masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgI said streaky player, not sneaky player. Although when he got on the mound, Chris Davis proved to be sneaky fast.

If you go back over his last 29 games, you can see two real hot streaks and two real cold streaks at the plate for the Orioles first baseman. Davis may be about to make that three hot streaks in getting five hits the last two days in Kansas City.

Here is the last month for Davis:

* In three games from April 14-16, he went 8-for-12 with three doubles and a homer.

* In seven…I said streaky player, not sneaky player. Although when he got on the mound, Chris Davis proved to be sneaky fast.

If you go back over his last 29 games, you can see two real hot streaks and two real cold streaks at the plate for the Orioles first baseman. Davis may be about to make that three hot streaks in getting five hits the last two days in Kansas City.

Here is the last month for Davis:

* In three games from April 14-16, he went 8-for-12 with three doubles and a homer.

* In seven games from April 17-24, he went 3-for-23 with no RBIs.

* In 10 games from April 25-May 5, he hit .400 (14-for-35) with four homers and 10 RBIs.

* In seven games, from May 6 through May 15, he went 3-for-28 with 14 strikeouts and just one RBI.

* In the last two games at Kansas City, Davis went 5-for-8 with five singles.

Davis’ overall numbers are respectable. He is batting .296 with five homers and 15 RBIs along with an OBP of .336, a slugging percentage of .472 and an OPS of .808.

Among current everyday players on the team, he ranks tied for first in average, third in OBP and OPS and fourth in slugging.

Davis, who was a hero just a few days ago for that pitching performance in Boston, became a goat with his recent slump and that critical bases-loaded error in the Yankees series. The misplay helped fuel New York’s comeback from a 5-3 deficit to beat the Orioles 8-5 on Monday night.Davis Hits White.jpg

For me, here is what it comes down to with Davis and I’ve made similar comments before: The Orioles need to find out what Davis can do this year with regular playing time. That means riding out the hot streaks and enduring the cool streaks. Davis has the look of a streaky player for sure and we will see if his play levels off later in the year or if this is just the way it will be with him.

He looks like he can be average and/or adequate on defense to me, the play Monday night not withstanding. He’s athletic and has a decent arm. He has made some decent plays at first, but sometimes as fans we remember more clearly those critical plays that weren’t made cleanly.

It seems like Buck Showalter is committed to giving Davis regular playing time this year. That has been the plan and I think it is a good move by the Orioles to see if this 26-year-old first baseman with big-time power potential will be a key part of their future.