Top 20 Prospects: #5 DJ Davis OF

#5 DJ Davis OF


Born: July 27 1994 in Wiggins, Mississippi, US. (Age 18)
Acquired via: Draft. 1st round (17th) in the 2012 June Amateur Draft from Stone County HS.
Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6'1'' Weight: 180 lb.
Baseball America Ranking- #9
Baseball Prospectus Ranking- #5
Fangraphs Ranking- #5
MLB.com Ranking- #6
Minor League Ball- #7
2012 Stats and Analysis:

Team/Level	G	PA	H	HR	BB%	K%	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
GCL Blue Jays (Rk)	43	190	38	4	7.5%	18.9%	.417	.340	.415	.511	6
Bluefield (RK)	12	53	16	1	9.5%	28.4%	.324	.233	.339	.374	18
Vancouver (A-)	5	23	3	0	21.7%	26.1%	.250	.167	.348	.167	1

After Davis was taken 17^th overall in this year’s draft, many Jays fans were very excited. They were excited because from the start, you could tell that Davis is an electric player, somebody that just makes the game so much better. The speedy outfielder proved that in 2012. Although the sample size is small, Davis impressed in many aspects of the game. Us Jays fans are tired of hearing how our other speedy prospect, (Anthony Gose) can’t get on base, and frankly can’t hit the baseball. I don’t think this is something you have to worry about with DJ Davis. It’s really quite astonishing if you look at what he was able to do this year, in such a short time. I don’t understand how he even with a poor K%, he was able to get on base so much, with a very good OBP. When he starts to strike out less, you could see him being a guy who has a .380+ OBP.  Another thing to note about Davis is that he has been touted as a very good baserunner. Other than that, I can’t put too much weight into his other stats, with only 60 games under his belt.

Scouting Report:
Davis is a work in progress. He has a lot of tools, but most of them are very raw. Davis has some power, but not too much, he seems to have more gap-power, than home run power. Obviously, with his speed, gap power is a huge thing that one would look for in a player like him. So expect to see a lot of triples in the box scores during the next few years. Davis’s biggest setback might be his arm. Many have said it is the weakest part of his game. You would hope that his ability to cover ground would make up for that, but it’s possible that the lack of a cannon could limit him largely defensively. It could be the ultimate reason why he might be moved out of centre field as he advances through the system.

Where will he be in 2013, and ETA? Projection?

Davis should start the year in extended spring training, and then start the year in Vancouver. If he does well, he'll finish the year in Lansing, playing for the Lugnuts. I think moving up any more would simply be rushing Davis, at this stage. If all goes well, you should see Davis in the Major Leagues no earlier than 2016, with the possibility of his arrival being even later than that. It would be fair to say that out of the Jays top 10 prospects (that could lose d’Arnaud and Syndergaard), Davis is the most raw, and furthest away from the Majors.

I don’t have a specific player I can compare DJ Davis with, but I would project his ceiling to be an electric leadoff hitter, who gets on base, steals a ton of bases, and plays solid defense. The Jays took a risk by taking DJ Davis 17^th overall, but I think it will pay off.