In a large enough population of players, there are always going to be extreme outliers. You just have to hope that, if you’re one of those outliers, that (1) you fall on the extreme end of the “has it” scale, and (2) the at-issue scale is some skill that’s valuable for a baseball player to have.
𒀰Unfortunately for Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Brennen Davis, he seems to be an outlier in one 🔯of the worst ways: freak injury issues.
On his ascent as a younger prospect, Davis had already dealt with some flukey, hit-by-pitch injury issues that limited his game action. But he was so talented and adaptable that he flew up to Triple-A by age-21 anyway, and was regarded not only as one of the best prospects in the Cubs’ system, but also as one of the top-25/50 prospects in all of baseball.
Then the more serious injury issues started, from a genetically-rare vascular malformation that required surgery to a separate core muscle surge🐻ry to a ba⛦ck fracture to now what might be a serious injury in the area of his left ankle:
You just feel sick for Davis, 24, who has been working so hard for three st🌸raight seasons of freakish injury issues at the꧂ Triple-A level. Obviously you want a guy to be healthy enough to live his life, but beyond that, you hate the idea that an outlying volume of almost contemporaneous injuries could be the reason a guy never makes it. You want it to be because of the baseball playing, not because of the injuries.
I don’t know if we’re to that point with Davis yet, and I don’t intend to imply as much. We have seen stories like his before with guys who simply take much longer than expected to break through, having overcome a number of injuries in their 20s.
It is usually with a different organization, however – with new fans wondering, “What the heck is this guy’s story? Why didn’t he get a chance until he was 28?” or whatever – thanks to the nature of minor league control, the 40-man roster, and option years. Maybe that’s what winds up happening with Davis after this season and in the years ahead, as it’s very difficult to see the Cubs keeping him on the 40-man roster for another offseason. Maybe the two sides will re-up on a minor league deal, and that long-hoped-for resurgence will come with the Cubs next year. I would not rule it out. But I don’t know that we can expect it at this point.
The whole thing just sucks all the more because Davis had JUST returned from the back fracture, which itself interrupted what already was looking like a bounce-back year for Davis. If this is it for his season, he’ll finish up having hit .214/.359/.469/116 wRC+ over 47 Triple-A games and 181 plate appearances.
Fingers crossed that this injury isn’t as serious as a carted-off-the-field situation makes it sound, and he can rebound once again. I have nothing but the best wishes for Brennen Davis.
UPDATE: The news is not good. that it’s a broken lower leg for Davis. I feel terrible for him.
