Monday, December 26, 2016

DrB's 2017 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #17 Dylan Davis

Dylan Davis, OF.  DOB:  7/20/1993.  B-R, T-R.  6'0", 205 lbs.  Drafted in 2014 Round 3 out of Oregon State.

2016 A:  .288/.368/.496, 17 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 11.2 BB%, 21.6 K%, 269 PA.
2016 A+:  .278/.344/.544, 10 2B, 3B, 18 HR, 8.0 BB%, 22.1 K%, 276 PA.

Dylan Davis has always had "light-tower" power, but it hasn't always translated into HR's in games as he battled plate discipline and contact issues early in his pro career.  2016 was a breakout year for him as he hit a total of 26 dingers between Augusta and San Jose while maintaing a very respectable BA.  On top of that, he continued a trend of diminishing K rate while maintaining solid walk rates.   Here are his K rates since being drafting in 2014:

2014 R:  29.3%
2014 SS:  24.7%
2015 A+:  23.0%
2015 A:  26.5%
2016 A:  21.6%
2016 A+:  22.3.

Davis' physical comp is…..I hate to say it……Dan Uggla! Stocky with a huge trunk and short arms and legs.  He has a short, simple swing that is direct to the ball and generates tremendous power to all fields.  He has a rocket arm that hit 97 MPH on the mound in college.  The arm plays in RF, but he is relatively slow afoot and probably could not handle RF in AT&T where you have to be able to track down deep drives into Triples Alley.

He should make the AA Richmond opening day roster and lineup.  That is always a challenge for hitting prospects, but also an opportunity that if he continues the trends in plate discipline and maintains his power, he can really rocket up prospect rankings.

4 comments:

  1. Richmond is likely to be a very difficult transition for Davis - Those pitchers are going to exploit the lack of discipline and his tenancy for K's and I won't be surprised to see Dylan need to repeat Richmond. His is just not a profile that typically succeeds off the bat in the difficult AA transition.

    That said, I didn't know Davis had the pedigree of a 3rd round draft pick. I really like his build and potential for development as a power hitting OFer. Really hope to see him able to keep a BA above .250 and OBP around .340-.350.

    Good report Doc, and happy Holidays from an avid reader and Giants fan.

    Well Wishes!

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  2. Uggla was a solid starter for a handful of years. That'd be a success out of the third round. Thanks for all the hard work, DrB.

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  3. Have you given up on Ray Black? If not ability to ever harness his FB, would it be his perennial health issues?
    Was he added to the 40=man list because a guy who throws >100 mph is likely to be taken in the Rule 5 draft?
    (It would have been interesting to see whoever took him have to put him on the active roster!)
    Protecting him must mean something -- either the Giants were afraid someone wants him OR they think he's still salvageable?
    He'll be 27 in June, is it too late? Other than the surgeries, he doesn't have a lot of use on his arm, 90 or so innings?

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    1. Not sure what Ray Black has to do with Dylan Davis, but yes, I have pretty much written off Ray Black. Can't stay healthy. Poor control when he does pitch. I'm willing to leave him off the list and consider anything he produces at the MLB level to be found money.

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