From the Field: Rajai Davis, of, Cleveland Indians

This autograph was signed two years ago in Spring Training but was lost until this past season. It was a nice surprise when the consignor let me know they found it.

Davis had played for seven organizations in his career. Teams clearly value what he brings on the basepaths and defense. But he does not have a great bat, so at this point in his career, he is best suited as a 4th or 5th outfielder. Lucky for him he plays on the Indians were the organization does not really have any outfielders, so he is playing probably a little more than he should be.

Davis has always had the profiled of a top of the order hitter. Problem is that he never really gotten on base with the kind regularity that teams want with their leadoff hitter. That’s a shame since he is amazing on the basepaths…he really could have been a Rickey Henderson-lite if the bat was just a little better. He did have one season where he got pretty close–in 2009 with Oakland he hit .305/.360/.423, with 41 SB.