{"id":457949,"date":"2010-03-22T10:52:51","date_gmt":"2010-03-22T14:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,yhoo:20050301:fantasy,article,yhoo-ept_sports_fantasy_experts-229380:1"},"modified":"2010-03-22T10:52:51","modified_gmt":"2010-03-22T14:52:51","slug":"noise-chris-davis-buying-a-stairway-to-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/457949","title":{"rendered":"Noise: Chris Davis, buying a ‘Stairway to Heaven’"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Patience simply isn’t a virtue in Fantasyland. Suffice it to
\nsay, epic, slow-building rock masterpieces<\/a> never blare on its denizens’ radios. No person should have to wait for a Jimmy Page guitar solo.  <\/p>\n

It’s because of this incessant yearning for instant
\ngratification, laggard development by top prospects is typically deemed
\nunacceptable. High-ceiling youngsters who initially underperform are unfairly damned. As a result, expectations and price-tags the following season are often times greatly reduced.   <\/p>\n

Texas’
\nChris Davis<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who is currently only owned in just 47 percent of Yahoo! leagues,
\nis a prime example of how owner restlessness creates gigantic value.<\/a><\/p>\n

A season ago, the Rangers’ slugger was the darling of the
\nfantasy sports world. Pundits and experienced players alike hoisted the future
\nhome run king onto an unreachable pedestal, drowning the unproven commodity
\nin unwarranted adoration. Blessed with prodigious raw power and an everyday gig
\nin an RBI-friendly lineup, Davis,
\nit seemed, was destined to "Crush" a lot. <\/p>\n

However, prolonged droughts spurred by a lack of plate
\ndiscipline led to a dramatic downfall. Sporting a .202 BA and dreadful 44.1
\nstrikeout rate by the end of June, he, deservedly so, was banished north to Oklahoma City. In the eyes of the eager, his reputation was
\nforever tarnished. Justin Smoak<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> would soon make him a complete afterthought. <\/p>\n

Instead of wallowing in minor league exile, Davis, under the guidance
\nof OKC hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, retooled his approach, suppressing his
\noverly voracious demeanor at the dish. When recalled in late August, he was a
\ndifferent player compiling a .308 BA with six homers and 26 RBI in 133 at-bats. Loose-fitting fan toupees were still in peril whenever he stepped into
\nthe box, but his 27.1 K percentage during that span was a significant
\nimprovement.   <\/p>\n

This past offseason, the 24-year-old continued to work hard
\nbuilding on his late-season success. The results this spring have been
\neye-opening. Granted it’s a small sample, but he’s collected 18 hits in 44
\nat-bats with two homers and 10 RBI. More importantly, he’s posted an 11:3 K:BB
\nsplit (25.0 K%). Davis
\ncredits his cooler persona for the turnaround. From MLB.com<\/a>: <\/p>\n

"I’m a singles machine," David joked. "A couple of
\nthose singles came with two strikes. That’s big. I’m not a stranger at swinging
\nat balls in the dirt, but that’s when hitting to the opposite field comes in,
\nnot trying to do too much but just put the ball in play."<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Manager Ron Washington has been impressed with his young
\npower hitter’s mental strides noting he’s "not over-swinging" and "controlling
\nthe strike-zone." That frame of mind has regained the skipper’s confidence.
\nFrom the Dallas
\nMorning News<\/a>: <\/p>\n

"Everything he’s been through,
\nthere’s still people who are going to doubt Chris Davis," Washington said.
\n"But I don’t doubt Chris Davis."<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although Washington
\nadmittedly is a recreational "skier,"<\/a> his words couldn’t be truer. The fantasy
\nmasses shouldn’t doubt Davis.
\nHis light-tower power, shortened swing and entrenched spot batting sixth in a
\nloaded Rangers lineup bode well for a breakthrough campaign. With an ADP of
\n150.97 according to Mock Draft Central<\/a> – Jorge Cantu<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> territory – he is quite
\npossibly the greatest power grab in the middle rounds of mixed leagues. <\/p>\n

Unless you’re in a deep mixed or AL-only league, Davis isn’t your primary
\nchoice at first base. The position is brimming with boppers. But because he
\nalso qualifies at power-strapped third, Davis, who has 686 career MLB at-bats
\nunder his belt, is the prototype post-hype sleeper who will pay an enormous
\ndividend. Minus steals, a Mark Reynolds<\/a>(notes)<\/a>-like<\/span> production leap isn’t
\nunfathomable. <\/p>\n

Too bad his acquired patience won’t rub off on the fantasy
\nmasses. <\/p>\n

Fearless Forecast:
\n501 at-bats, .269 BA, 32 HR, 98 RBI, 82 R, 3 SB <\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Image courtesy of Getty Images
<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patience simply isn’t a virtue in Fantasyland. Suffice it to say, epic, slow-building rock masterpieces never blare on its denizens’ radios. No person should have to wait for a Jimmy Page guitar solo.  It’s because of this incessant yearning for instant gratification, laggard development by top prospects is typically deemed unacceptable. High-ceiling youngsters who initially […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5446,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-457949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}