#16. Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
2015 WAR: 5.2
2014 WAR: 1.8
WAR Improvement: 3.4
“[Chris] Davis is 230 pounds of uncertainty,” Jeff Sullivan recently wrote for Fox Sports. “The extent of his success will be determined by what happens with a handful of swings every season, and there’s a lot of room for that to go right or wrong. Basically, there’s no achieving actual comfort. There’s only pursuing artificial comfort.”
Davis doesn’t just take tentative swings. He tries to throw his entire weight behind the sweeping motion, hoping to add yet another homer to his ever-growing tally while fully aware that he may strike out once more. There’s a reason he led the league in both long-balls (47) and punch-outs (208) in 2015.
Davis’ BABIP during his nauseating 2014 campaign was just .242, which stands well below his career average of .320. That changed last year (.319 BABIP), and it affected his entire game as the balls that fell short of fences managed to squeeze into gaps far more often.
There will always be potential for another collapse, given his all-or-nothing approach. But Davis, who hasn’t yet celebrated his 30th birthday, is indeed talented enough to remain on the fringe of MVP contention for another season.