Keep an eye on these 5 MLB players you haven’t heard of yet

J.D. Davis

Davis is currently locked in a battle for the first base job with the Astros. However, the Astros are looking for players who have the ability to play all over the field, and with his ability to play third base and some corner outfield, Davis seems to have the upper leg on Tyler White. This combined with the aforementioned Yuli Gurriel’s injury means Davis may get to be the starting first baseman for the Astros come Opening Day.

Davis hits the ball hard, 89.4 average exit velocity, and very well, 8.8% of contact is quality contact. He has turned this into solid production thus far in spring training, with a .969. He seems primed to be a solid contributor to the World Series defense for the Astros. Uniquely enough, he had a higher wOBA in AA than A, and AAA was higher than both. He has gotten better as the competition has gotten better. This is exactly what the Astros want to see from the development perspective.

It is far to be cautious about his playing time when making this prediction, but the Astros are very careful with their player’s development, and likely know that he can hit the ball. If he can carve his way into the Astros lineup, he will be an impact maker this season, another success story from their rebuild.

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All spring training stats from before the start of games on 3/23/18