Less than a year and a half ago, Mets fans were wondering if Daniel Murphy would be the permanent solution at first base after Carlos Delgado left. He had shown promise hitting .266 with 12 home runs and 63 RBI in his first full season.
First base is notoriously a source of power in any teams lineup. It did not appear that Murphy would be able to provide that power. Then, during spring training he was placed on the disabled list with a sprained right MCL.
Once again, the Mets had a hole at first base. The Mets opened their season with Mike Jacobs experiment. This failed mightily as Jacobs hit only .208 with one home run. He was platooning at first with Fernando Tatis.
Meanwhile, young Ike Davis was tearing apart Triple-A. He posted a .364 batting average and .500 on-base percentage. Ike was proving that he belonged in the major leagues.
Then, on April 19, the Mets made one of their best decisions of the year. The Mets called up Ike Davis.
Davis had found success in the majors at the young age of 23. He is hitting .290 and has four home runs in 107 at-bats. What is even more impressive is that Davis has hit three of his home runs in the cavernous Citi Field. This is the same amount as perennial 30 home run hitter Jason Bay.
Can we expect this type of power out of Davis for years to come? One would think so as Davis managed to hit 20 home runs in the minors last season in only 429 at bats. Davis also hit 16 home runs in just 213 at bats in his last season in college at Arizona State.
Clearly the Mets also expect Davis to be a source of power as he has been moved to the cleanup spot in the lineup. The Mets expect to give Davis many RBI opportunities with Jose Reyes and Jason Bay batting ahead of him. The Mets are also giving Davis protection by slotting David Wright into the five hole in the batting order.
The Mets have given Ike a tremendous vote of confidence by making this move. They are showing him that they believe he will be one of their main run producers now and in the future. I think this will only help improve Ike’s game.
I know that it is a small sample size, but Davis is hitting .368 in 19 at bats from the cleanup spot. He has also scored five runs from the four hole. While he cannot be expected to maintain these numbers over the course of a full season, it would not be surprising to see him hit over .300 considering who is surrounding him in the lineup.
Davis appears to have joined the core of the Mets. He can be mentioned among Wright, Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Johan Santana as a player to build around. This is an incredible feat for someone who is so young.
With Davis’ early success and Carlos Beltran impending return, the Mets still have a shot at the playoffs this year. They would not have had this opportunity with Murphy starting at first base. There would have been a big offensive hole at first base with Murphy in the lineup.
Davis has the potential to be the next great Mets first baseman. He could be a combination of the power of Carlos Delgado with the defense of Keith Hernandez.
Ike Davis is part of the future of the New York Mets, and the future is now.
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