Henry Davis Trusts the Process, And It's Working With Pirates
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates needed just about anyone to go up to the plate and deliver for them in their most recent game and they received that from an unlikely source.
Pirates catcher Henry Davis hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, which served as the go-ahead run in the 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the series opener at PNC Park on May 25.
Davis crushed a cutter from Cubs right-handed relief pitcher Trent Thornton down in the zone, sending it 103.1 mph and 413 feet into the left field bleachers, a no-doubter to give the Pirates a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
It was a huge moment for Davis in a big win for the Pirates, but also one that he's been working towards in recent weeks with his struggles at the plate.
Henry Davis Trusting Process in Improving at Plate
There's no doubt Davis is one of the worst hitters on the Pirates this season and also statistically the worst.
Davis has slashed .144/.246/.288 for an OPS of .534, with 15 hits in 104 at-bats, three runs scored, four home runs, 10 RBI and 11 walks to 22 strikeouts.
He has the worst slash line of any Pirates player that has featured in 38 games, with only outfielder Jake Mangum having a worse slugging percentage (.275), at 36 games played and no home run.
It's been a tough month for Davis with just five hits in 39 at-bats, but his four home runs have all come in May for a .436 slugging percentage, something that Davis is clearly trying to improve.
“Process-wise, it’s definitely been the best month I’ve had in the big leagues," Davis said. "It’s super frustrating to not have the results that I thought would line up with those over the course of time. Just trying to stay diligent, work hard and be prepared.”
The Pirates took Davis first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Louisville, more so as a hittter than as a catcher and even played in him the outfield when they first brought him up.
Davis eventually developed into a fantastic defensive catcher, earning Gold Glove Award votes last season, but he' s never become a great hitter, with a career slash line of .175/.259/.293 for an OPS. of .552.
The 26-year old has seen some improvements with his approach to the plate, particularly with five walks to seven strikeouts, but he's still waiting for the results to finally start showing themselves and more consistently.
“Obviously, there’s certain things in your control and out of your control as a hitter," Davis said. "For me, coming into the year, I wanted to hit the ball harder. I wanted to strike out less, take more walks. I felt like I didn’t necessarily do that the first month.
"It was a little bit better but this month, the quality of contact, taking walks, not striking out a lot and hitting the ball harder and barrel rate, etc. Just hasn’t turned into results necessarily. I’ve hit some balls well that have been caught. I’m just keeping my head down and work as hard as I can every day.”
Davis had his first two home runs of the season in the 10-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on May 1 and more recently hit a two-run home run in the 6-2 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Advanced stats have helped Davis deal with the lack of hits, showing that he's on the right path to where he wants to be at the plate in the future.
“It’s easier in this day and era a little bit because you can see it when you get home and watch your at-bats back," Davis said. "Whether you hit a ball 109 and it gets caught, you can see the indications that that will work in the future. It’s just a testament to stay the course.
"I think I’ve only had 35 or 40 plate appearances this month. It will go. The stuff I’ve been doing – hitting the ball harder, hitting the ball well, taking my walks and striking out less – that’s indication of stuff in the future, for sure.”
Davis Receiving Support From Pirates
Pirates manager Don Kelly praised Davis for the home run and also that he's noticed the hard work his catcher has put in since the start of the offseason to improve his hitting.
Kelly doesn't doubt that Davis has the power to really drive the ball, just as he did on that home run, and that he can go in different directions than his normal sharp hit balls to left field, which he's seen in batting practice.
"The thing is, the approach gets him to hit it there." Kelly said on the home run. "We haven't seen too many yanked, pulled foul balls recently. So his approach is through the middle and he is going to catch some out front and drive it to left with his approach being through the middle. I think that it's worked really well for him here recently, trying to stay up the middle, which doesn't mean that you can't hit a home run like he did today. He certainly can."
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski threw five innings and allowed just one run against the Cubs, working with Davis behind the plate, who also caught three scoreless innings from rookie right-handed pitcher Wilber Dotel in relief and then the save from lefty Gregory Soto.
Mlodzinski credited Davis with his improvements as a catcher, learning the game from previous Pirates catchers and becoming the leader he is today in the clubhouse and from behind the plate.
“I think he realized there was a lot more he could do once he got to the big leagues," Mlodzinski said. "He’s somebody that is going to cover as much as he possibly can as a player. And once he started getting regular reps behind the plate, he realized how important game-planning, game-calling is.
"The years I’ve been around him and the years I’ve been around him and seeing how much time he’s invested into that, by himself and with our captain corps, it’s been awesome. The results obviously speak for themselves back there, but everybody has a lot of confidence in him, and Endy and Joey and anybody who is back there right now. I think he’s setting an example in a sense.
"Even the guys that came before him, Austin Hedges, Yasmani Grandal, you can tell those really, really high end defensive catches have had a big impact on him. He’s done a great job.”
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.