The 18th overall pick in this year’s draft, Ike Davis is waiting for his power to emerge in Brooklyn. The left-handed hitter has yet to go deep in 151 professional at-bats, but there’s little doubt that the son of former Twins and Yankees reliever Ron Davis can swing the bat; the Mets’ first-rounder hit an eye-popping .385/.457/.742 this season at Arizona State. A 21-year-old first baseman who also drew attention from scouts as a pitcher, Davis is hitting .232/.287/.305 with the Cyclones.
David Laurila: How would you describe yourself as a hitter?
Ike Davis: I hit the fastball well. I’m kind of spread out at the plate, and I’d say that my barrel is level. I’m more of a gap-to-gap guy; I try to stay in the middle of the field, from right-center to left-center.
DL: What is your hitting approach?
ID: I look for fastballs, but it kind of depends on the pitcher, really. I’ll watch what a guy is throwing me and what his style of pitching is, and I’ll have a plan of what I want to do. Most of the time, I like to attack the fastball.
DL: You’ve been compared to former Sun Devil Jeff Larish. Do you think that’s a good comp?
ID: I don’t know, because I really haven’t seen Larish play too many games, maybe only once or twice. I know that he has a good swing, so it’s a compliment. But I haven’t really shown much power here yet, although I have hit a couple balls off the wall. I know that I have power though, so it’s going to come out in time.
DL: You’ve hit left-handers well so far this year. Is that something you’ve always done?
ID: Actually, no. I usually hit righties better, but for some reason I’m swinging the bat better against lefties now. But mostly I’m just trying to get healthy and strong again. I had some injuries in college that have kind of affected what I’m doing now, so I’m really just trying to adjust to pro ball, playing every day and swinging wood. It’s taking a little time, but I’m starting to get better at it.
DL: Looking back, what was it like adjusting from high school to college ball?
ID: It wasn’t really different, just like this is not really different. The pitching is not better. Here, it’s just swinging a wood bat and playing every day that you have to adjust to. And once you adjust to a wood bat, you still need to keep your body healthy; you need to eat right and really take nutrition seriously.
DL: One of your teammates at Arizona State was Brett Wallace, who was drafted 13th overall by the Cardinals. Can you give a scouting report on him as a hitter?
ID: I can’t give away his secrets, because I don’t want them to get out, but he hits the ball. You can’t really fool him and he hits the ball all over the yard, hard. He has a natural way of just putting the bat on the ball.
DL: Your father pitched in the big leagues. Did you learn anything from him about how pitchers think?
ID: It’s hard, because pitchers think differently; every pitcher has his own game plan. Maybe just that pitchers do fall into a little routine, and if you can find that it can help.
DL: You spent a lot of time around professional athletes growing up. Have you had any “Wow!” moments?
ID: I got to meet Joe DiMaggio when I was real young, and that was a real “Wow!” moment for me. This year I met Barry Bonds, who came to see us when we played UCLA. I got to sit down and talk with him, and Barry Bonds was one of my favorite players growing up, so that was another “Wow!” moment.
DL: You were drafted with a compensation pick the Mets received from Atlanta. How different do you think your life would be right now if you were in the Braves organization?
ID: It would be a lot different. I don’t know where their minor league system is, but I wouldn’t be up here in New England right now, and I don’t know their rules. But it would have been cool either way. I’m really excited that the Mets drafted me. It’s a big organization and they like to win; they try to do everything they can to win.
DL: How do you view the Mets-Yankees rivalry?
ID: Oh, it’s really cool. They (the Yankees short-season team) play in Staten Island, so we play them. They don’t really get to play each other much in the majors, but it’s still pretty exciting. Just being here, getting a chance to play, is pretty exciting.
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