Jonathan Gregory "J.D." Davis, nicknamed Dizzie (born April 27, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He made his MLB debut with the Astros in 2017, and has also played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Amateur career

Davis attended Elk Grove High School in

Elk Grove, California Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census, the population ...

. The

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

selected him in the fifth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

. Davis did not sign and attended

, where he played

for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West Co ...

from 2012 to 2014. Davis played first base and was also a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. In his three years with the Titans, he hit .307/.394/.461 with 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 113

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) in 156 games. As a pitcher he had a 3.00

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 11 saves. In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball for the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), where he was named East Division MVP of the league's annual all-star game.

Professional career

Houston Astros

After his junior season, Davis was drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of the

. He signed with the Astros for $748,600 and made his professional debut with the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...

. After hitting .293/.371/.508 with a .878

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

(OPS) in 111 at bats over 30 games, he was promoted to the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, o ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, where he finished the 2014 season, batting .303/.363/.516(9th in the Midwest League) with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 155 at bats. He was named an MiLB Organization All Star. In 2015, he played for the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League. There Davis slashed .289/.370/.520 with 93 runs (3rd in the league), 26 home runs (6th), 101 RBIs (2nd; behind Cody Bellinger), 54 walks (3rd), 157 strikeouts (3rd), 12 grounded into double plays (4th), and 10 hit by pitch (2nd). In 2016, Davis played for the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. There, he led the league with 34 doubles and batted .268/.334/.485(10th in the Texas League) with 61 runs (8th), 23 home runs (3rd), 81 RBIs (3rd), and 45 walks (8th), and 143 strikeouts (3rd). He was named an MiLB Organization All Star. Davis began 2017 back with Corpus Christi, batting .279/.340/.510(8th in the Texas League) with 21 home runs (2nd), and 60 RBIs. He was promoted to the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in d ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast Leaguein July where he batted .295 with five home runs, 18 RBIs, and a .993 OPS in 16 games. He was named an MiLB Organization All Star. The Astros promoted Davis to the major leagues on August 5, 2017. He played 25 games with the Astros with 62 at bats, with a .226 batting average, four home runs, and seven RBIs. The Astros finished the year with a 101–61 record, and eventually won the

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and th ...

. Davis did not play in the playoffs, but was still on the Astros 40-man roster, giving him a chance to win his first career championship. On March 24, 2018, the Astros announced that Davis had made the Opening Day roster. He batted .175 with one home run in 103 at bats for the Astros. He batted .342(5th in the Pacific Coast League)/.406/.583(6th) with 17 home runs with 81 RBIs (6th) for Fresno in 333 at bats. He was named an MiLB Organization All Star.

New York Mets

On January 6, 2019, the Astros traded Davis and Cody Bohanek to the

for Ross Adolph, Luis Santana, and Scott Manea. On August 26, 2019, Davis was awarded with the MLB Play of the Week with an over-the-shoulder basket catch by MLB.com. He finished the 2019 season batting .307/.369/.527 with career-highs in home runs (22) and RBIs (57) in 140 games. He was in the top 5% in the MLB in average exit velocity. His four assists were the 5th-most for an NL left fielder. In the field, he played 79 games in left field, and 31 games at third base. Davis played in 56 games for the Mets in 2020, slashing .247/.371/.389 with 6 home runs and 19 RBIs. The 8 double plays he grounded into were 5th-most in the National League, and his 7 hit by pitch were 6th-most in the league. In the field, he played 34 games at third base, and 11 in left field. On June 25, 2021, Davis was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left hand sprain. On July 16, Davis was activated off of the injured list. In 38 at bats with Class AAA Syracuse he batted .316. In 2021 with the Mets he batted .285/.384/.436. In the field, he played all his games at third base. On March 22, 2022, Davis signed a $2.76 million contract with the Mets, avoiding salary arbitration. In 2022 with the Mets, before he was traded, he batted .238/.324/.359 with 4 home runs and 21 RBIs, in 181 at bats. He played 43 games at DH, 12 at third base, and four at first base.

San Francisco Giants

On August 2, 2022, Davis and pitchers Carson Seymour, Nick Zwack, and Thomas Szapucki were traded to the

for first baseman/outfielder

Darin Ruf Darin Cortland Ruf (born July 28, 1986) is an American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Ruf was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and played at Westside High Sch ...

. With the Giants, he batted .263/.361/.496 in 137 at bats, with 20 runs, 8 home runs, and 14 RBIs. With the Giants he played 18 games at third base, 14 each at first base and DH, and 2 in left field. In 2022 he was in the top 5% in MLB in hard-hit percentage (56.1%), barrel percentage, and average exit velocity on balls hit (92.4 mph). On January 13, 2023, Davis agreed to a one-year, $4.21 million contract with the Giants, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

*
Cal State Fullerton Titans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, J. D. 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Elk Grove, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball third basemen Houston Astros players New York Mets players San Francisco Giants players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Tri-City ValleyCats players Quad Cities River Bandits players Lancaster JetHawks players Glendale Desert Dogs players Corpus Christi Hooks players Fresno Grizzlies players Chatham Anglers players Syracuse Mets players Wisconsin Woodchucks players