2021 Number One Overall Pick Called Up By Pirates
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Less than two years after drafting him with the number one overall pick, the Pittsburgh Pirates have called up their number three overall prospect Henry Davis.
Davis will replace second baseman Mark Mathias on the active roster and start their June 19th game at home against the Cubs.
Davis is a catcher/outfielder that has been having his way in the minors. He started the year in double-A and slashed .284/.433/.537 with the Altoona Curve, before being promoted to triple-A and keeping nearly the same slash line at .286/.432/.514
The Pirates are notorious for keeping their prospects in the minors a little longer than most other teams. The middle of June is normally the time they start to call up their prospects. It was last year on June 20th that O’Neil Cruz was called up.
However, Davis moved a lot faster through the minors than former Pirate prospects. In fact Davis made it to the league faster than any other number one overall pick since 1978.
While the swiftness can be attributes to Davis being drafted out of college, and already being 23 years old. It’s also likely that the Pirates felt they needed his help at the plate. They are currently on a six-game losing streak all against division opponents, and they are now in third in the division and only 1.5 games ahead of the fourth place Chicago Cubs
On that losing streak, the Pirates have struggled mightily at the catcher position. Multiple times having a catcher commit an easy out with the bases loaded, and having Jason Delay strike out in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two men in scoring position. The hope for Pittsburgh is that Davis will solve those problems and take over the everyday catcher role.
However, it doesn’t seem like that will happen right away, as the Pirates are opting to keep both Delay and Austin Hedges on the roster, so Davis will be getting likely be getting most of his reps in the right field for the time being.
For the Pirates, it seems like Davis is just the first in a fairly long line of prospects expected to be called up in the coming weeks. The Pirates are hoping that these young guys will be able to provide the spark they need to get back on track and steal a weak NL Central.
