RAJAI DAVIS
10/19/80; '01 38th; New London, CT (HS)
B/R; 5-11, 170
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2001 A- |
.083 |
.214 |
.083 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
| 2001 R |
.262 |
.364 |
.274 |
84 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
26 |
11 |
3 |
| 2002 A |
.429 |
.619 |
.429 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| 2002 A- |
.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 2002 R |
.384 |
.436 |
.554 |
224 |
16 |
5 |
4 |
20 |
25 |
24 |
6 |
| 2003 A |
.305 |
.383 |
.416 |
478 |
21 |
7 |
6 |
55 |
65 |
40 |
13 |
| 2004 A+ |
.314 |
.388 |
.424 |
509 |
27 |
7 |
5 |
59 |
60 |
57 |
15 |
The Pirates' system is now loaded with small, speedy OFs, of which Davis is one of
the best. He had limited baseball experience when the Pirates drafted him and had
only a fair first season in the GCL, but returned there and was one of the league's
best players in 2002. He spent much of the season over .400 and hit for surprising
power for a small guy. He made the jump to Hickory successfully, with a good K/BB
ratio, excellent speed and a little power. He also recorded 15 OF assists. He had
a slightly better season at Lynchburg, continuing to hit well and work the count
effectively. Unlike many of the other speedsters the Pirates have accumulated, he's
not strictly a slap hitter and is capable of driving the ball into the gaps, although
he probably won't hit for a lot of power as he moves up. He's a good base stealer
and defensive player, covering plenty of ground in CF. His arm is fair. He played
2004 at 23, which meant he was a year older than Nate McLouth while playing one
level lower, so he'll need to prove he can adjust quickly as he moves up to stay on
the prospect track. One possible reason the Pirates did not promote him in 2004, as
they did Brad Eldred and Jorge Cortes, was that they already had two players at
Altoona—McLouth and Chris Duffy—who are very similar to Davis. Davis was
eligible for the Rule 5 draft in 2003 and wasn't selected, but after his 2004 performance
the Pirates added him to the roster, along with McLouth and Duffy. That gives them
an overload of speedy, top-of-the-order type OFs. Davis will be the CF at Altoona
to start 2005 and needs to continue to adapt quickly to new levels.
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