Mets slugger J.D. Davis went from “who the heck” to the upper deck

In only a few short months, J.D. Davis went from an obscure New York Mets acquisition to a core member of the franchise.

Twitter is going to ruin plenty of people’s hopes of becoming president one day. I understand the irony in that statement considering the current situation in the White House. Believe it or not, people do care what you say online especially when you get something wrong. That’s why New York Mets fans who have fallen in love with J.D. Davis are eager to dig up old takes about the slugger from several months ago.

When the Mets landed Davis in a trade with the Houston Astros, you probably thought “who the heck is this guy?” You weren’t alone. I had heard the name but didn’t know much about the Triple-A masher who just couldn’t seem to figure things out at the big league level.

Months later, I know plenty more about the guy we call Just Dingers. In a very short time he went from obscure to a cure for what ails the Mets.

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Early on, Davis was viewed as a possible depth piece who may get some playing time if things don’t work out at the corner positions. Injuries eventually opened up an opportunity to for him to play more often, serving time at third base and in left field regularly for the Mets. When Dominic Smith landed on the IL, the left field gig went to Davis full-time.

In those opportunities, we saw Davis grow into the power hitter we dreamed about. He’s right there with Pete Alonso slugging home runs. The upper deck at Citi Field has never been more dangerous with these two in the lineup.

Whether going yard, clearing the bases with a double, or lining a game-winning hit, Davis is officially part of the young core we’ve all grown to adore this season.

Davis’ rise in 2019 is an unexpected reward for sticking with the Mets. If you checked out when the team was closer to the Miami Marlins in the standings than they were a Wild Card spot, you may have missed how sudden his climb was.

Not only has Davis become a threat to hit 30 home runs in a full year, but he’s also a .300 hitter who draws walks. It’s very possible that by season’s end he has the second-highest batting average, OBP, and slugging percentage on the team. For a guy who did nothing in MLB before this year, it’s quite an achievement.

A lot of us were wrong about Davis with our original assessments. If you nailed this prediction, kudos to you for buying low on a guy with promise.

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For those who got a different message from their crystal balls (like me), beware of your old takes getting exposed.