Cincinnati Reds Rookie Davis grows on and off of the field

Cincinnati Reds Rookie Davis grew as a pitcher and a person during 2017

The Cincinnati Reds saw Rookie Davis grow thanks to a series of tweets that he received from one fan in particular.  Chad Gibson was the man that was tweeting Davis regularly.  The tweets were supportive, which matches the relationships that Chad had with his wife Lucy and son Chace.

Chad was a lifelong Reds fan that loved baseball.  Whether it was in Indianapolis or during the family vacation, Chad always wanted to watch minor league baseball.  That’s why Chad’s support of Davis was so natural.

When the Louisville Bats visited Indianapolis, Chad and Davis tried to meet up, but Davis was in Arizona on a rehabilitation assignment.  Then in September when Chad and Chace made it to Cincinnati to watch batting practice, Davis had other obligations.

Then on September 26, Chad passed away from an arm infection that spread.  Chace lost his father.  When Davis found out he jumped into action.

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Davis brought Chace to RedsFest.  Chace sat next to Davis as Davis went through the autograph session.  Davis also led them on a tour at Great American Ballpark.

More amazingly, Davis introduced his family to Chace and Lucy.  Chace and Lucy also wore special tee-shirts in honor of Chad.  The sort of day that Davis helped create shows his maturity as a good man off of the field.

On the field, 2017 was a year of change for Cincinnati Reds Rookie Davis in his professional career.

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2017 was a rough year for Davis on the mound.  He made his MLB debut following an impressive off-season, but ended up on the DL.  When he went down to the minors, he still faced difficulty.

In Cincinnati Davis went 1-3 over six MLB starts.  His 8.63 ERA and 2.17 WHIP were not sustainable at the major league level.  That he went out there every fifth day despite the difficulty shows his fortitude.

He made eleven starts in Louisville going 4-4 with a 4.77 ERA.

His 1.34 WHIP was much more reasonable at Triple-A.  He threw a complete game striking out 54 over 60 1/3 innings.

Davis also spent time in Double-A and the Arizona rookie league.  He dominated in both of those. He was especially strong in Arizona where his WHIP was an amazing 0.750.

This is the first season that Davis had a complete year ERA over 4.00.  His combined WHIP was strong because of the showing in Arizona.  All in all Davis is a .500 record minor leaguer with plus stuff.

Next: Andrew Benintendi to Cincinnati?

On the field 2017 may have been a difficult season.  Off of the field, though, Davis showed that he belongs with the Reds.  It may take a while, but he will be back eventually.