This Could Be the Week That Makes Khris Davis' 2020 Season for Athletics

The Oakland Athletics will face at least four left-handed starting pitchers in the next six days. That will give A's manager Bob Melvin a chance to get more at-bats for Khris Davis just ahead of the playoffs. Davis hasn't played much, but a good week now could create more playing time once the playoffs roll around next week.

Is it time for Khris Davis and his bat to come out of seclusion?

There are just seven games left in the regular season for the Oakland A’s, and Davis, who spent three consecutive seasons 2016-18 averaging 44 home runs while hitting in the middle of the Oakland lineup. His 2020 0impact has been minimalist in the extreme; Sunday’s start against the Giants was just his sixth of the month.

He’d gone five games without getting an at-bat before Sunday’s 1-for-3 with a walk showing against the Giants. That’s because he’s almost exclusively limited to appearance against left-handed starting pitchers, and the A’s see precious few of those.

Here’s the thing, though. The way the opposing pitching is currently set up, however, at least four of the final six games, starting Wednesday against the Dodgers’ Julio Urias, see the A’s facing left-handed starters.

The Dodgers originally had set lefty ace Clayton Kershaw to step up come Thursday, but it now seems as if right-hander Walker Buehler will get the call.

And the Mariners, in the Coliseum for a four-game set beginning Friday, have Yusei Kikuchi, Justus Sheffield and Marco Gonzales, left-handers all, listed along with right-hander Justin Dunn, who’s down to start the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader after Sheffield throws the opener.

So Davis, who has gotten just 22 plate appearances in September mostly because of a terrible start to the season that has him at .197 with just two homers and nine RBI, could get nearly that many trips to the batter’s box in the regular season’s final five days, particularly if Kershaw gets a start.

That could have big implications for the 2020 playoffs, because the A’s could use the power that Davis provides. And he’s been hitting better of late, owning a .333/455/.611 slash line with a couple of doubles and a homer in his limited September appearances.

A big final week could earn him some postseason starts against right-handed pitching.

That resurrection, in the eyes of manager Bob Melvin, has a chance to reenergize the Oakland offense.

“Yeah, boy, if he heats up, that would be fantastic for us,” Melvin said Sunday. “It looks like we have some left handers starting in the coming days, whether it being the Dodgers or Seattle, so hopefully he gets lots of reps.

“We’ll knock on wood on that; we’ve seen how important he’s been to this lineup over the years. And If he finished strong, that would be great for us.”

Davis comes into the series with a .197/.317/.329 slash line. Perhaps just as significantly, Oakland has won more than two thirds of the games in which Davis has played, 17-8. Over a longer stretch, the club is 187-122 when Davis is a part of the action, a winning percentage of .605.

Melvin has struggled over the Davis issue. In a 60-game season, the organization seemed to feel there was no time to wait for him to get right, and a slow start led to looking for alternatives. But with Matt Chapman and the 36 homers he hit last year injured and unavailable, Oakland could use another right-handed bat with power.

Now, in the final week of the season, with Oakland on the verge of locking down the AL West title, there seems to be both time and opportunity.

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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