30
Jun
2008

Rangers’ Rookies Davis, Hurley Have Legit Talent

Posted by Dustin Hockensmith

As the season wears on, the Texas Rangers have seemed to get younger and younger. They had four rookies in their starting lineup in Sunday’s 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, including starting pitcher Eric Hurley who picked up his first win. Both Hurley and first baseman Chris Davis have made splashes in their big league debuts, and both have the talent to sustain the momentum.

Davis will be especially interesting to watch for the remainder of the year. One of the best power hitting prospects in the minors, he became the first Rangers player ever to homer in his first two games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. At the time of his June 24 callup, Davis was hitting .333 with 23 homers in 77 games between stops at Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Oklahoma.

Davis is a giant guy with premium power, but like many big-time power hitters, he does swing and miss a lot. Don’t be deceived by the .333 average in the minors, that number is bound to be much closer to .275 as he is overmatched by better pitchers with better scouting reports.

Take the word ‘overmatched,’ as in the Ryan Howard, leading baseball in both homers and strikeouts kind of way. He will hit, just not for much contact.

Hurley isn’t as good a bet to contribute to fantasy teams right away. Where hitter friendly Ballpark at Arlington will assist Davis’ power numbers, it will be equally prohibitive to Hurley. He’s made four solid starts since getting called up on June 12 and registered his first career win with 5.2 innings and one earned run against the Phillies on Sunday.

Being a flyball pitcher in Arlington doesn’t promise to yield immediate results. Hurley is the kind of strikethrower that can limit the damage of long balls, but there still may be some ugly results along the way. The advice would be to go with other, more reliable starting pitching options before setting your sights on Hurley.

Davis, on the other hand, would come highly recommended for teams looking to gain some ground in the power categories. His poor strikeout rate will keep his average in check, but there still may not be a higher upside option on the waiver wire.

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