him in the Mets lineup in 2010.

Yeah. He's a guy with barely 200 ABs above A-ball and only 1+ season overall as a pro.
I'd say mid-season next year is borderline realistic/optimistic.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's also possible that the Mets will bring in a one-year old guy to hold down first base for 2010. (That old guy may be Carlos Delgado, or not.) In which case, Davis would be more realistically aiming for 2011.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Frayed Knot wrote: And from their on-line Q & A: Q: Does Ike Davis have a chance to be a everyday 1b or even a allstar? A: Definitely. I watched him take BP for Team USA before they left for the World Cup (I believe they're on MLB Network right now) and he showed more raw power than anyone else there, including Justin Smoak and Pedro Alvarez. It's not a simple swing, but he's produced this year and there's plenty of raw power there.

He also showed Lust for Life and Instinct.

[MFS62]

Ike went 3-5 with a homer and a triple as the US beat Germany in World Cup competition. The score was 9-1.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Gets the Americans to 1-1. Kai Gronauer caught and went 0-3 for the Germans.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: And from their on-line Q & A: Q: Does Ike Davis have a chance to be a everyday 1b or even a allstar? A: Definitely. I watched him take BP for Team USA before they left for the World Cup (I believe they're on MLB Network right now) and he showed more raw power than anyone else there, including Justin Smoak and Pedro Alvarez. It's not a simple swing, but he's produced this year and there's plenty of raw power there. He also showed Lust for Life and Instinct.

Any information on his splits? Is he better at hitting during day games, or at Nightclubbing?

[Frayed Knot]

John Sickels (during a review of corner IFers taken in the 2008 draft):

The 22nd overall pick out of Arizona State, Ike Davis was supposed to be less polished than college teammate Wallace, but more athletic and with better physical projection. Mets fans were frightened when Davis hit just .256/.326/.316 with zero homers in his 58-game pro debut in the New York-Penn League, but he erased those doubts in 2009 with a strong campaign. He hit .288/.376/.486 in 59 games for St. Lucie in the Florida State League, then .309/.386/.565 in 55 games for Binghamton in the Double-A Eastern League, combining for a .298/.381/.524 mark with 20 homers, 31 doubles, 57 walks, and 112 strikeouts in 429 at-bats. He has work to do against lefties, hitting just .242/.301/.371 against them this year compared to .323/.414/.586 against right-handers. Other than that, his season was very strong and he should be ready to help sometime next year.

[Edgy MD]

And Ike brings home the gold.

[Edgy MD]

Ike played that AFL season while a friend was dying of cancer.

�Ike was there for him, and so were other guys, rallying around Mike,� Ron said. �Ike was playing in the Arizona Fall League, and as soon as the game was over he would go back to the hospice and sit with Michael, spend the night with him and leave at 9 the next morning, go drive out and play a ballgame, and then do the same thing. So, he went about four or five nights, when it got real bad, without even sleeping. Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/son_of_former_yankee_zFt1YQx3BgMqUjUhl30MXL#ixzz0YDbDC3oU

[Frayed Knot]

#61 on Keith Law's Top 100 Prospects list:

Davis' mediocre debut in 2008 turned out to be a red herring, as he finished his first full season in 2009 in Double-A and isn't far from reaching the majors. He has raw power, especially dead pull power, and showed that he can murder a fastball and lay off a lot of pitches out of the zone against right-handed pitchers. On the downside, Davis doesn't hit left-handed pitching at all, and even against right-handers struggles to recognize off-speed stuff. He's a reasonably good athlete who can handle first base and actually has a plus arm -- he was 92-94 mph as a reliever in college -- although that's less relevant at the position. A full year in Double-A/Triple-A to work on pitch recognition and on improving his approach against left-handers is probably critical for his future as an everyday player, but he has a chance to be an above-average one if he can shed the "platoon player" tag with more reps

[MFS62]

Thanks. I read a report on him a while ago that said if the Mets were to get another first baseman, Ike had the arm to play right field. Didn't realize it was that good.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

Omar on Hot Stove the other night: "We love Ike Davis."

[Edgy MD]

Of course he does. I think, when the rage dies down, we'll probably see that part of the thinking in going big in left, but not catcher, first, second, or right, is that the team is excited by the prospects that they have coming along at those positions, and they're looking to change on the fly over the next two years.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: Of course he does. I think, when the rage dies down, we'll probably see that part of the thinking in going big in left, but not catcher, first, second, or right, is that the team is excited by the prospects that the have coming along at those positions, and they're looking to change on the fly over the next two years.

Not a bad plan. There have been a lot of minor league mavens (e.g.- BP, Baseball America, etc.) who are beginning to rate the Mets prospects highly lately. Some are projecting debut years for them. I could see those positions you mentioned being manned by:
C - Thole
1B - Davis
2B - Tejada/ Reese Havens
RF - Capt. Kirk* or Fernando Martinez

by as early as 2011.
In the baseball forum, there is a thread about how the winning Yankee teams were based on a home grown "core".
This is the first time in a long time that I feel optimistic about the Mets being in a position to do the same thing.

Later

* = I call him "The Dutch Treat" but, unlike the NFL, will not copywrite it.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Who is "Captain Kirk"?