What Should Pittsburgh Pirates Fans Expect from Ike Davis in 2015?

The year was 2012, and a young Ike Davis was becoming one of the best first basemen in the National League.  

Davis blasted 32 home runs while driving in 90 that season, and it looked as if he had found his niche and was ready to help the New York Mets in their efforts to turn things around as an organization.  

Not so fast.  In 2013, it all came crashing down for Davis, who looked completely lost at the plate, clearing the fences only nine times while collecting just 33 RBI.  

After playing just 12 games with his former club this season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were looking to gain some more pop in their lineup.  

Oftentimes, all a struggling player needs is a change of scenery to start fresh and perform up to the level that he had in the past.  

While that did not exactly happen for Davis when he was acquired by the Pirates, he did show improvement at the plate, which is a good sign going forward into 2015.  

Davis' power numbers have remained down, but he did blast two more home runs than he had in 2013, finishing with a combined 11 homers in 2014 (one with New York, 10 with the Pirates).  

It also did not bode well for Davis that he only appeared in 103 games with the Mets in 2013, as he did not have enough time to get into a groove.  

Davis has been known to get off to a slow start in the regular season.  In 2012, for example, he was batting below .200 as late as July 3 before he was able to heat up and finish the season strongly.  

When he has been given the opportunity to play a full season, however, Davis' numbers have been much higher.  And that was the case this season with the Pirates.  

In 143 games (131 of them with Pittsburgh), Davis owned a .344 on-base percentage—his highest total since 2011, when he played in just 36 games for the Mets.  

In five seasons, Davis has only played in 140 or more games in three of them.  When he has played in that many games, though, he has done well: 

Year	Games	Average	Home Runs	On-Base %
2010	147	.264	19	.351
2012	156	.227	32	.308
2014	143	.233	11	.344

Ironically, Davis' best season came in his first.  Up until this season, his numbers consistently declined year-by-year.  

However, after putting up the highest batting average of his career since 2011 in 2014, perhaps Davis may be showing signs that he is about to establish himself as a reliable, everyday player in 2015 and beyond.  

Of course, his improved numbers this season may be a fluke. But then again, they may not be.  

I will leave it up to the readers to decide: What should fans expect of Davis in 2015?

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.