Oakland’s Khris Davis was one of the American League’s top power hitters from 2016-18 but slumped in 2019. Which Davis to expect this year? Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Davis’ 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Khris Davis MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- Most home runs of any batter: Davis is +3000
- AL MVP Award: Davis’ odds are TBA
One of the most statistical oddities in MLB history belongs to Davis. He finished the 2015, ’16, ’17 and ’18 seasons with the exact same average: .247. He became the first player in major league history to hit the same exact batting average four seasons in a row.
“That is just tough to comprehend. A’s manager Bob Melvin said after the 2018 finale. “I mean that’s almost impossible to do. The power numbers have gone up. He’s a better hitter, even though the average looks the same. I can’t explain that. The baseball gods obviously want him to hit .247.”
In 2018 he led the majors with 48 home runs and came in second in the majors with 123 RBI.
Sadly, that .247 trend ended last year when Khris hit just .220 in 133 games with 23 homers – ending a streak of three straight 40-homer seasons – and 73 RBIs. Davis has really struggled against right-handed pitching with a line of .197/.258/.330 line with 118 strikeouts in 351 at-bats.
Davis had the third lowest on-base percentage (.293) and OPS (.679) in the American League, the fourth lowest batting average and the fifth lowest slugging percentage (.387). The batting average was seventh lowest in Oakland history. Davis hit a Major League low .172 at home, which was the lowest home batting average in Oakland history (previous: .185 by Mark McGwire in 1991).
The slugging outfielder/designated hitter suffered a back injury while crashing into the wall early last season and dealt with the side effects for the rest of the campaign.
Khris Davis was off to a strong start as he batted .247 with 12 home runs and 29 RBI over his first 43 games before going on the injured list retroactive to May 22 with a left hip/oblique contusion. He was reinstated June 1 and hit .207 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI over his final 90 games.
It was Davis’ sixth consecutive season with 20 or more home runs and he is one of nine Major Leaguers with 20 or more home runs in each of the last six seasons. It was his fourth straight 20-homer season with the Oakland Athletics and he is the first Athletic with four straight 20-homer seasons since Eric Chavez had seven straight from 2000-06.
Davis’ 156 home runs over the last four years are third most in the majors and the most in Oakland history over a four-year span. He is tied for eighth on the Oakland career home run list and his .501 slugging percentage is fifth best.
It has been said that several problems led to his decline last year: decreased average exit velocity, lowered launch angle, reduced fly ball rate, and opposite field power. A hand injury, in particular, could have sapped Davis’ power last year. Davis really struggled to get the ball in the air. His 37.4 percent fly-ball rate was the lowest figure he has generated since a 36.9 percent mark he produced as a rookie back in 2013. The 42.1 percent ground ball he produced in 2019 indicates he was not able to impact the ball at his normal launch angle.
Most of the drop-off came in a particular category: fly balls to the opposite field. Davis is a prolific opposite-field hitter, and it’s one of the traits that makes his power stand out; he hit 16 opposite-field homers in 2018 alone, more than J.D. Martinez. Last year, though, his wOBA on opposite-field fly balls was just .264, down from the astronomical .489 he posted in 2018.
