Davidson's Future

[Lillian]

It might be time to talk about Matt's future in this organization. He is young enough and won't be a free agent until 2023. That makes him potentially a significant piece of the lineup, during the anticipated window of contention.  He is beginning to realize his original highly touted potential, when he was drafted in the first round, by the Diamondbacks, back in 2009. Here are some things to consider:

1) He has learned to take walks, which could very well increase, now that he is gaining respect as a legitimate home run hitter. If he can stay patient and take pitches, which are out of the zone, his OBP could very well be good enough to outweigh his sub par batting average. The strike outs will likely remain high, but that has become the norm for baseball, especially for sluggers.

2) Is there any position, which he could adequately play, or is he destined to remain a DH? First base seems to be the only place where he can play passable defense.

3) What team might be willing to trade a player of value, who could fill a greater need for this team's rebuild? Right handed power is something which this team seems to have in excess.

There are certainly many other factors to consider, but this is merely an attempt to begin a discussion of Davidson's future role on this team.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

4 minutes ago, Lillian said:

It might be time to talk about Matt's future in this organization. He is young enough and won't be a free agent until 2023. That makes him potentially a significant piece of the lineup, during the anticipated window of contention.  He is beginning to realize his original highly touted potential, when he was drafted in the first round, by the Diamondbacks, back in 2009. Here are some things to consider:

1) He has learned to take walks, which could very well increase, now that he is gaining respect as a legitimate home run hitter. If he can stay patient and take pitches, which are out of the zone, his OBP could very well be good enough to outweigh his sub par batting average. The strike outs will likely remain high, but that has become the norm for baseball, especially for sluggers.

2) Is there any position, which he could adequately play, or is he destined to remain a DH? First base seems to be the only place where he can play passable defense.

3) What team might be willing to trade a player of value, who could fill a greater need for this team's rebuild? Right handed power is something which this team seems to have in excess.

There are certainly many other factors to consider, but this is merely an attempt to begin a discussion of Davidson's future role on this team.

 

1) His .356 OBP is already fine and will increase a little bit as his BABIP improves.  The offensive profile (low BA, high OBP, high ISO) works in today’s game and I generally believe his K rate will improve slightly over time.

2) The only realistic options for him are DH & 1B.  Right now, I’d keep him where he’s at given how well he’s hitting.  No need to disrupt a good thing.

3) You’re still too way worried about lineup balance.  It’s the second year of our rebuild.  If we need a left-handed power bat at some point, we’ll do it when the time is right.  For now let Davidson play and hopefully increase his value.

[ScootsMcGoots]

17 minutes ago, Lillian said:

It might be time to talk about Matt's future in this organization. He is young enough and won't be a free agent until 2023. That makes him potentially a significant piece of the lineup, during the anticipated window of contention.  He is beginning to realize his original highly touted potential, when he was drafted in the first round, by the Diamondbacks, back in 2009. Here are some things to consider:

1) He has learned to take walks, which could very well increase, now that he is gaining respect as a legitimate home run hitter. If he can stay patient and take pitches, which are out of the zone, his OBP could very well be good enough to outweigh his sub par batting average. The strike outs will likely remain high, but that has become the norm for baseball, especially for sluggers.

2) Is there any position, which he could adequately play, or is he destined to remain a DH? First base seems to be the only place where he can play passable defense.

3) What team might be willing to trade a player of value, who could fill a greater need for this team's rebuild? Right handed power is something which this team seems to have in excess.

There are certainly many other factors to consider, but this is merely an attempt to begin a discussion of Davidson's future role on this team.

 

When Davidson goes on these tears, he carries the club and is easily one of the most liked players on the team.

When he gets cold though, he is easily one of the most frustrating players to watch play.

While he has had his moments so far this young season, I'm not sold yet. Right now, to me he is a rich man's Dayan Viciedo, or a right handed Adam Dunn, with a slightly better average. I need a full season of Davidson before I can decide if he has truly transformed himself.

For now, I remain optimistic and anticipate a homerun Everytime he steps up to the plate. I will say, his bombs are always hit extremely hard.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Scoots

[Chicago White Sox]

11 minutes ago, Scoots said:

When Davidson goes on these tears, he carries the club and is easily one of the most liked players on the team.

When he gets cold though, he is easily one of the most frustrating players to watch play.

While he has had his moments so far this young season, I'm not sold yet. Right now, to me he is a rich man's Dayan Viciedo, or a right handed Adam Dunn, with a slightly better average. I need a full season of Davidson before I can decide if he has truly transformed himself.

For now, I remain optimistic and anticipate a homerun Everytime he steps up to the plate. I will say, his bombs are always hit extremely hard.

I don’t get the Viciedo comp at all.  They are almost completely opposite hitters.

[Dick Allen]

8-15 with 7 HR vs, KC.

 

10-61 with 2 HRr and 29 strikeouts vs. everyone else.

 

it is one of the craziest splits of all time.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Dick Allen

[caulfield12]

It’s going to take even more than a full season.  Look at Avi.

For now, he’s the 4th best DH in the AL, which is just fine.

Along with Moncada and Anderson, we’ve got 2 of the Top 20 players 25 and younger...3 of the top 40, if you included Delmonico’s 0.0 fWAR so far.  Then you have Davidson, Yolmer and the ghost of Avi that are all in their primes.  Even Leury just turned 27.

Add Jimenez and a big LH bat like Moustakas and you’re really cooking.

 

I’ve seen a lot of stupid stuff in my time as a fan of the Royals. I’ve seen lots and lots of bad hitters become Babe Ruth against these guys. I’ve seen them make lots of mediocre soft-tossing left handers look like annual Cy Young contenders.

But this April, I think I’ve seen the single stupidest, weirdest, strangest, and most unbelievable thing I can remember in my lifetime fandom of the Royals.

Matt. Freaking. Davidson.

He is a .224 career hitter. But after homering twice tonight, he has hit SEVEN home runs in four games at Kauffman Stadium. This ALREADY breaks the record for most home runs hit at Kauffman by an opponent in one year, and it’s April 27th. 

SEVEN HOME RUNS. He has TWO against everybody else!

Per @BHIndepMO on Twitter, he is hitting 164/292/311 with two home runs against everyone else, and he’s hitting over 500 with 7 home runs against the Royals this year. He’s almost out-homering the Royals at Kauffman Stadium this year (7 to 8). I’ve never seen anything like it.

...

These two teams are absolutely awful. The White Sox are 3-17 against everybody not named the Royals, and they’re 4-0 against teams named the Royals. 

Here are your things: The winner was Gregory Infante (1-1). The loser was Tim Hill (0-1). The save went to Joakim Soria (3).

Also: Matt Davidson has 7 home runs in 4 games at Kauffman this year. Alex Gordon has 7 home runs in his last 98 games at Kauffman.

https://www.royalsreview.com/2018/4/27/17294592/royals-lose-to-white-sox-again-7-4

Edited April 28, 2018 by caulfield12

[Lillian]

Remember that stretch of 10 games in June, last year, when he hit 7 homers, vs. Baltimore, Toronto and Minnesota? He is streaky, as are most sluggers, but capable of some pretty impressive power surges. Streaky yes, but I don't think that this is a fluke. 

While trailing only Gregorious and Trout, by just 1, for the MLB Lead in homers, he is hitting them at a higher rate than any player in the either League. Nine homers, in just 76 at bats, is pretty remarkable.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Lillian

[BlackSox13]

I can see possibly having a discussion on Matt's future after this season but would rather see what he does over the next five months. Just sit back and enjoy the ride for now.

[Dick Allen]

As for his future role, it depends what he does from here . The White Sox aren’t going to commit to him long term based on a few games. OTOH, KC pitching can’t be that much worse than the rest of the league. Maybe his hot streak just coincided with them on the schedule. 

 

I personally would like to see more consistency, but with the weather, and age of the season, we will need time to determine that. He is doing a heck of a lot better than I thought possible a couple of years ago. But his status a part of the next Sox contender still has to be in the air. Other than the KC games, he is a DFA candidate so far this year. Give him ABs and see what happens. 

[Lillian]

It is probably a combination of KC's poor pitching and Matt being "locked in". He does not have a history of hitting homers in that ball park, which is not an easy place to hit home runs. Moreover, the weather in that first series was not at all conducive to hitting, whether for power, or for average.

[Dam8610]

He's feasting on KC and doing terrible against everyone else. Let's see some production against other teams before we talk Matt Davidson and future in the same sentence.

[fathom]

Future is clearly the Mayor of Kansas City with a weekly podcast hosted by Benetti

[southsider2k5]

This is obviously his future.

 

 

[Lillian]

42 minutes ago, Dam8610 said:

He's feasting on KC and doing terrible against everyone else. Let's see some production against other teams before we talk Matt Davidson and future in the same sentence.

Looking at the Team Pitching stats, for the American League, so far this year, and it doesn't suggest that the Royals are giving up that many long balls. If you reduce Matt's total of 7 to a more reasonable 2, they are right at the League average, for homers allowed. He has been a one man wrecking ball to that pitching staff. He has 7 of the 33 home runs, that KC has allowed, which is 21%. So, you can say that he has been amazing, or stick to the argument that KC's pitching is terrible. I'm not sure which is more accurate, maybe both.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Lillian

[Lillian]

I expect Royal's pitching to start going around Matt, for the rest of the series. I hope that he will pile up the walks, if they do.

[Lillian]

Matt is striking out at about the same rate as some of the other A.L. sluggers, such as J. D. Martinez, Stanton, Judge, Encarnacion and Gallo, but he is hitting more homers than most of those players. He is hitting both righties and lefties and taking lots of balls very deep to RF. He looks terrific, with a short, compact swing. It is very apparent that the time he spent with Konerko has really helped him. His approach looks a lot like Paulie's. I guess that I'm more optimistic than most of you, but it wouldn't surprise me if he becomes one of the game's premiere sluggers, this year. 

If he does put up big power and run producing numbers (40 HR's and 100 RBI's) that speeds up the rebuild. Now, if Moncada can continue to produce, the only thing holding this team back is pitching. We know that Rodon and Kopech will likely join the rotation, before too long. A front four of Rodon, Giolito, Lopez and Kopech is good enough to be very competitive. Add one more solid reliever, and the bullpen might also be adequate.

The next couple years could both be years of contention, while keeping some of the future talent, down on the farm. That would be wonderful, as it would delay the clock on free agency, for guys like Jimenez and Robert. 

 

[Two-Gun Pete]

5 hours ago, Lillian said:

1) He has learned to take walks, which could very well increase,

2) Is there any position, which he could adequately play, or is he destined to remain a DH? First base seems to be the only place where he can play passable defense.

 

He could also backslide into the middling hitter he's been against every other opponent except for KC. He's got to keep the BB rate up, and reduce the K rate for him to be cogent to the discussion of this team's future. He also isn't as good with the glove as others @ 3rd or 1st, so its all about his bat, and him doing it on the regular, rather than just against KC.

 

On the positive side, I loved the extra inning HR; I thought his swing on that one looked a lot like a prime-of-his-career Konerko.

But, it was vs a weak opponent and vs a LHP who was struggling to locate. Here's hoping he can continue this vs other opponents and in other situations as well.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Two-Gun Pete

[Lillian]

Everyone is wise to temper their enthusiasm. However, let me just say that 9 homers, in 76 at bats, shouldn't be minimized. I don't care where he hit them, or against whom, that is one impressive display of prodigious  power. That is one HR, for every 8.5 AB's. That is the highest in baseball, after one month of play. Just to provide another perspective; 6 home runs, per month, the rest of the season, nets him 40 on the year. Remember, most sluggers hit the majority of their home runs off of lesser pitchers. It is the rare Super Star, who can dominate versus the best arms.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Lillian

[greg775]

The guy has 9 home runs. Do you realize how many he projects to hit this year? 55!!!! I love Matt D. I think he gets criticized as Paulie did at points of his Sox career. People get on righthanded hitting Sox sluggers for some reason. 

[Jerksticks]

2 hours ago, greg775 said:

The guy has 9 home runs. Do you realize how many he projects to hit this year? 55!!!! I love Matt D. I think he gets criticized as Paulie did at points of his Sox career. People get on righthanded hitting Sox sluggers for some reason. 

I think it’s fair to be in the middle on Davidson.  His great games are great and then he can suck quite a bit as well. So nobody knows if he’s going to be Barry Bonds, Adam Dunn with less walks or Josh Fields.  

[Chicago White Sox]

3 hours ago, greg775 said:

The guy has 9 home runs. Do you realize how many he projects to hit this year? 55!!!! I love Matt D. I think he gets criticized as Paulie did at points of his Sox career. People get on righthanded hitting Sox sluggers for some reason. 

You were ripping him earlier this very season...

[Lillian]

Power hitters are streaky. Those who insists that he may go through stretches of looking hapless, are absolutely correct. To which one might respond; "So, what else is new?" Of course he will occasionally struggle, especially against really good pitching, and so will most of the rest of the team. The point is that he is establishing himself as a significant run producer and presence, in the lineup. What are we supposed to do, panic every time he has a slump? He isn't going to keep up this pace, to which again, one might respond: "So what?"

Edited April 28, 2018 by Lillian

[Balta1701]

14 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

8-15 with 7 HR vs, KC.

 

10-61 with 2 HRr and 29 strikeouts vs. everyone else.

 

it is one of the craziest splits of all time.

 

 

Go check out Eric Thames against Cincinnati last season in April.

[greg775]

6 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

You were ripping him earlier this very season...

And loving on him last season ... your point? 

[glangon]

For me, if he hit .250 with 30 homers and has more walks than strikeouts, then I'll be happy with that.