Kid is playing better than I expected. .388/.674/1.062 is genuinely jawdropping, but we aren't even talking about 100 AB's yet. Maybe it is because I expect every rookie to come up and Brad Nelson themselves. Barring a Yuni like collapse, you need to plan on this kid taking the field next year.
First base? or RF?
“You could” consider a position change, Roenicke said. “They tried him at first base, is the thing, and it didn’t go well. I don’t know why. I haven’t really asked that much into it. But I think with what we’re seeing, and if we continue to see this, we’re going to have some discussions on what we can do.”
For now, Davis remains an outfielder.
“He does a good job in the outfield, that’s the other thing,” Roenicke said. “He runs down the ball well, and I think I can put him in right field and not worry about it. The arm, OK, it’s not a right fielder’s arm, but how much does it really come up? It doesn’t come up enough that I can’t put him out there to start in right field for a game, or a few. A season, you’ve got to look at it.”
Back in March, Khris Davis described his power as his secret weapon. “Me being kind of small, no one looks at me and is like, ‘He’s got power,’” Davis told Brewers.com beat writer Adam McCalvy. “I do, but it’s kind of a secret.” Now that he has mashed eight homers in his first 93 big league plate appearances, it’s safe to say that his secret is out. He’s even stole the spotlight from the other Chris Davis, which is tough since the Orioles’ Davis is still humming right along. The question is, how much longer will the Brewers’ Davis get to keep sharing his secret weapon?
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The question of whether or not Davis ends up being a flash in the pan or continues to have success will likely have a lot to do with defense. With Braun and Gomez coming back in ’14 and beyond, and with Aoki having a ridiculously low $1.5 million club option, the Crew’s outfield is set for at least one more season. Davis will some action as a fourth outfielder, but Braun and Gomez both hit right-handed like he does, and for his career Aoki doesn’t really have a platoon split (101 wRC+ against lefties, 108 wRC+ against righties) so he’s not a candidate to be platooned. Juan Francisco on the other hand, is a perfect candidate to be platooned. For his career, he has a 115 wRC+ against righties but a miniscule 17 wRC+ against lefties. Since 2009, there have been 567 players to compile at least 100 PA against lefties, and only six players have a worse wRC+ than does Francisco against them. And while Francisco’s 101 PA vs. LHP is a small sample, at a certain point he’s not getting more opportunities against them for a good reason.
Davis doesn't look like a power threat, at least until you watch him take some cuts (have some fun with the latest video, here and here; impressive power to all fields). He's a modest 5-foot-11, 195 pounds. He's never shown up on prospect lists, and he wasn't a notable draft pick out of high school (29th round) or college (seventh round).
So, what happens to Khris in 2014?
