Among  the bright spots for the Mets in the early part of the season is the play of young first baseman Ike Davis. Because of the amount of turnover on the Mets’ roster, on their bench and in the front office, Davis seems like he’s been in Flushing for a while now. But the 24-year-old has only 170 Major League games under his belt.

It’s silly to read too much into Davis’ hot start this season since it comes across only 95 plate appearances. But his .338/.421/.600 line in 2011 bolsters his career totals, and when trying to evaluate players it is best to use the largest sample of data available.

Davis can now boast a career 124 OPS+, precisely the average for NL first basemen in 2010. By the eye and by the stats, he has been excellent defensively at first base. And of course, Davis is a 24-year-old who entered big-league play last season with only 65 games above A-ball. So it’s reasonable to expect he’s still getting better.

It’s not reasonable to expect him to maintain this pace all season, since that’d place him among the very best hitters in the game and that’s a lot to ask for from anyone. But the hot start provides more evidence that he’s a viable Major League first baseman and can be a valuable piece of the Mets’ next contender, whenever that happens.

Also, his beard is good.