Rajai Davis
From BR Bullpen
Rajai Lavae Davis
- Bats Right (Switch-hitter early in his career), Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 195 lb.
- School University of Connecticut at Avery Point
- High School New London High School
- Debut August 16, 2006
- Born October 19, 1980 in Norwich, CT USA
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A basketball, baseball and football player in high school, Rajai Davis focused on baseball in college. He was drafted in the 38th round of the 2001 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Originally a second baseman out of school, he was converted to the outfield. He hit .262/.364/.274 for the GCL Pirates that year with 11 steals in 14 tries. He also went 1 for 12 with two walks for the Williamsport Crosscutters. In 2002, Rajai returned to the lowest level, going at a .384/.436/.554 clip for the GCL Pirates with 24 steals in 30 tries. He was 0 for 4 with Williamsport and 6 for 14 with 6 walks for the Hickory Crawdads. An off-year may have knocked him out of baseball but instead he dominated that season. Davis led the Gulf Coast League in batting average, OBP, hits (86), at-bats (224), total bases (124) and extra-base hits (25, tied for the lead with Joey Votto). He was one point behind the slugging leader, Hanley Ramirez. He made the GCL All-Star team, but at 21 was old for the level and did not make Baseball America's list of the league's top 20 prospects. The league did not pick an MVP but Topps named him the GCL Player of the Year.
In 2003, Rajai batted .305/.383/.416 for Hickory, stealing 40 in 53 tries and scoring 84 runs. He was seventh in the South Atlantic League in average and made the All-Star team as a utility outfielder. 2004 was more of the same - .314/.388/.424 for the Lynchburg Hillcats with 91 runs and 57 steals in 72 tries. Davis won another batting title, edging Lynchburg teammate and MVP Brad Eldred by four points. Davis also stole the most bases in the league, scored the most runs and accumulated the most hits (160). He made his third straight All-Star team. He was named the #18 prospect in the league and the fastest baserunner according to BA. He stopped switch-hitting that year, going solely to the right side.
In 2005, Davis hit .281/.351/.369 with 45 steals in 54 tries. He was named both fastest baserunner and best baserunner in the Eastern League by Baseball America. Tying teammate Rich Thompson for the league lead in stolen bases, he missed the All-Star team in the EL. This tied the Altoona Curve team record for steals and he was fifth in the EL with 82 runs. He missed the last week of the year after fracturing his right hand when he was hit by a pitch.
Batting .283/.335/.343 with 45 SB in 58 attempts for the 2006 Indianapolis Indians, Davis was called up to the majors when Nate McLouth was placed on the Disabled List with a sprained ankle on August 15. Davis went 2 for 14 with Pittsburgh. Used frequently as a pinch-runner, he was thrown out in 3 of 4 steal attempts. Baseball America rated him as the fastest baserunner in the International League that year. He also led the IL with a .991 outfield fielding percentage.
Davis was injured early in the Venezuelan Winter League season while Nyjer Morgan starred in winter ball. Davis was then sent down relatively early in spring training. Morgan took over the leadoff and center field jobs for Indianapolis to start 2007, with Davis moving to right field and #2 in the order. When Morgan was injured, Davis reclaimed his old role. Davis was hitting .318/.384/.469 with 27 steals in 36 tries and a surprising 20 extra-base hits in 53 games to start 2007 with Indianapolis. He was 10th in the IL in average and leading in stolen bases. Pittsburgh then called him up to replace Humberto Cota on the roster.
Davis filled in sometimes in center field while Chris Duffy was hurt, but Nate McLouth got most of the starts. Rajai hit a solid .271/.357/.354 for the 2007 Pirates and stole 5 bases in 7 tries in 24 games but was shipped to the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline with a player to be named later (Steve MacFarland) for Matt Morris.
Source: Altoona Curve website, minorleaguebaseball.com, 2002-2007 Baseball Almanacs
