About a week ago, one of my co-bloggers, Jim Mancari, wrote a great blog in which he posed the question, “Would You Trade Ike Davis For Prince Fielder“. Jim did a great job looking at the pros and cons and breaking it down. He concluded,

I will be the first to say that I am extremely torn on this possibility. I enjoyed watching Davis for us this year. He had some clutch hits and hit some monstrous home runs.

But I also realize the presence that Prince Fielder would have in the middle of the Mets order. There’s no telling if Davis will develop the raw power of Fielder. I wonder what the Mets would do if the Brewers were willing to pull the trigger on this deal (another major consideration).

When looking at this deal, it would make sense for both teams. The Mets desperately need a consistent power threat, and the Brewers would solve their first base vacancy for the next few seasons.

That post drew nearly 100 comments and gave us something to talk about besides Sandy Alderson and Francisco Rodriguez. (Thanks Jim.)

I thought everything that could be said on the matter was said, until I came across this post by Matt Cerrone on MetsBlog yesterday in which he wrote,

Davis is far superior in the field than Fielder, he’ll hit five or so less home runs, he’ll have less walks but also less strike outs, and he’ll show a lot more athleticism, youth and give you more money to spend on other positions… not to mention, it will cost additional young talent to get Fielder here in the first place.

I had to read it a few times to be sure I wasn’t missing something, but the comparison made between Ike and Prince is way off… I mean way, way off… I mean like way out there in a different galaxy off.

Look, I like Ike Davis as much as the next Mets fan does, but let’s not get too crazy about what Ike Davis is right now.

Home Runs

First of all, the difference between Prince Fielder and Ike Davis in home runs will be A LOT MORE THAN FIVE HOME RUNS. 

Ike Davis hits a home run every 27.5 at-bats. Prince Fielder hits a home run every 15.4 at-bats.

In the last four seasons, Fielder has averaged 40 home runs. Davis hit 19 in his rookie year at age 23. When Fielder was 23 he hit 50 home runs. That takes care of the home run debate.

Strikeouts

As for Fielder having more strikeouts in a season? Wrong again. Ike Davis strikes out at an alarming rate of 23% of his at-bats. Fielder on the other hand, strikes out in just 19.1% of his at-bats. It’s not even close.

Walks

Prince Fielder led the National League in walks last season with 114. To say he’ll give you a few more walks than Ike Davis is really not fair to Fielder and downplays what a special and talented offensive player he is. Fielder has an amazing 16.1% walk rate. How good is that? Albert Pujols checked in at 14.7% last season, and as for Ike Davis,he doesn’t even come close at 12%.

Defense

Defensively, both Ike and Prince are above league average. Davis may have more range, but Fielder is aptly the better fielder. While Ike Davis committed 9 errors in 141 games at first base last season, Fielder committed just 4 errors in 160 starts for a .997 fielding percentage. Still, I give the edge to Davis, but the difference is not as big as one might think.

Now I do agree with Matt that it would take someone else in addition to Ike Davis to land Prince Fielder who is only 26 and two years younger than both Wright and Reyes. That goes without saying.

But if we’re gonna compare the two, then lets be fair and understand that Prince Fielder is a bona fide superstar, while Ike Davis is just a run of the mill, middle of the pack first baseman until he proves otherwise.

If the Brewers were to contact our new GM and say they’d like to discuss a Prince Fielder for Ike Davis trade, I can guarantee you that whoever the new GM is, he won’t say “no thanks”, instead he’ll say “I’m all ears.”

But don’t worry Ike Davis lovers… I can assure you that phonecall will never come…