Davis returns as a new hitter
He’s confident after strong rehab stint
Jaylin Davis celebrated his 27th birthday in a way that didn’t seem possible only a few months ago.
Davis was wearing a Giants uniform and standing in a batter’s box in a major league game.
“I feel great right now,” said Davis, who was activated from the injured list prior to Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks. “And being able to come back when I’m feeling good, I’m really excited about that.”
Feeling good hasn’t always been easy for Davis, who arrived in the organization via a trade with the Twins in 2019 when he was in the midst of a monster minor league season. Davis slugged his way to the majors with 35 home runs,
but in short stints with the big league club in September of 2019 and in July of 2020, he hit a combined .167 with a .515 OPS and two home runs.
“When he first got here, he was still feeling his way around a little bit and last year I don’t think he was ever at his best,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Now I think we can confidently say he can walk up the plate for his first at-bat where he wants to be mechanically and physically.”
Returning to the majors was no guarantee for Davis, who had major issues with whiffs at the Giants’ alternate site last summer and again during spring training. He opened the 2021 season on the 60-day injured list with right knee tendinitis and when he finally began a rehab assignment on June 10, there were questions as to whether the Giants would have room for him on their 40-man roster.
After pitching prospect Gregory Santos was placed on the restricted list Tuesday following a positive PED test and Mike Tauchman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain Thursday, the Giants found space for Davis on both their 40 and 26-man rosters.
It didn’t hurt that he launched seven home runs in 57 at-bats with Triple-A Sacramento during his rehab assignment.
“Me and (Triple-A hitting coach) Damon Minor, we just looked at video and some of the swings I was taking where I was missing a lot, I was crouching over a bit,” Davis explained. “He just said, ‘Hey, stay straight up,’ and let your hands work. So I did that and just took off from there.”
Davis appeared in Thursday’s 5-3 Giants loss as a pinch-hitter and dribbled the ball in front of home plate for a 2-3 putout, but one at-bat won’t define him. The Appalachian State product has newfound confidence, the approach to lift the ball in the air and the mechanics to lay off pitches outside the strike zone.
Davis is ready to put his previous struggles behind him and believes a corner has been turned.
“(Last year) was difficult, but in my mind too, I knew I was still struggling at the plate,” Davis said. “I needed more reps and that was the biggest thing for that. Yeah it sucked, but I knew I needed more reps.”
GIANTS TRADE BANDA TO METS FOR INFIELD PROSPECT >>
The 2020 trade deadline was unusually quiet for the Giants and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, but the one player they did acquire is no longer with the organization.
According to a report fromThe New York Daily News, left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda has been traded to the New York Mets in exchange for infield prospect Will Toffey.
Banda, who joined the Giants in a minor trade with the Rays last summer, posted a 6.86 ERA in 10 games (5 starts) with Triple-A Sacramento this year before being dealt to the Mets on Friday.
The southpaw spent the second half of the 2020 season on the Giants’ 40-man roster, but was outrighted to Triple-A in November before receiving an invitation to major league spring training this year.
Toffey, a former fourthround draft choice of the Oakland A’s, has struggled at Double-A Binghamton this year as the right-handed hitting infielder is batting .178 with a .703 OPS in 101 at-bats. Zaidi has a long history of targeting Vanderbilt Commodores and the 26-year old Massachusetts native is the latest Vanderbilt product to join the organization.
Down on the farm
It’s time to talk about Armani Smith.
The 22-year-old slugger might be the best Giants prospect you’ve never heard of, but he’s in the process of making sure fans know his name and will be excited to follow his progress.
A product of De La Salle (Concord), Smith was a 2019 seventh round draft choice out of UC Santa Barbara who burst onto the draft radar with an impressive junior season. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were many questions as to which prospects would arrive ready to climb the ranks and which would need additional seasoning at low levels of the minor leagues.
Smith opened this year at Low-A San Jose, but muscled his way to a promotion to High-A Eugene despite spending time on the injured list early in the year. The Walnut Creek native found his way to Eugene by hitting .339 with a .992 OPS and since moving to a higher level, his numbers have ticked up ever so slightly.
Smith homered for the third time in two games Thursday as he’s now produced seven extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 13 games since joining the Emeralds roster.