Written by Amit Lal
| 20 August 2010
This week, the Diamondbacks have given promotions to two high picks from last year's draft - 1st Rounder
Matt Davidson and 5th Rounder
Ryan Wheeler. Davidson, the 35th player taken in 2009, moves from South Bend to High A Visalia in the California League, while Wheeler moves from Visalia up to AA Mobile.
At age 19, 3B Matt Davidson is the youngest player on the Visalia roster and the 5th youngest in the entire California League.
| Matt Davidson |
Lg |
PA |
R |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
| South Bend |
MW |
475 |
58 |
16 |
79 |
43 |
109 |
.289 |
.371 |
.504 |
| Visalia |
CAL |
12 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
.300 |
.417 |
.300 |
Davidson showed solid improvement throughout the season, improving his OPS from .770 in June up to .863 in July and finally to .991 in August before his promotion. While he started the year with 21 Ks and only 1 BB, he maintained a 2:1 K/BB ratio over the rest of the season. For what it's worth, Davidson also hit remarkably well with runners on base:
| Situation |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
HR |
| None On |
.231 |
.317 |
.397 |
4 |
| Runners On |
.341 |
.418 |
.598 |
12 |
Ryan Wheeler, 22 and also a 3B, had an outstanding minor league debut in 2009, finishing with a .361/.462/.540 line between Yakima and South Bend. He found the going a little tougher in Visalia, especially in the power department:
| Ryan Wheeler |
Lg |
PA |
R |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
| Visalia |
CAL |
506 |
62 |
9 |
57 |
35 |
98 |
.282 |
.338 |
.402 |
| Mobile |
SOU |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.400 |
.571 |
.400 |
Wheeler had a particularly tough time against LHP, going only .230/.270/.245, while hitting a solid .307/.369/.474 against RHP. However, he hit the ball harder with each passing month, increasing his line drive rate from 5.6% in April up to 16.5% in July and 29.4% in August.
