Venom Vision: It’s time to play Matt Davidson
Aug 12, 2013, 9:09 PM | Updated: 9:09 pm
When the Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League West in 2007, they did so with a 19-year-old right fielder playing 43 games over the final two months of the season. Justin Upton struggled at times (two home runs and 11 RBI), but he still managed to give the team the lift it needed.
In 2011, the D-backs once again relied on a rookie to help carrying them to the postseason. That year, a 23-year-old first baseman named Paul Goldschmidt hit eight home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games en route to a division crown.
Now it’s time for the organization to put that same faith in 22-year-old Matt Davidson.
The Futures Game MVP hit 16 home runs and 60 RBI with the Reno Aces this season and given the untimely injuries to Eric Chavez and Cody Ross, Kirk Gibson in my mind has no choice but to play him at third base and Martin Prado in left field just about every day at this point.
I know that might take away some playing time from a veteran like Jason Kubel, but when you call up a kid with the pedigree of Davidson it’s a waste to keep him idle on the bench.
It worked for Upton and Goldschmidt, who’s to say the D-backs can’t catch lightning in a bottle one more time?
