Don’t Look Now But Chris Davis is Raking

The struggles of Chris Davis in the batter’s box have been well-documented over the last few years, including many posts by yours truly. Davis was an absolute trainwreck and liability for the O’s during 2018 and 2019, hitting a combined .172 in 777 at-bats. His 331 strikeouts during the two-season stretch were enough to make fans eyes bleed and they came almost three times as frequent as any of his 134 hits.

Since he’s still under his monster deal, he’s getting another chance to rock this year in Charm City. It’s only been a few spring training games, but I’m happy to report the big guy is raking!

The former home-run king is hitting .500 in 12 at-bats with a team-best three homers, eight RBIs, six walks, and .600 on-base percentage. Most importantly, Crush only struck out twice thus far in 18 plate appearances.

Davis looks to be in great shape this spring, and rumor has it that he’s added over 20 lbs of muscle to his already-massive frame.

“He definitely worked hard this offseason,” manager Brandon Hyde told NBC Sports Washington. “He is a lot stronger, the ball is coming off his bat differently in batting practice and I think he’s got a little bit of confidence back.”

As awesome as the story is, it’s important to stay grounded. He had hot stretches over the last two years only to fall back into strikeout city. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, though. His comeback — both from a production and positive energy standpoint — could be just the thing that sparks the clubhouse and gets this team back to competitive baseball.

Other notable surprises for the O’s this spring include Rio Ruiz (.524 BA), newcomer Pat Valaika (.368 BA; 3 HR), and Richie Martin (1.122 OPS), who was also awful at the plate last season. Chance Sisco (.167 BA; 6 K) and Adley Rutschman (.111 BA; 5 K) are some notable dudes currently going through the struggle.

Baltimore is 7-5 through 12 spring training games. They’ll open their regular season on March 26 at home against the Yankees.