In the 2010 season many rookies have arrived on the scene with very little or no minor league experience at all many more than in recent memory. Some question the talent in Major League Baseball and if that talent has decreased drastically since the steorid era has seen to come to a crashing halt.With more level playing fields it has made it easier for young talent to quickly work through the minor leagues to get to the Major Leagues. This week we'll be spotlighting rookies in the National League, specifically Ike Davis (above) of the New York Mets, Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals, Mike Leake of the Cincinnati Reds, Colby Rasmus of the St. Louis Cardinals, and David Freese also of the St. Louis Cardinals.Lets start with Ike Davis of the New York Mets, drafted in 2008 with the 18th overall pick out of Arizona State it has took Davis just 1 1/2 years in the minor leagues to be called up to the Big Apple. Davis joins his father Ron, as the 197th father-son combination to have played in the Major Leagues.
In high school, Davis lead his team to three straight Arizona state championships from 2003-2005. Not only did Davis excel with the bat hitting .447 in high school but was even more dominant as a pitcher posting a 23-0 record with a 1.85 ERA and 14 Saves. While he was still in High School Davis pitched for the gold medal winning U.S.A. youth national team in the 2003 world championships. Davis earned honors as MVP of the All American High School Baseball classic in 2004.
After his senior year of high school Davis was drafted in the 19th round by the Tampa Bay Rays but rather than signing a contract with the Rays Davis made a choice to go to college as he chose Arizona State over the baseball powerhouse of Texas. In his three seasons as a Sun Devil Davis batted an impressive .353 with a slugging percentage of .605 which ranks number ten in Sun Devil history. Although Davis was a prototypical power hitter for the Sun Devils and drove in 202 Rbi's which ranks 2nd in Sun Devils history Davis scored a total of 159 runs himself which ranks him 8th all time in team history. His 33 homeruns ranks him 5th all time in team history to go along with his 69 doubles which puts him number two all time behind Red Sox second basemen and former Sun Devil standout Dustin Pedoria. Not only did Davis standout at the plate he was also an exceptional closer posting a 7-5 career record with 4 saves and 78 strikeouts with an ERA under 3.50. With all these accomplishments Davis was inveitably named to the Sun Devils all decade team for the 2000's.
In 2008 Davis was drafted 18th overall by the New York Mets a pick which was received by the Mets as compensation from the Atlanta Braves for the signing of former all star and Cy Young winner Tom Glavine. Davis was quoted as saying ""It was a huge thrill. I was excited to be picked by New York." Davis received a $1.575 million contract and was assigned to cyclones of single A. In just 58 games Davis excelled with the glove committing just one error in 492 total chances at first base which accumlated to .998 fielding percentage tops in the league.
By the time the 2009 season rolled around Davis was ready to make an impact. Coming off a less than stellar season with the cyclones at the plate which saw Davis bat a measly .256 with no homeruns, Davis knew it was his time to shine at the plate. In 59 games at single A Port St. Luice Davis began to take charge batting .289 with 7 home runs in 59 games. Then, Davis was promoted to Double A Binghamton where he shined batting .309 with 13 home runs and 41 Rbi's while slugging an impressive .565 in just over a half season. Mako Oliveras the Binghamton Mets manger was quoted as saying ""Very live bat; the ball jumps off his bat when he makes contact.
Davis came into the 2010 season with an upbeat vibe and attitude on his chances of making the opening day roster. Davis' competition in spring training included a medicore cast of first basemen as the Mets signed former Marlin and once perviously high regarded farm hand Mike Jacobs to a 1 year $900,000 contract along with the re-signing of utility man Fernado Tatis. Davis lead the team in Spring training with a .480 average as he belted 3 homers but this was still not enough to land Davis a roster spot on opening day. All star shortsto Jose Reyes praised Davis for his glove work and had this to said "People talk about his hitting, but he is one of the best defensive first basemen you will ever see for a player his age". Davis who was praised by many of his teammates and who was pulled hard for by his fellow teammates was sent to the Minor Leagues the Mets triple A affiliate Buffalo. However, this would not last that long as Davis was called up to the struggling Mets on April 19, where he would make his debut against the Chicago Cubs a debut which saw Davis go 2-4 with 2 singles in Mets win. It took Davis just four major league games to belt his first home run against the Atlanta Braves which was estimated at 450 feet and landed out on the Shea Bridge in deep right center field at CITI field.
Not only has Davis made an impact with the bat but his slick fielding propelled Davis to making 3over the railing catches in his first 21 games. To date Davis is batting .269 with 9 home runs and 33 Rbi's while hitting clean up night in and night out for the New York Mets a tough job for anyone in New York to deal with let alone a rookie. It is still unknown if Davis will remain in the clean up hole when All Star centerfield and multi skilled Carlos Beltran returns, but for Davis a dream has already come true and his impact has been measured greatly both on the field and off the field with his quiet soothing prescence both inside and outside the New York Mets clubhouse.
After his senior year of high school Davis was drafted in the 19th round by the Tampa Bay Rays but rather than signing a contract with the Rays Davis made a choice to go to college as he chose Arizona State over the baseball powerhouse of Texas. In his three seasons as a Sun Devil Davis batted an impressive .353 with a slugging percentage of .605 which ranks number ten in Sun Devil history. Although Davis was a prototypical power hitter for the Sun Devils and drove in 202 Rbi's which ranks 2nd in Sun Devils history Davis scored a total of 159 runs himself which ranks him 8th all time in team history. His 33 homeruns ranks him 5th all time in team history to go along with his 69 doubles which puts him number two all time behind Red Sox second basemen and former Sun Devil standout Dustin Pedoria. Not only did Davis standout at the plate he was also an exceptional closer posting a 7-5 career record with 4 saves and 78 strikeouts with an ERA under 3.50. With all these accomplishments Davis was inveitably named to the Sun Devils all decade team for the 2000's.
In 2008 Davis was drafted 18th overall by the New York Mets a pick which was received by the Mets as compensation from the Atlanta Braves for the signing of former all star and Cy Young winner Tom Glavine. Davis was quoted as saying ""It was a huge thrill. I was excited to be picked by New York." Davis received a $1.575 million contract and was assigned to cyclones of single A. In just 58 games Davis excelled with the glove committing just one error in 492 total chances at first base which accumlated to .998 fielding percentage tops in the league.
By the time the 2009 season rolled around Davis was ready to make an impact. Coming off a less than stellar season with the cyclones at the plate which saw Davis bat a measly .256 with no homeruns, Davis knew it was his time to shine at the plate. In 59 games at single A Port St. Luice Davis began to take charge batting .289 with 7 home runs in 59 games. Then, Davis was promoted to Double A Binghamton where he shined batting .309 with 13 home runs and 41 Rbi's while slugging an impressive .565 in just over a half season. Mako Oliveras the Binghamton Mets manger was quoted as saying ""Very live bat; the ball jumps off his bat when he makes contact.
Davis came into the 2010 season with an upbeat vibe and attitude on his chances of making the opening day roster. Davis' competition in spring training included a medicore cast of first basemen as the Mets signed former Marlin and once perviously high regarded farm hand Mike Jacobs to a 1 year $900,000 contract along with the re-signing of utility man Fernado Tatis. Davis lead the team in Spring training with a .480 average as he belted 3 homers but this was still not enough to land Davis a roster spot on opening day. All star shortsto Jose Reyes praised Davis for his glove work and had this to said "People talk about his hitting, but he is one of the best defensive first basemen you will ever see for a player his age". Davis who was praised by many of his teammates and who was pulled hard for by his fellow teammates was sent to the Minor Leagues the Mets triple A affiliate Buffalo. However, this would not last that long as Davis was called up to the struggling Mets on April 19, where he would make his debut against the Chicago Cubs a debut which saw Davis go 2-4 with 2 singles in Mets win. It took Davis just four major league games to belt his first home run against the Atlanta Braves which was estimated at 450 feet and landed out on the Shea Bridge in deep right center field at CITI field.
Not only has Davis made an impact with the bat but his slick fielding propelled Davis to making 3over the railing catches in his first 21 games. To date Davis is batting .269 with 9 home runs and 33 Rbi's while hitting clean up night in and night out for the New York Mets a tough job for anyone in New York to deal with let alone a rookie. It is still unknown if Davis will remain in the clean up hole when All Star centerfield and multi skilled Carlos Beltran returns, but for Davis a dream has already come true and his impact has been measured greatly both on the field and off the field with his quiet soothing prescence both inside and outside the New York Mets clubhouse.
-Justin Silberman (guest writer)
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