The Pittsburgh Pirates had the number one pick in the draft in 2021 for the first time since they took Gerrit Cole in 2011. The pick was catcher Henry Davis out of the University of Louisville. Less than two years later, Davis is on his way to the majors.
The Pirates are calling Davis up in time for their Monday game in Pittsburgh against the Cubs, the team confirmed on Twitter. Davis was not in the lineup for Triple-A Indianapolis Sunday, meaning he'll have only played in 10 games at the Triple-A level before hitting the majors.
Davis, 23, hit .284/.433/.547 with seven doubles, a triple, 10 homers, 27 RBI, 25 runs and seven stolen bases in his 41 games for Double-A Altoona to start the season. In his 10 games with Indy, he slashed .286/.432/.514.
Prior to the season, CBS Sports prospect expert R.J. Anderson ranked Davis as the 48th-best prospect in baseball, writing the following:
Davis, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, had an eventful first full season as a professional. He started the year in High-A, earned a promotion in June to Double-A, and then suffered a non-displaced fracture in his wrist that caused him to miss nearly two months of action. Overall, he batted .264/.380/.472 with 10 homers in 59 games. Davis also played well during a stint in the Arizona Fall League, posting an .875 OPS in 69 plate appearances. He has well-above-average power potential thanks to a strength-based swing, but he'll need to be mindful of his strikeouts (he punched out in more than 22 percent of his trips to the plate upon his return). Scouts were confident Davis would stick at catcher on draft night, though he's likely to end up being more "tolerable" than "exceptional" there, based on where he is at present.
The Pirates started the season 20-8, but haven't been quite as impressive since. They entered Sunday on a five-game losing streak and were sitting a game below .500. Their production from behind the plate has been awful this season. Entering Sunday's games, they were tied for 28th with the White Sox in wins above average at catcher, ahead of only the Guardians.
