Pirates Hoping Former No. 1 Pick Takes Next Step
Patience proved to be a virtue with Joey Bart and it paid off for the Pittsburgh Pirates when he had a career year in 2024.
Could a similar fate await for Pirates catcher and former top pick Henry Davis?
Pirates manager Derek Shelton expressed confidence in Davis' ability to improve next season. He also cited Bart's breakout season and reason for optimism with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
"His off-season has been good," Shelton said at the Winter Meetings. "This is a guy that has dominated Triple-A baseball. It's going to translate to the big leagues. We just have to make sure that we do it again. Going off Joey Bart, everything doesn't work on the timeline we want but we're really excited about our catching group."
The difference between Davis' performance in the Minor Leagues and the Major Leagues has been night and day. In Triple-A Indianapolis, the former first-overall pick batted .307/.401/.555 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs in 57 games. In 37 games in the big leagues last season, Davis batted .144/.242/.212 with 1 home run and 5 RBIs.
Those splits were similar to his 2023 struggles. Davis hit 7 home runs and had 24 RBIs and slashed .213/.302.351 for the Pirates while he batted .306/.454/.561 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs in 55 games across Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.
Davis' path to playing time behind the play for Pittsburgh is far from a clear one. Bart's play has assured he'll get the first chance to start for the Pirates next season. Former top prospect Endy Rodíguez is also returning from a UCL injury and will likely be Davis' competition to be the Pirates' No. 2 catcher in 2025.
Shelton's hopes that Davis can carry his success from the minor leagues into the big leagues could prove tough to come by given the competition ahead of him. But if he can live up to the expectations that come with being a first-overall pick, the Pirates could have a good problem on their hands behind the plate.
