Prospect profile: Glynn Davis elevated his game in 2014

While Dariel Alvarez and Mike Yastrzemski had strong 2014 seasons on the Orioles farm and are now among the club's top 10 prospects, another outfielder also took his game to a higher level and did so without getting much attention.

Glynn Davis played very well between Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. He didn't make Baseball America's list of the O's top 30 prospects, but there are those who feel he should have.

Davis, who turned 23 on Dec. 7, batted .299 with 27 doubles, four triples, two homers, 23 steals and 43 RBIs. He had a .356 OBP, a .391 slugging percentage and a .747 OPS. He set career-highs in average, slugging and OPS.

He raised his average from the .234 he hit with Frederick in 2013, his slugging was up from .313 and his OPS was way up from .629 that season.

He started to show some of the gap-to-gap power the Orioles felt he would grow into to go along with some of the best speed in the organization.

"I kind of took some pressure off myself," Davis said of his 2014 season. "In 2013, I kind of set too many goals and put pressure on myself that wasn't needed. Last year, my goal was to stay healthy. I did that for the most part.

"I had a minor back injury the last two weeks of the season, but it was nothing major. I kind of doubted myself in 2013, but played with more confidence last year. Relaxed and prepared myself the right way every day."

He finished the season with the seventh-highest batting average among O's minor leaguers and ranked tied for fourth in stolen bases.

After batting .295 with Frederick, Davis moved to Bowie on July 22. In 26 games with the Baysox, he hit .313 with a .736 OPS.

"I came up with more extra-base hits than I had in the past," he said. "I was able to see a lot of the pitches - fastball or off-speed, it didn't matter. If I put myself in the right position at the plate, I was able to adjust to whatever the pitcher was throwing. That was a big step for me last year."

Some of that gap power is coming as Davis gains experience and a little upper body strength.

"It is always nice to see the gap-to-gap power go up, the doubles and triples," he said. "That is the type of guy I need to be. I have to use my speed to my advantage. Even if I hit singles, you can turn that into a double by stealing a base. It was good to see the numbers go up and this year I'm just trying to build off that."

The 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter said he wants to play at between 185-188 pounds this year after beginning 2014 at 188 pounds and ending it at 181.

"I've been hitting the weights again this year," Davis said. "It is not so much about putting weight on for me, it's about being strong. Just want to be the weight I was last year. I feel strong right now. Been working out four days a week, so I feel like my body is ready to go."

Davis was signed by the Orioles as a non-drafted free agent in August 2010 after he had played at Catonsville Community College near Baltimore and after he had a big summer with the Youse's Orioles scout team. Rather than let him go back into the 2011 draft where anyone could get him, the O's signed Davis, a player they felt had top 10 round talent.

With or without a top 30 ranking, his 2014 season likely put him more on the map with those that count the most: the Orioles front office.

Now Davis figures to start the 2015 season where he ended last year - at Bowie.

"I think I put myself in a good position last year to hopefully start there this year. But it all depends where they want me to go," he said.

If Davis does make it to Camden Yards, he will be another local product that gets to play for his hometown team. Davis is from Pasadena, Md.

"It's a dream come true. I've watched a lot of great players - (Mike) Bordick, (Cal) Ripken, (Brady) Anderson, (B.J.) Surhoff - all those guys growing up. So to have a chance to play for the hometown team is something special," he said.

Three in the top 101: Three Orioles prospects have been ranked among the top 101 in the game by Baseball Prospectus. Pitcher Dylan Bundy was rated No. 8, pitcher Hunter Harvey No. 20 and catcher Chance Sisco came in at No. 101.

Earlier, ESPN.com ranked Harvey No. 16 and Bundy No. 26. MLBPipeline.com ranked Bundy at No. 20 and Harvey at No. 41.

Pitcher comparison: Free agent right-hander James Shields just signed a four-year deal worth around $75 million with the San Diego Padres. While I am in no way saying that Miguel Gonzalez is his equal as a pitcher, Gonzalez certainly put up some key stats last year that put the two in the same class of pitchers.

Shields in 2014: 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 8.9 hits per nine innings, 124 ERA plus.
Gonzalez in 2014: 3.23 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 8.8 hits per nine innings, 119 ERA plus.

Shields' new deal will pay him an average annual value around $18.75 million per season, while Gonzalez will pitch for the 2015 Orioles for $3.275 million after settling his arbitration case.

Glynn Davis photo courtesy of Bill Vaughan