Is Ike Davis Back?

With the midpoint of the Mets' 2012 season just fourteen games away, Ike Davis' hitting line for the season still looks awful. Despite his struggles, the Mets kept Davis on the roster instead of sending him to Buffalo. A demotion to the minors was a popular idea when suggested here just twelve days ago.

Since then, however, Davis has looked a lot more like his old self than he did through the first two months of the season. He has hit .423/.591/.615 over the last nine games, eight of which he started. It's an incredibly small sample, but Ike hadn't put together a stretch of games like that since his injury-shortened season last year. In April and May, Davis had a .210 batting average on balls in play. In the month of June, it's .375.

Two weeks ago, Ike ranked last among qualified hitters in nearly every significant offensive statistic: batting average, on-base percentage, wOBA, and wRC+. With his recent run of success, he has at least moved up the ranks and out of the cellar.

If Davis continues to produce over the next couple of weeks, the Mets will have gotten this decision right. In the meantime, there's not quite as much of a roster squeeze in the outfield now that Jason Bay is out for the foreseeable future with yet another concussion. But if Davis goes back to hitting like he did earlier this season with the Mets still in contention, the team might be better off letting him work things out in the minors.