San Francisco Giants: Prospect Jaylin Davis pushing for September call-up

Outfield prospect Jaylin Davis has done nothing but hit, hit, and hit some more since joining the San Francisco Giants organization at the end of July.

The San Francisco Giants acquired Jaylin Davis along with two young pitching prospects in Kai-Wei Tang and Prelander Berroa in a deal that sent Sam Dyson to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.

While Davis was not regarded as a top prospect in the Twins farm system prior to the trade, part of that was due to some issues staying healthy.

With that being said, the outfield prospect possesses loud tools, including power and athleticism as Kiley McDaniel for FanGraphs showed in the following scouting report from May 2018:

Davis was a 24th-round pick out of Appalachian State in 2015. He was available at that point not because he lacked tools, but because he missed most of his draft year with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. He’s played just over 200 games in pro ball in close to three full seasons, so health is still an issue, and Davis will soon turn 24 while still in A-ball. That said, he has loud enough tools that you still need to pay attention: a right-field defensive profile with plus raw power and enough bat to possibly profile as a useful big leaguer. Davis is probably a below-average contact hitter, but he may have enough pitch selection to get to most or all of his raw power, which would at least make him a solid rotation/platoon player.

As a right-handed-hitting outfielder, Davis could slot in nicely as a platoon complement to the San Francisco Giants current contingent of left-handed-hitting outfielders that includes Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson. Then again, the 25-year-old is in the midst of a breakout season in the minors, so the Giants may be expecting more than just a platoon role.

Prior to the trade, Davis had posted a .298/.392/.563 line that included 25 home runs across 424 plate appearances while splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A.

Since joining the Giants organization,  he’s only improved his prospect profile and visibility. In 100 plate appearances at Triple-A Sacramento, Davis has recorded a blistering .349/.440/.767 line with 10 home runs.

Many of his hits have looked a lot like this one:

To say he has been on fire might be an understatement. Fire only wishes it could be as hot as Jaylin Davis is right now.

In addition to his impressive stats, the outfield prospect has also posted strong peripheral numbers. He’s carrying a 13 percent walk rate against a 22 percent strikeout rate at Sacramento, giving him the type of strike zone awareness that team president Farhan Zaidi generally covets.

With September call-ups right around the corner, Davis has built a compelling case for a promotion when rosters expand from 25 to 40 at the start of next month.

The Giants currently have an open spot on the 40-man roster, meaning that Zaidi will not need to do any roster gymnastics if he decides to add Davis. From that standpoint, there should not be any obstacles and his production certainly warrants a promotion.

San Francisco Giants fans are clamoring for Davis to don the orange and black before this season ends, and that collective voice grows louder with each towering home run he hits. He’s done everything in his power to earn a promotion, and he’s earned an audition over the final five weeks of the season.