JASON DAVIS

5/8/80; '99 21st (Cleveland); Cleveland State CC
R/R; 6-6, 230

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
2000 R (Cleve)
4-4-0
10
10
45.0
48
 5
16
35
 3.2 7.0 1.42 .276
4.40
2001 A (Cleve)
14-6-0
27
27
160.0
147
 9
51
115
 2.9 6.5 1.24 .243
2.70
2002 AL (Cleve)
1-0-0
3
2
14.2
12
 1
4
11
 2.5 6.8 1.09 .218
1.84
2002 AA (Cleve)
6-2-0
10
10
59.0
63
 2
16
45
 2.4 6.9 1.34 .278
3.51
2002 A+ (Cleve)
3-6-0
17
17
99.2
107
 7
31
68
 2.8 6.1 1.38 .272
4.15
2003 AL (Cleve)
8-11-0
27
27
165.1
172
 25
47
85
 2.6 4.6 1.32 .273
4.68
2004 AL (Cleve)
2-7-0
26
19
114.1
148
 13
51
72
 4.0 5.7 1.74 .311
5.51
2004 AAA (Cleve)
3-2-0
9
9
54.0
53
 4
18
39
 3.0 6.5 1.31 .261
3.00
2005 AL (Cleve)
4-2-0
11
4
40.1
44
 4
20
32
 4.5
7.1
1.59
.282
4.69
2005 AAA (Cleve)
8-5-0
16
16
95.2
106
 9
27
77
 2.5
7.2
1.39
.283
4.61
2006 AL (Cleve)
3-2-1
39
0
55.1
67
 1
14
37
 2.3
6.0
1.46
.302
3.74
2006 AAA (Cleve)
0-2-4
11
0
16.2
8
 0
3
15
 1.6
8.1
0.66
.138
0.54
2007 AL (Cleve)
0-0-0
8
0
11.1
13
 0
9
5
 7.2
4.0
1.94
.283
4.76
2007 AL (Sea)
2-0-0
16
0
25.2
29
 4
16
14
 5.6
4.9
1.75
.290
6.31
2007 AAA (Sea)
0-2-0
5
5
25.1
37
 2
14
16
 5.0
5.7
2.01
.346
7.11
2008 NL
2-4-0
14
4
34.0
38
2
17
13
4.5
3.4
1.62
.299
5.29
2008 AAA
6-9-0
21
20
116.1
113
4
47
68
3.6
5.3
1.38
.261
4.41
2009 AAA
0-8-0
35
7
62.1
71
2
36
25
5.2
3.6
1.73
.293
6.06

The Pirates signed Davis at the end of spring training in 2008, as they needed another starting pitcher for the Indianapolis rotation. Davis had gone to spring training with Texas, but opted for free agency when he didn't make the major league roster. At the beginning of his major league career, Davis pitched reasonably well even though the Indians rushed him to the majors. He began struggling after that, sometimes but not always with his control, which was good in the minors. In 2007, the wheels fell off entirely.

A former basketball player, Davis is a big guy with a fastball that can get into the upper 90s, although more often it's around 93-94. He also throws a splitter. For a guy with good stuff, he's never had very good K rates. He's been slightly more effective against LH batters than against RH. He spent most of the season in the rotation at Indianapolis, pitching decently but still with a low K rate. The Pirates added him to the roster and called him up in late July, in what was more a desperation move than anything else. He ended up getting four spot starts as well as pitching out of the bullpen. His ERA as a starter was 4.12, but that's misleading because nearly a third of the runs he allowed in his starts were unearned and his WHIP as a starter was 1.68. He was scored upon in half his relief outings and the awful BB/K ratio probably says as much about his stuff as anything. The Pirates didn't seem to have much faith in him, as he appeared in only four games in September, including a three-inning spot start, despite the general collapse of the bullpen. Davis was eligible for arbitration and, not surprisingly, the Pirates outrighted him to AAA shortly before the winter meetings. He became a free agent, reportedly in preparation to pitch in Japan, but he ended up returning to the Pirates on a minor league deal.

Davis' spring training experience probably provides an indication of the degree to which the team's management was unnerved by the lack of starting depth in 2008. Davis was pronounced part of the competition for a 2009 rotation spot, although he never had a realistic chance of winning one. In the end, the Pirates said that Davis would go to AAA to get stretched out and serve as rotation depth. That plan didn't work out too well, though, as Davis came unglued in AAA. His ERA as a starter was 9.62, so after seven starts he was moved to the bullpen. He had an ERA of 3.79 in relief, but walked twice as many as he fanned, so something clearly wasn't right. In spring training he was throwing only in the upper-80s, well below his norm, so it could be he wasn't healthy. He finished the season on the disabled list and seems unlikely to return.

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