The early season struggles of Ike Davis have been well-documented. Following his second four-strikeout game of the season yesterday against the St. Louis Cardinals, he’s now hitting an awful .157/.245/.268 in 127 at-bats. That line is hard to look at, but it gets even harder when you realize it only includes four home runs, nine RBIs, and 45 strikeouts.
I’ve been in favor of sending Ike down to the minors for a couple weeks now because it’s been painful to watch how lost he is at the plate. I understand that in order for him to bust out of this slump, he has to play. While some think the best solution is for him to figure it out in the big leagues, I just can’t watch it anymore.
I’ve been watching a handful of Las Vegas 51s games these last two weeks, and I’ve been impressed with the performance of Josh Satin and Zach Lutz at the plate. The PCL may favor the hitters (as we’ve seen with the call-ups of Juan Lagares and Andrew Brown), but the approach throughout their at-bats has been sound. Satin is currently hitting .297/.412/.478 with five homers and 20 RBIs. More importantly, he’s collected 10 doubles in 37 games. I would love to see Satin get a chance instead of Ike right now, but it’s would be difficult since he’s not currently on the 40-man roster.
A guy who is on the 40-man that is hitting right now is Zach Lutz. The corner infielder is hitting .260/.340/.407 with four homers and 20 RBIs. Those numbers aren’t exactly eye-popping, but he’s currently riding a seven-game hitting streak. Over the last week, he’s hitting .444 with three homers, seven RBIs, and two doubles.
If the Mets were to make a move with Ike and actually send him down, Lutz should be the one getting a call. I really liked the call-up of Lagares, but was frustrated when he wasn’t inserted into the lineup consistently when he arrived. He was hitting .346/.378/.551 in Las Vegas prior to making his MLB debut, and I thought Terry Collins would try to ride that hot streak. If Lutz gets promoted, it would make sense for Collins to immediately insert him into the lineup to try and reap the benefits of his hot streak.
Collins said he’s committed to having Davis bat cleanup this weekend in Wrigley against the Chicago Cubs. If he doesn’t show any signs of life in his bat, a move needs to be made. Honestly, I don’t think the Mets will actually send Ike to the minors, but when he looks as lost as he has (especially yesterday), it’s tough getting excited when he walks to the plate in the middle of a rally.
