New York Mets’ left fielder J.D. Davis has turned heads this season. From his solid first impressions through his second-half breakout, the 26-year-old has made every effort to prove his staying power at the major-league level.
General manager Brodie Van Wagenen certainly took a gamble acquiring Davis from the Astros in exchange for a trio of mid-level prospects in January. On the advice of his newly-formed front office, they went for a player who they thought could make an impact on this team.
A .292/.362/.521 slash line over five MiLB seasons is alluring, sure. But after sending off top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn to Seattle in exchange for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz just a month before, the fan base was already a bit jumpy with regards to mortgaging the future.
Over 411 plate appearances this season, Davis’ .307/.370/.518 slash, 19 homers, 19 doubles, and 52 RBIs have been a pleasant surprise, considering he was sold to the fans as a bench-depth, corners guy who would hopefully see his minors success translate at the highest level.
Heading into Saturday’s games, Davis’ 133 wRC+ and 2.1 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) rank 14th and 46th among National League hitters with over 400 plate appearances in 2019.
His .306 expected batting average (98th percentile), .526 expected slugging percentage (91st), and 47.5% hard-hit rate (91st) are elite, as is his 91.4 MPH average exit velocity (87.5 MPH league average). I’d say J.D.’s offensive game is translating perfectly to the majors.
After hitting a more than admirable .279/.341/.468 through 220 first-half plate appearances — foreshadowing what was to come with a .328/.381/.500 June (63 PA) — Davis exploded in July, slashing .373/.448/.569 with a 172 wRC+.
When he was afforded regular playing time in August (108 PA) due to Dominic Smith‘s relegation to the IL (stress fracture, left foot), Davis’ production leveled off a bit, but certainly not to an alarming level. Hitting .295/.361/.589 with a 10.2% walk rate is going to get the job done.
In September, with the Mets still fighting for their Wild Card lives (three games back of the Cubs after Friday’s 9-2 loss to Los Angeles), the California native’s turned it on once again. The fact that his resurgence is coming at a time when the Mets need it the most is even more impressive.
Over 32 somewhat sporadic plate appearances this month (to be expected with the return of Brandon Nimmo to the Mets’ lineup), Davis has gone 13-for-31 (.419 BA) with a .440 weighted on-base average.
His first-inning homer off Clayton Kershaw on Friday — despite it ending up in vain — got arguably the biggest series of the season kicked off on the right note. That’s clutch stuff, friends.
As evidenced by his walk-off double versus Cleveland on August 22, this young man has a flair for the dramatic. Heading down the home stretch with a postseason berth within reach qualifies as high-drama, and J.D. Davis seems to thrive in those situations.
