J.J. DAVIS
10/25/78; '97 1st; Baldwin Park, CA (HS)
R/R; 6-4, 250
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 1997 A- |
.077 |
.077 |
.077 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 1997 R |
.255 |
.315 |
.358 |
165 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
14 |
44 |
0 |
0 |
| 1998 A |
.198 |
.220 |
.368 |
106 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
24 |
1 |
1 |
| 1998 A- |
.270 |
.341 |
.474 |
196 |
12 |
2 |
8 |
20 |
54 |
4 |
1 |
| 1999 A |
.265 |
.360 |
.533 |
317 |
26 |
1 |
19 |
44 |
99 |
2 |
5 |
| 2000 A+ |
.243 |
.319 |
.445 |
495 |
36 |
1 |
20 |
52 |
171 |
9 |
4 |
| 2001 AA |
.250 |
.317 |
.386 |
228 |
13 |
3 |
4 |
21 |
79 |
2 |
5 |
| 2001 R |
.471 |
.500 |
.882 |
17 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| 2002 NL |
.100 |
.182 |
.100 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 2002 AA |
.287 |
.351 |
.586 |
348 |
17 |
3 |
20 |
33 |
101 |
7 |
4 |
| 2003 NL |
.200 |
.263 |
.286 |
35 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
| 2003 AAA |
.284 |
.352 |
.554 |
426 |
29 |
4 |
26 |
35 |
85 |
23 |
6 |
| 2004 NL |
.143 |
.225 |
.171 |
35 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
| 2004 AAA |
.250 |
.270 |
.631 |
84 |
6 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
28 |
3 |
0 |
Davis has probably replaced Craig Wilson as the most controversial Pirate. He was
very close to earning the label "failed first-round pick" when he suddenly turned
things around upon returning from an early season injury in 2002. Some of the
turnaround clearly resulted from Davis getting in better shape and dedicating
himself more fully to improving his play. A stern talking-to from Altoona manager
Dale Sveum also supposedly played an important role. Davis abandoned the idea,
expressed while he was struggling at the plate in 2001, of converting to the mound—
he was a two-way star in high school. It probably helped his turnaround at the
plate that he stopped trying to pull everything, as he has plenty of power to hit
the ball out of any part of the park. Davis runs well, but with his size can be
awkward in RF, and he does not judge flyballs well. He has a very strong arm. He
continued to make strides in AAA in 2003. After a slow start he hit very well,
leading the PCL in slugging avg. and significantly cutting his K rate. His walk
rate remained a little low. He also became a good base stealer, something he hadn't
attempted much previously. The Pirates called him up late in the year but seldom
played him, giving him just a few starts against LHPs—he had a very large
platoon split in AAA. The controversy involving Davis heated up as 2004 spring
training neared. He was out of options and so had to make the roster. It was
widely expected that he would not do so, as stories about him having a bad attitude
started appearing in the Pgh. media. These stories had the ring of the team trying
to create a negative image of him to justify letting him go. For example, it was
widely publicized that Davis left Venezuelan winter ball partway through the season,
against the team's wishes. Pgh. sportswriters wrote extensively, with quotes from
Dave Littlefield, that his decision to "go home" showed he wasn't willing to do
what was necessary to succeed in the majors. Later, it came out that, rather than
going home, Davis went to Arizona to take a lengthy and grueling conditioning course.
In March, the team's coaching staff credited the course for leaving Davis much better
prepared for spring training both mentally and physically, which were exactly the
reasons Davis gave for leaving Venezuela. Davis performed well in spring training,
although he slumped with the bat toward the end, as he was facing more major league
pitching. The poor performances of the aging veterans in camp, however, as well as
the uncertain health of Jason Bay, left the team with little choice but to keep him.
Both Littlefield and Lloyd McClendon nevertheless made it clear that they had no
intention of giving Davis much playing time, despite the fact that his history shows
that he has no chance of succeeding at a new level without playing regularly.
McClendon followed through on his warnings, as he almost went out of his way to
avoid playing Davis, not even using him in harmless situations like blowouts or
low-pressure PH opportunities. Davis eventually injured a finger and the team,
with barely concealed pleasure, sent him to AAA on rehab for the maximum amount of
time. At Nashville he started slowly due to the rust—the Pirates readily
acknowledged the effect of his lack of playing time—but eventually he started
hitting for a great deal of power, with mostly Ks in between the HRs. It seems
quite likely that he was swinging for the fences in an effort to impress the Pirates.
Back in Pgh., he returned to the bench, but soon afterward injured his hip. He
aggravated it on rehab and eventually had to shut it down for the season without
returning to the Pirates in September. It's completely impossible to understand
the Pirates' plans for Davis. It made no conceivable sense to put him in a situation
in which he had no chance whatsoever of succeeding; the best possible outcome was a
wasted year. If they're convinced that he won't succeed in the majors, or if they're
unwilling to put up with the inevitable struggles he'll go through, the logical
course would be to try to sneak him through waivers, however unlikely it is that
they'd succeed. Many people in Pgh. now expect that he'll be dropped from the
roster before next season, but the team's handling of him has been so irrational
that there's no telling what they'll do. The only safe assumption is that he'll
never be given a chance in Pgh.
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