31
2009
What’s Not To Like About Ike?
An article by 
When the Mets selected first baseman Ike Davis with the first of their two first round selections in the 2008 June Draft, expectations were high for the Arizona State slugger. However, a disappointing showing in his first taste of professional baseball had many wondering if Davis was a first round bust.
While playing for the Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones, Davis hit just .256 with 15 doubles and 17 RBIs in 58 games with Brooklyn. But what was most troubling, was how many homeruns he clubbed for the Cyclones; none.
Davis would start his 2009 season playing for Class-A St. Lucie and not at Binghamton as many had initially hoped. The Mets felt they needed Davis to show some improvement before promoting him to Double-A, and there were some growing concerns within the organization.
This time however, Davis was ready to prove his 2008 showing was just a fluke and not the norm.
In 59 games for St. Lucie, Davis would hit a much more respectable .288 and he nearly doubled his RBI output from a year ago. More importantly, he started swinging the bat with the type of power that had drawn the Mets to him in the first place. To go with his 17 doubles and three triples, Davis had also swatted seven homers, and a lot of folks began to breathe a little easier.
He was soon promoted to Class-AA Binghamton, and in 202 at-bats he is hitting .307 and leads the team with a .940 OPS. Oh yeah, and as for the homeruns… he’s hit another dozen and drove in 42 RBI’s to go with them. I’m not going to tell you where I’ve ranked Ike Davis in our Top 25 Mets Merized Prospects which will be released next month, but you can be sure he cracked the top five.
Yesterday, Ike Davis fell a triple shy of the cycle and drove in three runs Sunday to lead Binghamton to a 5-3 victory at Akron, but that wasn’t the big story of the day for Ike.
Davis is one of 23 privileged players who were selected to play for Team USA and compete in the World Cup which begins on September 9th and will feature teams from 20 different countries from all over the world. Davis will leave Binghamton and join his teammates in Europe as they prepare for the start of the competition. Davis was thrilled to be selected,
“It’s always a great honor to play for your country. It’s totally different, but it’s great. All you’re concerned about is winning. If you go 0-for-4 but you win, it doesn’t bother you that much. It’s like a throwback to when you’d go out there and nothing mattered but winning. It’s always a privilege.”
It’s going to be a busy year for Ike Davis because as soon as he gets back from World Cup play, he is expected to join his fellow Mets teammates who have been chosen to appear in the Arizona Fall League, where he will play with and against baseball’s elite prospects.
Obviously, Ike has come a long way especially when you consider how poorly he started off in 2008. That seems like just a distant memory at this point, as Davis has shown himself to be the power hitter the Mets are thirsting for and I’m not exaggerating.
Davis has hit 19 home runs so far this season which leads every player in every level of the Mets organization including the big league team.
At just 22 years old, Davis must now be considered the odds on favorite to replace Carlos Delgado in the heart of the Mets order and take over first base duties from Dan Murphy. At this point the question is not if Ike Davis becomes the Mets future first baseman, but when. Once he improves his plate discipline and works on his pitch recognition, it’s not far fetched to believe that Ike Davis could appear at first base for the Mets by July of next season.
I think the odds of him winning a job in the spring are very long, but a solid showing in Buffalo next May and June, could have Ike in Flushing faster than one of his towering longballs flying out of the park.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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I’ve seen Ike play at PSL and liked what I saw. I remember a towering drive to the wall in deepest center that was impressive. I think the middle of next year may be a bit early, but I’d be thrilled to see him at 1B for the Mets to start the 2011 season. That just might be the start of rejuvenation for this team.
Then I’d like to see Reese Havens follow him up in 2012.
ive been following ike for a few months now and i must say i am very impressed and astounded by his maturity at this level. I too thought he was a bust from the 2008 draft but he proved me wrong. I really hope the mets sign either russell branyan or adam dunn for next year as a stop gap for 1b. Trade daniel murphy or let him learn another position because he is not going to cut it at 1b. I say Ike davis starts at 1b at 2011 but please only bring him up for september callups next year. He needs to learn plate discipline as he struck out over 100 times in 400 at bats.. not a very good number. although a hundred more at bats and we can be looking at 25 + hrs at the major league level. maybe even more. Hes also a great defender. Last year he was ranked the best defensive 1b in the nyp league. He only has 5 errors this year in a hundred and so games. WOW
Ike davis. get used to it
If he maintains that .940 OPS through AFL and the first half of next season in AAA, I can see him up by July too. The Mets are now desperate for any kind of excitement on this team, and if they can give their fans a cheap thrill that could sell more tickets, they wont hesitate in bringing up Ike Davis or any of their better prospects.
The Mets no longer make moves like a big market team. They have stooped to the likes of the Royals and Pirates, and if they got a hot prospect that can sell some extra seats, they’ll bring him up whether they’re ready or not.
I’m going to agree with Mask and go for the start of 2011. I don’t want to rush him, I also want him to get some extended AAA experience.
But the guy is tearing it up at the moment and I’m starting to become a big fan.
I agree that we shouldnt rush him, but that hasn’t stopped the Mets from rushing Nick Evans and Dan Murphy out of AA, or F-Mart for that matter. All three of them are not and were not major league ready. Neither was Jon Niese or Mike Pelfrey when he first came up just one year after being drafted. Joe Smith was drafted in 2006 and the Mets had the gall to use him as a setup man toward the end of 2007. Their moves are based on what sells now and they no longer have the player’s best interest at heart.
Yeah, i know. This is why I noted the other day that the Mets seem to be immune to learning from their mistakes. It’s interesting that you make the comment that they no longer have the player’s best interest at heart, because as we speak, they’re flying a man who just experienced a concussion to the thin aired Colorado. Real Smart.
The Mets just seem to love rushing their prospects because it does sell tickets. People pay to see these new kids. It was almost the same thing with Maine when he came up and threw that complete game shutout. And they rushed Kunz up too. You could even say it about Parnell. I just hope they don’t screw this one up too. Same concept for Reese Havens; Josh Thole…etc.
Parnell was the best example of the Mets rushing prospects. At least Murphy hasnt really embarassed himself at the plate. Pelfrey and Smith may have been rushed but they weren’t exactly bad in my opinion. In fact I bet if you look at their numbers I bet Joe Smith had a better year than JJ Putz or Sean Green.
Pelfrey’s still “improving and learning” and Smith…I was a big fan of Joe Smith. But Joe smith has dealt with injuries this year and has only pitched 34.0 Innings. Almost as if he’s still with the Mets with his injuries…
Ike has an MLE of .226/.289/.370
He is a one dimensional player who does not even do that dimension that great at this stage of his career.
Lets see him have some sustained success at the minor league level before we proclaim him the heir apparent at a power position for a team which has a top three payroll in all of baseball.
John Sickels and Keith Law both proclaimed him the heir apparent and they kind of know what their talking about in these matters. By the way, come October, ten other teams will have a bigger payroll than the Mets and I suspect that number to rise as well.
Man when you guys blog, you really blog! I appreciate the thought that goes into your posts here instead of the usual two sentence blurbs I see elsewhere. Did you know that when Ike Davis played for Arizona State he became the most decorated baseball player in the school’s history? He earned so many All State and All American honors he could fill Fort Knox with all the hardware.
For those who may not know, our university has produced some of the best baseball players ever to play the game including Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando and Barry Bonds just to name a couple. Also current stars Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler. We also had plenty of Mets including Gary Gentry, Hubie Brooks, Craig Swan and Paul LoDuca.
Ike Davis won more awards than any of those players while he was with us. Don’t sell him short. Plus his dad was a solid major leaguer too.
Davis and Kinsler are my all time favorite Sun Devils.
Great site, and I’ll be following your posts on Ike, I have a hunch you’ll be having a ton of them come next season.
Didn’t Tom Seaver pitch for Arizona too?
Nope, USC.
Ike Davis: I Like Ike. He can hit lefties and absolutely crushes righties. Think Shawn Green.
Reese Havens: No relation to Ritchie Havens…too bad. He’s been on a mini-tear, but will require more seasoning than Ike. Havens also bats lefty. From what I read, he’s a hard-nosed gamer.
Josh Thole: He, too, bats lefty. Hits everybody. We’ll get a firsthand look starting tomorrow. Has the same motor as Daniel Murphy, a 5.9 Cummins Diesel.
Kirk Robert Nieuwenhuis: ALSO A LEFTY! Gees. Just turned 22, is 6’3″ and 210 lbs. Went on an extended, unconscious tear for St. Lucie and was just promoted to AA B-Mets. He’s definitely someone worth watching.
Personally, I don’t care whether the Mets make the playoffs next year. I want a young, healthy team that has time to gel at the Major League level, at which time we should then add the final jewels.
Most Met fans would be patient if they new a dynasty was being built.
All the names you list have great potential for the future. I have seen Davis and Havens play and like them both. Havens is an infielder with power to the opposite field. He clears the fences with room to spare. Great arm to go with it as well.
With guys like these, we can look forward to a real team again by the 2012 season. Patience is needed for the next 2 to 3 years. In the meantime, I doubt we can expect much at the major league level for the Mets.
I had the opportunity to umpire Ike when he played high school baseball at Chaparral high school in Scottsdale,Az.When Ike was a freshman,he was one of their best players on the team.He was a dominant pitcher,and the baseball has always jumped off of his bat like no other.Chaparral won state championships all four years that he played there.Always a man amongst boys.He will be a star!