Friday, June 6, 2014

3-75: J.D. Davis

The first pick of the 3rd Round (75th overall) the Astros select Cal State-Fullerton 1B J.D. Davis.

J.D. Davis, a 21-year old, 6'3" 215lb righty from Elk Grove, California, hit .338/.419/.523 in 237 ABs (58 games) for Cal State Fullerton, with 53K:32BB, leading the team in AVG/OBP/SLG, OPS, ABs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, and Homers. He was originally drafted by Tampa Bay in the 5th Round in 2011.

Davis played in the Cape Cod League, hitting .309 with 13 extra-base hits, and was a Cape Cod League All-Star and the Eastern Division MVP. He was #36 in Baseball America's 2014 Draft Top 50 back in October.

MLB Draft Insider wrote that Davis "doesn't have the fame of some...but a solid summer made him one of the first names brought up by scouts when asked about the Cape Cod season. Davis has above-average power to all parts of the field, with a good approach and enough bat speed to hit for power and average. A lack of athleticism likely keeps him at first base, but a team could try to stick him at the hot corner where he's got plenty of arm strength and decent hands."

Just last week Davis hit a two-out grand slam in the 8th inning to give CS-F a 5-1 win in the Stillwater Regional.

His personal bio at Cal State's website says that he models his game after David Wright and Aaron Hill. And he's a Linkin Park and Lil Wayne fan. His favorite teams are the Dodgers and Red Sox.

Click this link for a scouting video (at the bottom)