The Pirates first overall draft pick, catcher Henry Davis out of Louisville, has his first homerun in High-A.
The 21-year-old, who debuted for the Greensboro Grasshoppers late last week, hit a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth off of Bowling Green pitcher Ezequiel Zabaleta.
While the Grasshoppers fell to the Hot Rods 17-8, Davis went 2 for 4 with a double and a sacrifice fly and two RBI.
Davis is currently batting .333 with an OPS of 1.309.
Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington said last week that Davis didn’t need much time in the rookie Florida Complex League.
“He came to Pirates City ready to go from a playing standpoint,” said Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington. “We weren’t surprised by that, but he was pretty much in game shape and ready to compete from game one. That allowed him to get into games pretty quickly there.”
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A first-team All-American at Louisville this year. Davis hit .370 with nine doubles, 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 50 games. Still it wasn’t a slam dunk he would make this jump, this quickly.
“There was some debate over where he should be, but decided on Greensboro,” Cherington said. “Felt like he was ready to go to Greensboro and be competitive. Be part of a team that is trying to make a push for something. There are guys he knows on the team already.”
If Davis preforms well in Greensboro, it’s likely he could move to Double-A Altoona in mid-2022.
The Grasshoppers take on the Hot Rods again Wednesday evening at First National Bank Field in Greensboro with Pirates prospect Santiago Florez taking the mound for the High-A squad.