Pirates' Paul Skenes Shows Trust Level in Henry Davis
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Paul Skenes may just be the best there is on the mound in baseball, but he doesn't excel alone.
Skenes has catcher Henry Davis alongside him and has done so for more than a year now, with the two inseparable now, as Skenes has Davis as his personal catcher.
The Pirates pitcher won the National League Cy Young Award in 2025 and could very well repeat this season, with Davis a large part of that success.
Skenes told Pat McAfee on the Pat McAfee Show on May 15 that Davis is actually the one that calls the pitches and the Skenes has full trust in his catcher.
“Yeah catcher. I don’t shake a ton," Skenes said. "I’m too stupid to call my own pitches, so I let him do it. He’s got my career in his hands every fifth day.”
Davis' Importance for Skenes' Success
Davis took over as Skenes' every day catcher, almost accidentally, as he didn't have the role at the start of 2025.
The Pirates recalled Davis from Triple-A on April 12 and then when a curveball from Skenes hit fellow catcher Endy Rodríguez on his right hand and caused a laceration to his index finger, Davis came in the game in the top of the first inning and took over as catcher against the Washington Nationals on April 14 at PNC Park.
Skenes ended up having a great outing, giving up just one earned run over six innings and posting six strikeouts in the 10-3 victory.
Davis then took over as Skenes' catcher for his next 28 starts, where he posted a 1.82 ERA and 190 strikeouts to 39 walks, en route to his Cy Young Award win.
The Pirates took both players first overall, with Davis coming in 2021 out of Louisville and Skenes coming out of LSU in 2023, making them the first ever pitcher-catcher battery for two first overall picks.
Davis has full control over what gets called, but its due to his hard work, great preparation and understanding of exactly what Skenes needs, whether it's on how to attack a specific hitter or just changing up a pitch in an outing.
“Yeah, I think a lot of the time it’s not even a conversation," Skenes said on Davis' decision making. "Just cause we see how it’s going in the bullpen, we see how it is between innings, during the game. Sometimes a pitch just sucks so we just stop calling it. Nothing really needs to be said then. There’s a lot of communication that goes into it.”
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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.