Rob Neyer luvs him some Chris Davis

by Adam J. Morris on Jul 18, 2008 12:04 PM CDT Comment 41 comments

Hank Blalock, who moved to first base earlier this season because he wasn't much of a third baseman, is moving back to third base. But it's the right move, even though his replacement, Ramon Vazquez, has been a wonderful surprise. Why is it the right move? Because Vazquez isn't really this good, and Blalock's bat is too good to leave on the bench. But mostly because first base is now occupied by the best hitter nobody's talking about: Chris Davis. Last winter I worked up lists of the best players of the next five years at each position. Then, I'd never heard of Chris Davis. I suppose this was an oversight, as Davis was then listed as the Rangers' No. 2 prospect, but on the other hand he did strike out 150 times in 129 minor-league games last season. Now, though? He's still striking out, but not as often. And the guy's power is off the %@#& charts: 13 homers in Double-A, 10 homers in Triple-A, and now six homers in 17 games with the big club. Oh, and he turned 22 just last spring. This season his combined slugging percentage is .645. Can you find a better 22-year-old hitter in the game right now? Anyone?

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rob neyer

underrated

Greatest Inventions Ever? 1. TiVO, 2. Boobs, 3. Baseball

by willamos2 on Jul 18, 2008 12:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

He's my favorite baseball writer.

Easily.

by philkid3 on Jul 18, 2008 3:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by gr7070 on Jul 18, 2008 4:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

People hate this

but I’m throwing it out there anyhow. I just picked up Hank on my fantasy team (again) but now that I know that Davis isn’t going to AAA, should I pick up him instead (this isn’t a keeper league)?

Actually, maybe this is a very good question. Who’s more valuable for OBP, HRs, RBIs and Rs (I’ll ignore SBs for these guys)?

Nothing pithy here. Please move long.

by WyoRanger on Jul 18, 2008 12:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

i've got Chris on a couple of my teams

been pretty damn productive so far. I usually sit him against tough lefties and elite RHP. Basically, I trust him to destroy average RHP in the AL.

Greatest Inventions Ever? 1. TiVO, 2. Boobs, 3. Baseball

by willamos2 on Jul 18, 2008 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Davis

He hasn’t been claimed already? If not, do so immediately.

"You’re the only here who contributes schtick only." - brettgardner

by trza on Jul 18, 2008 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

was thinking the same thing

wyoranger must be in a real loser league

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

by hurlerhurley on Jul 18, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's the question

I don’t have room for both (and again, it’s not a keeper league) so who do you pick up? Its got to be just based on performance for this season.

Nothing pithy here. Please move long.

by WyoRanger on Jul 18, 2008 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think you should ask Dustin

(aka Black Francis)

It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get. --Ed Coffin

by txranger7 on Jul 18, 2008 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hank

veteran, will hit higher in the order (more chances), has a better chance of a higher average, and has more to prove than Davis does for the rest of the year. That is, IF he is truly back healthy

"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of."

by Walter Sobchak on Jul 18, 2008 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I kept them both

I dropped Vasquez to pick up Davis. I’ve got way to many Rangers on my team. Maybe that’s why I’m just a bit over .500. Huh. (CJ, Ian, Blalock, Davis, Salty).

Nothing pithy here. Please move long.

by WyoRanger on Jul 18, 2008 7:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Davis

Very high on him like everyone, I just want to see how the Ks go, a couple hundred ABs. Somehow nobody’s talking about the K rate once they see the ML homer rate.

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Jul 18, 2008 12:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

if he turns out anything like a cheap Adam Dunn

would that be so bad?

Actually, I guess Dunn walks a ton though…nevermind.

Greatest Inventions Ever? 1. TiVO, 2. Boobs, 3. Baseball

by willamos2 on Jul 18, 2008 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If he reproduce Dunn's

hr’s – some walks + some average then that would work for me.

by slimshadty12 on Jul 18, 2008 12:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beware of the ghost of Victor Diaz

by Telegraph on Jul 18, 2008 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Big "Suck It!"

to all the other MLB teams!

Hahaha, they got what you don’t.

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," Bo Diddley

by Rodney on Jul 18, 2008 12:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Halos Heaven

probably still thinks Casey Kotchman is going to be a far better 1b…

by JBImaknee on Jul 18, 2008 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kendrick

And Kendrick a better 2B.

"An effortless 98" - Scott Gardner after Neftali Feliz's first AA pitch

by RangerMad on Jul 18, 2008 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

that's the one that irks me

how they can STILL claim that Kendrick is better than Kinsler based on park effects is just ridiculous.

That and the fact that they say they’d rather have Juan Rivera over Milton Bradley based on Bradley’s “history” and Rivera’s one good season.

Greatest Inventions Ever? 1. TiVO, 2. Boobs, 3. Baseball

by willamos2 on Jul 18, 2008 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better hitter at 22

How about Miguel Cabrera circa 2005.

"You’re the only here who contributes schtick only." - brettgardner

by trza on Jul 18, 2008 1:14 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

"in the game RIGHT NOW'

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 1:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Before he ate

an entire Dunkin Donuts also.

by Rodney on Jul 18, 2008 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Krispy Kreme

way better. And they spell the word doughnut correctly. However, I do like Dunkin Donuts coffee.

I figured you might want to know all this.

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

by hurlerhurley on Jul 18, 2008 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

great insiight

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 2:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I gotta agree with the

“because he wasn’t much at 3B”. Hopefully he builds his trade value up to the point that he can get a marginal prospect back. Between not being much with a glove, and not being able to hit lefties, I’d just as soon make the best deal possible, and get on with the MY at 3B era.

"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain

by DJCahill on Jul 18, 2008 1:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I wish we would just trade MY.

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 1:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

he's not that bad actually.

And, of course, he’s so ‘clutch’...

Josh Hamilton is better than you.

by Longhorn on Jul 18, 2008 1:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

MY and Bradley and Millwood

for Cano and Hughes..

Move Ian to third. and bring up Andrus right now.

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 1:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

mlbtraderumors on Adrian Beltre..

“Beltre will earn a reasonable $12MM next year and has a limited no-trade clause.”

reasonable 12mm????

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 2:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

He's actually a pretty good 3B

I mean he’s got some power and is far and away the best 3B defender in baseball. I’d much rather pay him 12M than Lowell…

by bushe on Jul 18, 2008 2:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah but 12MM

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 2:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

for the Twins

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cuddyer

If they can trade Cuddyer then I would expect them to go get Beltre. Cuddyer is owed $16.25 million on his contract. That assumes a $1 million buyout for 2011. Beltre is owed $12 million for next year only. He will be a FA after 2009. They would save ~ $4.25 million.

"An effortless 98" - Scott Gardner after Neftali Feliz's first AA pitch

by RangerMad on Jul 18, 2008 2:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

cuddyer

i like him as a player, but 16.25mill for him??

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg

by rentz on Jul 18, 2008 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

over how many years??

by tyd3311 on Jul 18, 2008 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

08:$5M, 09:$6.75M, 10:$8.5M, 11:$10.5M club option ($1M buyout)

"An effortless 98" - Scott Gardner after Neftali Feliz's first AA pitch

by RangerMad on Jul 18, 2008 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i like cuddyer and all, but thats a ton of money for a guy that doesn’t exactly tear the cover off the ball

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg

by rentz on Jul 18, 2008 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

according to

the chris dial rankings, he’s the 3rd best 3B in the AL and thats without having hit much the first half of this year. with a better second half (usually his M.O.) he could sneak ahead of Rolen. I feel what youre saying though since that contract has been a considerable dissapointment for the M’s.

by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Jul 18, 2008 4:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Can we be sure

that CD will be a more productive ML hitter than MaxRam?

I don’t think we can.

Warner Madrigal makes Ezequiel Astacio look downright handsome.

by tricer on Jul 18, 2008 4:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

No, we can't

But so far he has been. If MaxRam feels like outhitting CD, more power to him. Lots more power.

Nothing pithy here. Please move long.

by WyoRanger on Jul 18, 2008 4:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

define production...

I think Davis will hit more HRs, knock in more runs, and play better defense based on what limited things I’ve seen, and ironically, I think Max will end up with a higher average. But Max and Chris have both surprised me as far as their defense goes…

"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of."

by Walter Sobchak on Jul 18, 2008 4:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs