Analysis: Do Mariners Actually Have Something Real in Brennen Davis?

SURPRISE, Ariz. - The prospect trajectories of Brennen Davis and Jack Leiter are like a lenticular print. From one angle, they seem like they could not be any more different, but from the other, they have quite a few similarities. On the one hand, they both peaked in prospect rankings in 2022, when they each got the coveted number one spot in their respective organizations from Baseball America - and their stock fell in future years. But on the other, Davis has never seen a single pitch in the big leagues, while Leiter weathered a rough couple of outings in 2024 to come back for a full rookie year in 2025 when he pitched to a 3.86 ERA and 4.15 FIP in 151 ⅔ innings, finishing seventh in rookie of the year voting.

You wouldn’t know it from the way Davis took Leiter to town on Friday. The long-beleaguered outfielder saw a belt-high fastball over the inside part of the plate in the fourth inning of the Mariners’ game against the Rangers and sent a 437-foot missile to left center. The M’s went on to break a six-game Spring Training skid that had seen the team score 40 less runs than their opponents with a 5-1 victory. It was Davis’ third homer of the spring and brought his Cactus League batting average to .476. Is this for real?