Glynn Davis adds some weight and it paid off recently for Frederick

Back in August of 2010, I reported the Orioles signing of a player from Baltimore who had gone undrafted earlier that year in June. He was a rarity in that the Orioles felt they got a player with top 10 round talent that wasn't drafted by anyone. You don't see that very often. Here is the behind the scenes story I wrote that August on how the Orioles knew about Glynn Davis well ahead of just about any other organization in baseball and how they acquired this young man who was a 2009 grad of Northeast High School in Pasadena, Md. who later played at Catonsville Community College near Baltimore. Last season Davis played at Single-A Delmarva and later in the year at Single-A Frederick batting a combined .253 with 17 doubles, three triple, no homers and 29 RBIs. A very fast runner, among the fastest in the organization, he led all O's farmhands with 37 steals in 47 attempts. This season, Davis is the starting center fielder for Frederick, going 5-for-18 through the first four games. But he did something Sunday that he didn't do all last year. He homered. Twice. His second was a walk-off winner in the last of the 10th. Davis had hit just two homers in two seasons covering 761 at-bats. He is a developing talent that features a potential speed and power combo. Not necessarily home run power, but he may grow into a player with some extra-base type power. Orioles' director of player development, Brian Graham, said Davis added some weight and bulk over the winter. "It's exciting to see him drive the ball, but the type of hitter he needs to be is a gap-to-gap, all fields hitter," Graham said. "He has added strength. He went to a workout program this winter with Brady Anderson and I think he gained close to 20 pounds, which was all muscle as well. "He has tools. He's a good defender in center field, he can steal a base and he throws solid-average. There is a package that definitely works." Baseball America's Matt Forman said this about Davis during an interview last October: "His speed is top of the scale on the 20-80 scouting scale. He can flat-out fly. Little bit of a singles hitter at this point and scouts want to see him grow into his body and bulk out and show some gap-to-gap power which would really help him progress. "He's an exciting guy because of the speed and ground he can cover in center field and havoc he can cause on the bases. If he does bulk up to gain power, you have to wonder if that would slow him down a bit. But right now he has game-changing speed. At this point you might project him as a fourth outfielder, but there is a chance for more." The 21-year-old Davis has shown some OBP potential with a career mark of .347 which is ahead of his career .323 slugging percentage. But as he continues to develop as a player and add strength some of that gap-to-gap power may be more prevalent. With a solid 2013 season, Davis could emerge as a top prospect to watch and already he was rated the club's No. 10 prospect by MLB.com heading into this season.