Prospect Hotsheet

by mchang4 on Jun 20, 2008 3:08 PM CDT

Chris Davis No.1 this week

Team: Triple-A Oklahoma (Pacific Coast)
Age: 22
Why he's here: .400/.441/.967 (12-for-30), 5 HR, 2 2B, 12 RBIs, 9 R, 3 BB, 8 SO
The Scoop: If he doesn't get called up to Arlington in the second half, you may be hearing Davis' name bandied about for Minor League Player of the Year honors. That's how good he's been in 2008.

In addition to batting a cumulative .338/.389/.651 between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Davis also leads the minor leagues in RBIs (69) and runs (65) while ranking third in home runs (22) and extra-base hits (43) and second in total bases (181).

While he struggled initially after being bumped to Triple-A, Davis proved he was up to the task by reeling off a 14-game hitting streak (slugging .945 along the way) that was snapped Thursday—though he walked twice, preserving a 23-game on-base streak. Davis is batting a scalding .377/.443/.826 in 69 June at-bats, and best of all, he's maintained his power production while making more contact than he did last season.

Neftali Feliz No. 5

Team: low Class A Clinton (Midwest)
Age: 20
Why He's Here: 0-0, 1.69, 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO
The Scoop: Feliz has seemingly been knocking on the Hot Sheet door all season, but it took until now for him to finally break through. The Dominican righthander has taken the MWL by storm in 2008, posting a 2.24 ERA that ranks seventh in the league and his 10.93 K/9 is second among starters in the minor leagues. A hard thrower whose secondary stuff showed much improvement in the last year, Feliz has limited his opposition to just 19 runs in 68 1/3 innings, and he's permitted just 13 extra-base hits all season as well. Last Saturday against Wisconsin, Feliz recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts in just 5 1/3 innings, including one stretch in which he struck out five hitters in a

Baseball America Link

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Comments

Davis...

I’m really torn on this guy. I’d like to see him stay down and work on his K and BB ratios, but part of me thinks he almost ready and needs to get a couple hundred MLB ABs under his belt to get the adjustment period out of the way for next year. But, if you call him up, what do you do with Blalock? Hank doesn’t have a ton of trade value right now, and I don’t think they want to shift him back over to 3rd? What’s the answer? I’m not sure.

by Topgun22 on Jun 20, 2008 3:21 PM CDT 0 recs

trade bradley and split blalock/davis between 1b/dh

at least, thats one way to do it.

when (“if” i suppose) vazquez falls off, i hope they move blalock back to third.

Bring up Chris Davis

by DSheppard on Jun 20, 2008 3:28 PM CDT up 0 recs

Trading Bradley..

Also something I’m a little split on. I don’t think we can get equal value for him given his injury/personal history. Based on his performance, I’d try to extend him for 3 years at around $27M, but only if I was convinced he would be healthy enough to play the OF. Davis/Smoak/MaxRam will need the DH ABs very, very soon. If you get rid of Bradley and bring up Davis, the middle of the lineup is too lefty-centric. Hamilton, Blalock, Murphy, Davis, even Cat. I’m not sure that would work.

by Topgun22 on Jun 20, 2008 3:37 PM CDT 0 recs

Leave Davis in AAA all year.

Have him start next year in the Majors. The big reason is all the roster clusterfication right now, but the developmental aspect is just as important. Let him work on his judgment and plate discipline in AAA.

I happen to think that at this moment in time, he’s not going to be much better than Catalanotto or Shelton. Could he be better? Hell, yes, but why rush a guy who’s K:BB ratio is still so whacked?

by NoNameOnCard on Jun 20, 2008 3:43 PM CDT 0 recs

I don't understand.

Why is he going to learn more about it there than here? I get that the level of competition is vastly different, but do you really think he’s just going to get a lightbulb at one level versus another THIS season?

by brettgardner on Jun 20, 2008 3:51 PM CDT up 0 recs

i think the lightbulb would be a lot more likely

if hes forced to adjust to mlb pitching rather than hitting for a 1.1 ops and wondering what more hes supposed to do.

he at least needs some at bats in september.

Bring up Chris Davis

by DSheppard on Jun 20, 2008 4:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

I'm sure

I agree with you.

by brettgardner on Jun 20, 2008 4:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

He has

a 1:1 HR/BB ratio. Bring him up!

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," Bo Diddley

by Rodney on Jun 20, 2008 4:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

He's not down there "wondering" about anything.

He’s got coaches and instructors telling him what he needs to do to get better.

I’m also 100% certain that the AAA light bulb is easier to turn on than the Major League light bulb.

by NoNameOnCard on Jun 20, 2008 4:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

there is no lightbulb

davis isnt going to instantly become a medium strikeout high walk rate hitter. hes going to be a high K medium (hopefully) walk hitter. a couple extra months in AAA isnt going to change that.

can he improve a bit? yeah. like how his AAA K:BB numbers are better than his AA ones.

but what is going to really determine his success is if he can adjust to mlb pitching, and produce the raw numbers to sustain production while striking out. that adjustment is made in the mlb.

2009 isnt written off yet, why wouldnt you want to try to get him past that initial challenge in 2008?

given how little time he has in AAA I can see the argument to leave him there until august or september easily, but not one at bat in the major leagues this year? not ever september? september in the mlb vs september in AAA isnt going to do anything for his K:BB rates. it may do something for his initial 2009 mlb success.

he might not be significantly better than cat/shelton for a month or two in the mlb, but what does that matter?

i think he would be though.

Bring up Chris Davis

by DSheppard on Jun 20, 2008 4:58 PM CDT up 0 recs

More on selectivity...

Selectivity and plate discipline doesn’t just apply to walks and strikeouts. A player’s general approach and his 2-strike approach in particular can be adjusted more easily against lower-level competition.

Through AA, Davis’ hands were traveling approximately 2.3 miles to get to his contact point. This dramatically throws off swing timing for off-speed pitches. As a RoughRider, Davis did a fair amount of guessing. Generally, when he incorrectly guessed fastball, he was way too far out front to even foul off many off-speed pitches; when he incorrectly guessed off-speed, he couldn’t touch the fast stuff. His swing length makes it far more difficult for him to protect the plate with 2 strikes than a hitter with a much shorter swing.

Minor League statistics do not always indicate how ready someone is for the Majors. In case you want evidence of that, you have no further to look than Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz. I’m NOT saying that Chris Davis is the next Botts or Cruz, but I AM saying that you shouldn’t assume Davis is ready just because he’s got an OPS of about 1.100.

by NoNameOnCard on Jun 21, 2008 2:35 AM CDT up 0 recs

MLB v. AAA

Part of his low BB and high K total could be due to his thinking that he has to hit his way to the majors. If he were in Arlington that wouldn’t be a concern. As they say, “you don’t walk your way outta AAA”...... or some such….

by Topgun22 on Jun 20, 2008 4:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

He's never going to walk a lot

but his rates have been improving. I think you bring him up on about August 1. Let him continue his development in Arlington. Moving up a level hasn’t phased him one bit so far, and I think he actually will need to come up to polish his skills sooner rather than later. If the AAA arms aren’t challenging him then it does no good for him to be down there. And room can be made for him in Arlington easily enough.

...and curse Sir Sidney Ponson, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on Jun 20, 2008 9:47 PM CDT up 0 recs

not cool to BA

where’s the link?

Stats don't lie

by Longhorn on Jun 20, 2008 4:03 PM CDT 0 recs

"There is no reason for me to move to third base," Young said.
-FOTF 5/20/2008

"Well, we are one of the cheapest teams in Major League Baseball"
-Tom Hicks 4/8/2008

by Jayslick on Jun 20, 2008 6:51 PM CDT up 1 recs

here

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2008/266364.html

by Butters on Jun 20, 2008 4:08 PM CDT 0 recs

Let Davis

come up soon so he can get his struggles out of the way now.

by Agreen07 on Jun 20, 2008 4:14 PM CDT 0 recs

Or...

keep him in OKC until Aug/Sept and he won’t struggle when he gets to Arlington at all.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jun 20, 2008 4:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

That would be good too

by Agreen07 on Jun 20, 2008 4:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

so you think by staying in AAA for 6 extra weeks.

he will not struggle at all in the mlb?

come on.

Bring up Chris Davis

by DSheppard on Jun 20, 2008 4:23 PM CDT up 0 recs

YAY! Bring up Chris Davis :)

the Longview, Texas native and childhood Rangers fan

some Davis love after a ST home run. He crushed two spring homers and drove in four runs in spring training.

Over the years, my favorite pastime outside baseball is driving through a pasture looking at cattle - Nolan Ryan

by hurlerhurley on Jun 21, 2008 1:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

not to be a jerk...

but those photos aren’t yours…and that sir, is a copyright violation! AND…you didn’t even reference where you got them. Bad form…

by 8legs2fangs on Jun 22, 2008 1:12 PM CDT up 0 recs

While you're at it

trade anyone that won’t be on this team in 2 years…

by Agreen07 on Jun 20, 2008 4:14 PM CDT 0 recs

+1M

"There is no reason for me to move to third base," Young said.
-FOTF 5/20/2008

"Well, we are one of the cheapest teams in Major League Baseball"
-Tom Hicks 4/8/2008

by Jayslick on Jun 20, 2008 6:55 PM CDT up 0 recs

comparison

Jay Bruce minor league total 1341 AB 25% K rate 9% BB rate .921 OPS

Chris Davis minor league total 1026 AB 27% K rate 8% BB rate .953 OPS

Bruce played in 99 AAA games. Davis has 26 so far. By 8/1 he will have another 30 or so AAA games under his belt. I think he comes up on August 1st.

Brandon Boggs 2008 Texas Rangers ROY

by RangerMad on Jun 20, 2008 4:31 PM CDT 0 recs

it should also be noted that bruce didnt attend any college

so davis is older and has that experience in addition to the milb numbers.

Bring up Chris Davis

by DSheppard on Jun 20, 2008 4:51 PM CDT up 0 recs

So what your saying is

If he played a more valuable defensive position, he would be the number 1 prospect in baseball?

Hot.

by SaltyGoesYard on Jun 20, 2008 4:53 PM CDT up 0 recs

I wonder what his ranking is

somebody needs to come out with an updated list…

by Agreen07 on Jun 20, 2008 5:05 PM CDT up 0 recs

What are his platoon splits?

Baseball cube doesn’t appear to have them.

"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."

by benmor78 on Jun 20, 2008 5:05 PM CDT 0 recs

Try

MinorLeagueBaseball.com or minorleaguesplits.com.

A quick glance at his AAA splits show he’s got a 1.013 OPS versus lefties and a 1.171 OPS versus righties.

Not too shabby.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jun 20, 2008 6:16 PM CDT up 0 recs

Here:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Chris%20Davis&pos=1B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=448801

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," Bo Diddley

by Rodney on Jun 20, 2008 9:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

Any chance Feliz

skips Bakersfield and is in Frisco by season’s end?

by Rangerchick on Jun 20, 2008 5:52 PM CDT 0 recs

doubt it.

Although I would like to see him try it.

"Would you mind walking a time or two so I could drive in some runs"? Milton Bradley

by boomer1 on Jun 20, 2008 6:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

Probably not

He is still very young and has only pitched 68 innings at the Low A level. I think the Rangers will bring him along slowly and shut him down sooner than we think. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is on the ‘07 Kiker plan.

Baseball Time in Arlington

by jparks77 on Jun 20, 2008 10:44 PM CDT up 0 recs