Orioles’ Chris Davis Must Have a Monster 2015

After the 2013 season, the Orioles’ slugging first baseman Chris Davis was on the top of the world. He had just come off a season where he hit .286, bashing 53 homers and knocking in 138 runs. Mostly everyone knew he wouldn’t be able to replicate his 2013 season, but a .270 average with 35 to 40 homers and 100 RBI looked realistic. Not many people saw the steep decline that proved to be in store for him in 2014.

In 2014, Davis hit an uninspiring .196/.300/.404 with only 26 dingers, striking out in 33 percent of his plate appearances. He was also slapped with a 25-game suspension from MLB for amphetamine usage, causing him to miss the Orioles’ entire playoff run.

Davis will also have to sit out Opening Day 2015 to complete the last game of his suspension. The missed time capped off a year quite frustrating for Davis and teammates, leaving many fans asking whether he was a one-year wonder.

The answer to that question is no, because Davis had a strong year in 2012 as well, hitting .270 with 33 homers. He just did not get widespread attention until his huge 2013 season. But after a miserable 2014, Davis will need to bounce back to help replace the production that came from the Orioles’ two major departures: slugger Nelson Cruz and leadoff man Nick Markakis.

Cruz and Markakis combined for a 6.8 WAR and their presences in the lineup will be missed. Yes, the returns of stars Manny Machado and Matt Wieters from injury will help offset the lost production, but neither of them is yet a premier power bat like Cruz was.

More from Baltimore Orioles

• Baltimore Orioles: John Angelos should learn that silence is golden
• Watch out American League, the Baltimore Orioles are here to stay
• Stock Up, Stock Down: MLB trade deadline winners and losers
• MLB Rumors: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins
• Baltimore Orioles: How about a little love in MLB history for Jim Palmer?

Davis, however, showed that he can be an elite power hitter in the past. Even in 2014, his 26 blasts are nothing to scoff at. Yet Davis will need to do much more than that in 2015. He is currently slotted in as the Orioles’ cleanup hitter and will need to bring some big time production to Baltimore’s offense.

Davis will need to have a respectable batting average in the .260 to .270 range and he will be expected to hit a lot of long balls. A big reason Davis’ average was so low was defensive shifts. While he has elite power to all fields when he hits the ball in the air, almost all of his grounders are pulled to the right side. Opposing teams would often put their second baseman in shallow right field so many would-have-been base hits were turned into routine outs.

There is not much Davis can do about this, as just hitting the ball to the opposite field as the late great Tony Gwynn did for so many years is easier said than done. Davis could be helped out in this category if new commissioner Rob Manfred bans the extreme defensive shift, as he said he was open to doing.

All in all though, if Davis can have a .270 average with 35 homers and 100 RBI, it will go a long way in helping the Orioles stay on top in the AL East.