AL East Positional Rankings: Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis Whiffs in 2017

4. Baltimore Orioles

First basemen: Chris Davis, Trey Mancini

Another position where my three players I expected to see time at the position all did, although Trumbo only started two games.

However, that ends my predictions involving the Baltimore Orioles and this position going well.

Mancini’s emergence as the starting left fielder was vital, as he was able to fill in at the position when Davis got hurt. Mancini was decent to OK defensively in the outfield, but not so good at first base.

Offensively, Mancini had an excellent season and emerged as an important offensive piece for the Baltimore Orioles moving forward.

That’s more than can be said about Davis. Chris Davis hit .215/.309/.423 with 26 home runs, 15 doubles, 61runs batted in and 65 runs scored. Each of those numbers is career lows since he came to Baltimore. Davis also struck out 195 times, which is alright if you hit 35 plus home runs. When you hit 26, it is a different story.

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Davis’ contract is beginning to look like Ryan Howard‘s contract did for the Philadelphia Phillies, an anchor that weighs down the team. While Oriole fans would contend that at least Davis plays defense, his defensive WAR was a paltry -1.3. His range remains above league average, in fact, it was the highest at the position. However, his total fielding runs were below average.

Davis was third in strikeouts in the American League.

The Baltimore Orioles need better production or at least better power from Davis at first base to make his contract anywhere near worth it.