2 weeks Ago By Kevin Gorman
Henry Davis studied his notes about the Washington Nationals as if he was preparing to play Monday, even though Endy Rodriguez was starting at catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. “You can always take a step back, but you can’t take a step forward in that sense,” Davis told TribLive, explaining his rationale. “If you prepare to play, you can be off.
But if you prepare to be off, you can’t play.” No one should have been surprised that Davis was prepared for a worst-case scenario when a ball ricocheted off James Wood and lacerated Rodriguez’s right index finger, causing him to be removed from the game only two batters into the game. Davis prepares the same way he plays: To win.
So, after a rollercoaster start to his career, the 25-year-old Davis was ready to make major-league history by catching Paul Skenes as they became the first No. 1 overall draft picks to form a battery in a regular-season game. “I give Henry a ton of credit,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.
“You get thrown into the fire, right in the middle of an at-bat in the middle of a game, so I thought he did a really good job. I thought he was prepared, which does not surprise me that Henry was going to be prepared, even on a day when he was not starting.” Skenes said the transition was “seamless,” even though Davis wasn’t in in the pregame meeting with the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year.
Once Davis put on a wristband with his notes, he was ready to roll. “Certainly, and I think you saw it most between innings,” Davis said. “You would have never known we hadn’t worked together in a major-league game yet.
We were on the same page from the get-go and talked through a lot of stuff and had the same like-mindedness.” When the Pirates invested the 1-1 picks in Davis (2021) and Skenes (2023), they couldn’t help but dream about winning a World Series together. Even though they hadn’t worked together, Skenes said they are on the same wavelength after many conversations about pitching.
“We’re similar in a lot of ways,” Skenes told TribLive. “He thinks about the game differently for sure, because he’s a catcher. When he talks, I understand him.
And when I talk, I think he understands me. We truly understand each other.” But their timing was never right.
Davis made the 2024 Opening Day roster but was demoted to the minors before Skenes made his major-league debut. With Davis behind the dish, Skenes retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, allowing only a Paul DeJong single until the sixth inning, relying primarily on his four-seam fastball, balancing the splinker, changeup and sweeper and mixing in sliders and curveballs. After catching Skenes in offseason and spring training bullpens and for an inning or two in Grapefruit League games, Davis lit up when talking about catching the 6-foot-6 right-hander’s heater against MLB hitters.
“It’s fuel. It’s firm. It gets you ready,” Davis said.
“It’s 100 mph, and he has five other offerings. It’s tougher to scout, honestly. You might see a guy across the league that handles fastballs well or sliders well, etc.
, but is he going to handle a slider well after seeing 100 mph up around his hands with run? I don’t think so. It’s good to get that game feel and know that you can be in tune with the game and roll with what your eyes were seeing.” Seeing is believing The Pirates drafted Davis for his bat.
He became the first major leaguer to hit two home runs off Shohei Ohtani in one game as a rookie, only to hit .144 in 37 games last season. The 6-foot, 225-pounder didn’t make the Opening Day roster this year but was recalled after Joey Bart’s back locked up, only to go 0 for 6 in his first two games.
With Bart and Rodriguez out, Davis took advantage. He singled in his first at-bat Monday, went 1 for 3 and reached on an error Tuesday and got the scoring started Wednesday with his first homer of the season, a 105.5-mph laser off the left-field foul pole that Shelton called a “big homer to get us started” in the 6-1 win.
It’s the type of response that could earn Davis a long look, especially if Rodriguez is out for a while. “A great opportunity and so much confidence in him behind the plate with what he’s doing defensively with a pitcher, as a receiver, throwing and blocking,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He earned that trust in spring training certainly.
At the end of spring training, there wasn’t a single person on our staff or a single pitcher who have had any concern whatsoever with him being on the team and helping us win games as a catcher. When the injuries happened, we called him up and there’s no concern about that. From my vantage point, he’s caught really strong games every time he’s been back here with the game calling, the throwing, the receiving, he’s into it and his game prep is really good.
It’s a good opportunity, but he’s come in and done a good job.” Where Davis has stood out is his play behind the plate, especially when showing off his arm. When asked the first thing to cross his mind when he replaced Rodriguez on Monday, Davis shared that he expected Wood to test him immediately since he didn’t have time to get warmed up.
“I was just thinking that he was going to steal and that I’ve got to get the arm hot,” Davis said. “I can’t believe he didn’t. I hadn’t thrown.
I was trying to throw it hard enough back to Paul that I’d be able to throw it down there.” Was Davis worried that Wood would take advantage? “No,” he said, with a smile. “I always want guys to steal.
” Two games later, Davis got his chance. After hitting a one-out single off lefty Bailey Falter, Wood attempted to steal second base but was thrown out when Davis fired as strike to Jared Triolo for the tag. It set the tone for what Shelton called an “outstanding game” by Davis, who has made great improvement behind the plate.
His pop time was 1.86 seconds — the same as Rodriguez’s average, which ranks fifth among MLB’s 64 catchers who have had a stolen base attempt at second — and the throw to second on Wood was clocked at 83.8 mph.
That’s just a tick slower than an average curveball by Skenes. “Every game that he’s caught here so far, he’s done an outstanding job with his pitch calling, his sequencing, him going back and forth,” Shelton said. “That (caught stealing) kind of alleviates it.
It shows that they thought against Bailey they could run right away.” ‘Someone you bet on’ Davis wasn’t quite ready as a catcher when he got his first crack at the majors. He was playing right field as a rookie for the Pirates when Falter was acquired in July 2023, but he made a strong first impression by catching a couple of his bullpens that summer and in spring training last year.
“Liked who he was behind the plate, a big-body target, framing really well,” Falter told TribLive. “It’s been awesome. The guy’s got a really good feel for the game.
He knows how to read at-bats and swings. He’s got this mental lock, like a safe, where he remembers everything about these hitters. He’ll come to me in between innings and be like, ‘Hey, this is what we got from the first time.
’ He’s always prepared, a lot more than I am. In our meetings, he takes over for me.” For Davis, one step back has led to a big step forward.
“That’s the ebbs and flow of the position a little bit. In most cases, the player development line is not straight, and in his case it’s not straight. It’s taken some twists, some left turns and some right turns, and it probably will continue to do that,” Cherington said.
“But he’s worked so hard, in our opinion, to become a strong defensive catcher. He is that. “Now he’s working through some adjustments offensively to get to a place he’s capable of.
He’s got such a strong track record there, his work ethic is so strong and his will is so strong where if there’s something in front of him, he finds a way to accomplish it. In my mind, that’s just someone you bet on long term. Right now, the current version of Henry Davis can help us win games.
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