Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Normally, you’d say that a player hitting a home run is a pretty good sign of their day at the plate, but Ike Davis might just be one of those rare exceptions.
See, despite the New York Mets‘ first baseman going yard in the team’s 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, his 1-for-4 day is exactly representative of the slump that he’s been mired in through 19 games in the 2013 season thus far.
No one is doubting that Davis has power, which he clearly has in spades. In fact, with four homers over his first 77 at-bats, he’s on pace for yet another 30+ home run season, and that’s nothing to scoff at.
The problem, on the other hand, is that when he’s not hitting homers … well, he’s just not hitting much at all.
A .174/.260/.348 triple-slash illustrates that quite well, as does the fact that his only extra-base hits on the year have all been home runs. The all-or-nothing approach will work for certain players, but unfortunately, Davis is not a catcher, and the Mets will have to see more from their starting first baseman.
Power will only go so far, and even though the 26-year old’s walk rate has held stable at 10.4 percent in 2013 so far, it’s does little to mask the fact that he’s lost at the plate: Davis is striking out more than ever (31.2 percent), and is making less contact with pitches in the zone (79.2 percent in 2013, over 84.1 percent career) despite seeing more of them come through (49.4 percent in 2013 vs. 44.6 percent).
Opposing pitchers are simply not afraid to attack him at the moment and for good reason, as the lefty has put up little resistance.
Though his usual lefty/righty split is obviously still there (.429 OPS vs. LHP, .679 OPS vs. RHP), he’s not hitting either of them enough for it to really matter — Davis might be totally useless against lefties, but he’s a well-below average hitter against righty as well.
Of all of the things that have surprised the Mets this season (ie. starting pitching), their young first baseman has to be considered one of the biggest disappointments.
Worse yet, his discipline isn’t exactly showing signs of improvement. Though he did homer in Thursday’s game, he also struck out twice, continuing a six-game streak in which he has whiffed at least once.
For now, New York will sit him against lefties in hopes of getting him going and maximize the potential of his power, but at 26 and not exactly a young prospect just coming into the league, Davis will have to turn things around in a hurry soon, or find his status as the team’s long-term first baseman continually questioned.
