Q&A Weekend: - Is Ike Davis Enough At 1B?

Tony Mets34 asked:  Mack, thanks for the site. I'm curious if you think that Ike Davis will be the Mets first baseman for the next five years and if you think he's talented enough for that position?

Thanks for the question and the comments.

Yeah... he's enough.

Look, us Mets writers and fans are at a big disadvantage right now. We have no idea who is in charge and, thus, we have no idea what this team will look like come opening day, no less five years from now.

All I can do is close my eyes and go back to the days I was a GM, coming into a job on that first day. The sad part is most of the time you take a new management job, you are following either a bad job or a bad result.

The new Mets General Manager has to do a few things when he/she comes in the door. Obviously, one of the first is to hire a new manager.

Then the two of them will sit down over a pot of coffee and go over the current 40-man (not 25-man).

There are many problems with the Mets right now... some are big problems... but one of the good things is first base.  Davis came out of nowhere to hit .264/.351/.440/.791, 19-HR, 71-AB in his rookie year. This easily projects out as a .275-BA/25-HR, 90-RBI production over the next five years, which I'm sure both a new manager and GM would be thrilled to start a "keeper" list with.

Will be surpass the value of Carlos Delgado in 2006-2008?  Probably not, but close.



photo by Michael G. Baron

 Is there someone else in the system down the pipe?  Well, first of all, the current Mets have all sorts of back-up first basemen on their roster. Nick Evans, Chris Carter, Mike Hessman, and Daniel Murphy can all hold their own their. Shoot, even Josh Thole could in a pinch. None offer the results of what Davis can do, but the amount of backups available make this position solid through the 2011 season.

Past that, there is some talent in the minors, but none currently on the scale of Davis.  I expect Hessman to return to Buffalo for the 2011 season, though the job could go to Marshall Hubbard. Stefan Welsh should win the job in Binghamton, while Travis Ozga should beat out Luke Stewart in St. Lucie. Look for Jeff Flagg to start in Savannah and Alexander Sanchez should start Brooklyn.

Is there a possible "breakthrough" first baseman on the farm?  Welsh, Ozga, and Flagg all need to kept an eye on.

In closing Tony, there aren't many areas a new manager can put to bed right now, but this looks like one of them.