The anticipation for Henry Davis’ production in the minor leagues is palpable. It comes with the territory.
The Pirates selected Davis, a catcher out of Louisville, with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft. He was assigned to the Florida Complex League on Aug. 3 and played in two games at that level, going 3-for-7 with two doubles and a home run.
Apparently, that’s all the Pirates needed to see. On Thursday, they moved Davis from the Florida Complex League all the way up to High-A Greensboro, skipping Low-A Bradenton entirely in favor of the more competitive level.
The move will be exciting for Pirates fans for several reasons. It hints at a strong vote of confidence from the Pirates for the player they hope becomes their catcher of the future, and it will provide a larger spotlight for someone who has played very little professional baseball.
It will also get Davis well-acquainted with some of the organization’s other top-ranked prospects. With the addition of Davis, Greensboro will have four of the Pirates’ top five prospects, according to Baseball America, with right-hander Quinn Priester, second baseman Nick Gonzales and shortstop Liover Peguero already there. When Priester is on the mound, that will be a high-profile battery/middle-infield combination.
That’s not to mention that Davis will now be charged with handling a handful of the Pirates’ most highly coveted pitchers in Greensboro. Priester and right-hander Tahnaj Thomas, the Pirates’ No. 11 prospect, are there, and their No. 8 prospect, Carmen Mlodzinski, is nearing a return from a shoulder injury.
All of that is true, but more than anything, it will be interesting to see how Davis adjusts to this new challenge offensively. He really did mash with Louisville this season, which is why the Pirates thought so highly of him in the first place. In 50 games with the Cardinals, he slashed .370/.482/.663 with 15 homers and 48 RBIs. He struck out just 24 times in 228 plate appearances for a 10.5% strikeout rate, which is a sign of good discipline.
Basically, he’s been a stud at the plate this year, wherever he’s been playing. Now he’ll be tasked with continuing that in Greensboro. That task is easier said than done, but suddenly even more eyes looking for future hope will be trained on the High-A affiliate.
Moran breaks out
Things haven’t been quite as cheery for the major league club. The Pirates have now lost eight straight games after falling to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6, on Thursday.
On the bright side, they finally produced some offense, scoring more than four runs in a game for the first time since the losing streak began last Wednesday. Much of that offense came thanks to first baseman Colin Moran, who hit a first-inning home run that marked his first long ball since April 18. Then he hit another one in the fourth, a solo bomb to almost the same spot in the ballpark, well out to right-center field.
With no context, Moran’s homerless stretch is surprising for the player who led the Pirates in home runs in 2020, hitting 10 over 52 games. Of course, he’s been down and out for much of this season, taking two separate stints on the injured list that have held him out for 54 of the Pirates’ 115 games.
“It’s definitely frustrating when you go through it,” Moran said after Thursday’s game. “You try to look forward to whenever I was coming back or, since there’s still season available, trying to make the most of it. It stinks to miss the time I have, but I just try to not dwell on it too much. Just try to focus on moving forward and keep working.”
Now, he has returned, but it hasn’t all been smooth. Before Thursday, Moran had gone 3-for-11 with two singles and a double in his four games back with the team. Those aren’t bad numbers by any means, but he did say he’s been trying to find his timing again.
That’s easier said than done. While on the shelf, Moran tried to keep his eyes ready, taking reps in the batting cage against the fastball machine, but it doesn’t replace the real, in-game at-bats. It appears it only really took four games for Moran to feel back to his old self again this time.
It’s even more encouraging that both of his home runs came against left-handers. It was just the second two-homer game of his career and the first two home runs he has hit against left-handers this season.
“Obviously, homers feel good no matter what, but I’m working hard and trying to stay in there and drive the ball against them,” Moran said. “I got a good couple pitches to hit, put the barrel on it. Working hard on trying to improve against lefties, so it feels good when I get some results.”
As odd and frustrating as this season has been for Moran, his numbers remain quite solid. His 2-for-4, two-homer afternoon brought his OPS up to .795. He’s hitting .285, and his six home runs on the season are tied for the fifth-most on the team. That last part may speak more to the dearth of power in the rest of the Pirates’ lineup, but the team will welcome him back with open arms nonetheless.
“I thought he had good, aggressive swings throughout the entire game,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Obviously the two homers, but even the rest of it, his at-bats, that’s probably as aggressive as we’ve seen him since the first two weeks of the season, which is a really good sign.”
Mike Persak: mpersak@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDPersak
First Published: August 12, 2021, 8:46 p.m.
