Last year I started a series called “September Call-Ups.” The series highlighted some of the top rookies and prospects in baseball for 2009.
Some of the rookies I highlighted were Andrew McCutchen, Chris Coghlan, Buster Posey, and Tommy Hanson.
With a new season under way, I thought I would continue the series in 2010. The rookie class of 2010 figures to be just as good, if not better than in years past.
I thought I would start off this year’s series with a guy who seems to be on the fast track to the major leagues—New York Mets first base prospect Ike Davis. Despite only having a year-and-a-half of minor league experience under his belt, it looks like Davis could be the Mets’ starting first baseman before you know it.
The Mets right now have Daniel Murphy, Mike Jacobs, and Fernando Tatis holding down the fort at first base. I don’t think any of them are the long-term solution at first.
Even if Davis kills it in spring training, I don’t expect him to start the year on the big club. However, if he continues to rake in the minors and Murphy and Jacobs get off to slow starts, Davis could be playing at Citi Field as soon as June or July.
Here are some other facts about Davis:
Vitals
Age: 22
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
College: Arizona State University (he definitely got his party on there)
Drafted: 18th pick of the first round of the 2008 draft
Minor League Stats
2008 Low Single-A: .256 with zero home runs, 17 RBI, and a .652 OPS in 58 games
2009 High-A and Double-A: .298 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI, and a .906 OPS in 114 games
Keith Law Ranking and Analysis
Ranking: No. 64 out of 100 best prospects in baseball in 2010.
Analysis: "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."
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