Henry Davis came up through the minors as a catcher, but his path to big league playing time, at least for now, might be in the outfield.
The 2021 first overall pick made his big league debut Monday, batting seventh and playing right field. Pittsburgh had put increased emphasis on working him into the outfield this season, as he logged 13 games in right field between Triple-A and Double-A prior to the call-up.
Calling up Davis makes plenty of sense from an offensive standpoint, however the Pirates not using him at catcher has raised curiosity. Top catcher Austin Hedges has been unable to get anything going at the plate, so theoretically the Pirates could slot Davis in place of Hedges.
Instead, he's expect to man right or serve as the designated hitter for now.
“I think the reason we brought Henry to the big leagues is we think he can help us win right now, especially with his bat,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said in his weekly appearance on The Cook & Joe Show. “There is still work to do developmentally with him catching-wise and we’re going to work on that while he is here, but overall value right now we feel it’s best that he plays out in the outfield.”
Playing catcher comes with a lot of added responsibilities, and that can make acclimating a catching prospect, even a highly-touted one, a long process. If the objective of the call-up was to get his bat in the lineup, than it would be antithetical to put him at catcher, where he’d have to steer some of his attention away from hitting.
But while he’s up in Pittsburgh, however long that might be, he’ll at the very least get some practice at catcher.
“It’s going to happen not only in bullpens, but flat ground and with our catching group up here," Shelton said. "And when we feel it is an appropriate time or appropriate game situation, then there’s the possibility that there could be some game stuff. And I think it’s a situation right now that offensively we really feel that he can help us and we think that’s the most important thing.”
The Pirates do have another intriguing catching prospect in Endy Rodriguez, who currently is in Triple-A. That gives them the flexibility to not force things with Davis at catcher, so long as they’re confident Rodriguez will eventually be able to become a reliable big leaguer.
That could allow the Pirates to take an approach similar to what the Royals did with MJ Melendez. The 24-year-old is a bat-first catcher who also can play in the outfield. They decided this year they’d rather have him focus more on playing the outfield and unlocking his offense than make him continue trying to balance the rigors of being an MLB catcher.
That said, the door very much seems ajar for Davis to get a crack at backstopping in the majors.
“I think we feel he has the chance to be a Major League catcher, and we’re not in any way dismissing that,” Shelton said. “It’s just right now we feel the best opportunity he gives us is to be out in the outfield with him swinging the bat.”
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