Scouting Report Ike Davis

Ike Davis - #29

23 years old (turns 24 3/22/11)
2nd major league season
6'4" 215 pounds
Bats L/Throws L

Profile: Drafted with the 18th pick in the 1st round in the 2008 draft (compensation for Tom Glavine), and struggled in Brooklyn, going 238 plate appearances without a home run. He split 2009 between St. Lucie and Binghamton, and combined to hit 20 HRs and close to a .300 average. He got called up last year on April 19th. He's ranked 3rd on the Mets top players under 25 years old by Baseball Prospectus, and is often compared to Adam Laroche.

Good: He hits tape-measure home runs; in fact, his average home run distance was 416 feet. He finished with 19 home runs for the year, which was a pleasant surprise. He also played very well defensively, especially for someone who played RF throughout his collegiate career at Arizona State. He hit .295 versus lefties last year which shocked me, since he struggled against them in the minors.

Bad: He strikes out, a lot. He had 601 plate appearances, and he struck out 138 times, including a staggering 29.5% in his at-bats vs LHP.

 Role: He is seen as the first baseman for the Mets of the future. Although he quickly became a fan favorite ("We Like Ike!"), I'm not sure if he is more than a league average 1st baseman (he ranked 11th in production in 2010 for NL 1st baseman). As a reference, national league 1st baseman's slash stats were: .269/.354/.459.

2010 Stats: .264/.351/.440. 72 runs, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 72 BB, 138 K
2011 Projection:.267/.343/.440. 70 runs, 20 HR, 70 RBI, 65 BB, 135 K

Next Scouting Report: Nick Evans, then the 2B fiasco will be done this weekend.

Poll Question: Am I being too hard on Ike Davis? Should I 'like Ike' more? What are your expectations for him?