The Baltimore Wire
Fansided

Baltimore Orioles’ Davis powers his way to top in AL East rankings

By Nate Wardle

Sep 28, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (19) hits a single against Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (19) hits a single against Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
Sep 2, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (19) hits a two run home run during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (19) hits a two run home run during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Baltimore Orioles

Orioles’ first baseman  – Chris Davis, Trey Mancini, Mark Trumbo

Welcome to 2017, Chris Davis. A lot was expected of the Orioles big signing in 2016, but it wasn’t the best of years. Davis hit .221/.332/.459 for the Birds in 157 games. Davis slugged 38 HRs, 21 2Bs, 84 RBIs and 99 runs. However, he also added an AL-high 219 strike outs, the second year in a row he led the American League in K’s.

In 2013, his first odd year season in Baltimore full-time, Davis hit .286 with 53 HRs and 138 RBIs, both of which led the AL. In 2015, Davis hit .262 with 47 HRs and 117 RBIs, again leading the AL in homers. Plus, there is the fact that the Orioles have led the AL in homers each of the last four seasons (Davis, Nelson Cruz, Davis, Trumbo).

Also, Davis played more than half of 2016 with a wrist injury that made it tough for him to swing the bat. However, the Orioles kept the slugger in the game, partly because he is so valuable to the team at first base. Now, Davis doesn’t rate positively using sabermetrics (does anyone at 1B?), a career -6.8 dWAR.  His total runs above fielding average are not great, but his range is above average, as Oriole fans will attest to. There arguably is no one better at picking balls out of the dirt than Davis, who takes a tremendous amount of pride in his defense.

Mancini is one of the Orioles’ top prospects, but his defense is not on Davis’ level. With Trumbo’s return, Mancini appears ticketed for more time at AAA Norfolk, with Trumbo the backup should Davis need a breather at first.

Next: 2017 AL East Positional Rankings: Catcher

Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know!

Home/Baltimore Orioles