Khris Davis (UT, OAK) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 150

CURRENT ADP: ~175 overall

ANALYSIS:

Davis struggled mightily in 2019 by slashing .220/.293/.387 with 23 HR, 73 RBI, 61 R, and 47 BB in 481 at-bats. He put up career-lows in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS, most likely all attributed to a nagging hip injury Davis had in 2019. The injury began bothering him in mid-May, when he had already notched 10 home runs. After that point, his performance dropped off significantly, hitting only 13 home runs the rest of the way.

Khris Davis has several positives heading into 2020, the first of which is his health. By all accounts, Davis is feeling much healthier headed into camp for the start of 2020. Given this information, it is more than plausible we could see him return to the form we witnessed for the previous three seasons in Oakland when he was an absolute monster at the plate.

From 2016-2018, Davis averaged 44 HR, 112, RBI, 91 R, and 58 BB. These numbers are incredibly strong and something you would expect to see out of a third or fourth-round pick. He also averaged a ridiculous 17.2% barrel rate and an average exit velocity of 92.1 mph. Each of these ranked in the top five percent of the league. In 2018 alone, Davis ranked in the top five percent of the league in terms of home runs, RBI, SLG, and OPS. He also put up a solid .567 xSLG, and .376 xWOBA in 2018. It should be noted that he was also in the top five percent for strikeouts in 2018, but this can easily be forgiven considering his robust power numbers and a modest career walk rate of 9.2%.

Davis is projected to hit sixth in the Oakland lineup between Mark Canha and Stephen Piscotty. This is a team that scored 845 runs in 2019, which was good for eighth-best in the league. They also had an on-base percentage of .327, which ranked 11th in the league. This means that Davis should have ample opportunity to drive runs in from that six-hole and is a great value at his current cost.