The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
This week Lakewood High alum Brendon Davis got the phone call he’s been waiting for since he was drafted seven years ago. Davis, who played seven seasons and 747 games in the minor leagues making more than 3,000 plate appearances, was called up with the Detroit Tigers and made his MLB debut on October 1.
Davis was drafted by the Dodgers in 2015 out of high school, taken in the fifth round. He’s spent time in the Dodgers, Rangers, Angels, and Tigers’ systems before finally being called up this week. He’s been a standout in the Tigers’ AAA program, hitting more than 50 homeruns in last two seasons.
His first at-bat in his debut was a 404-foot flyout to deep center field (with a 100 MPH exit velocity) that would have been a homerun in many MLB ballparks. Tigers manager AJ Hinch told reporters this week he felt Davis’ game has “stepped up” and that it was a good time, late in the season, to give him a crack at the MLB level.
Davis, 24 years old, was hitting .247 in Triple-A this year when he got the call-up. He started at third base for Detroit in the game.
Davis is the Lancers’ 16th MLB alum, and continues the Moore League’s streak of being the high school league to have produced the most Major Leaguers in California–Lakewood, Wilson, Poly, Millikan, and Compton have all produced double-digit MLB alums. Davis is also the second local call-up this year along with Millikan’s Spencer Steer.
