Altoona assignment adds to Davis’ drive
ALTOONA, Pa. — Henry Davis’ desire to be contributing in Pittsburgh already is abundantly clear.
When the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft spoke to reporters Monday afternoon at media day for the Pirates’ Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve, it was fairly obvious that getting promoted to Indianapolis this season wouldn’t be enough for Davis, nor should it be for any other Curve players in his opinion.
“Our goal is to play in Pittsburgh. Our goal is to win in Pittsburgh. So, it’s OK to be pissed off, but it’s about how you channel that,” Davis said of any players who might feel disappointed about starting the year in Altoona. “If you say, ‘You know what, I’ll show them and I’m going to work as hard as I can to be so good that there’s no choice but for me to be in Pittsburgh,’ I think that’s a great attitude. There’s no shame in saying that.
“I want to be in Pittsburgh right now. Right now. And I think everybody in the locker room feels the same way. So, it’s OK for it to sting a little bit, but what are you going to do about it?”
Davis, who missed a good chunk of the 2022 campaign with a left wrist injury, is starting the season in Altoona in part to get more repetitions behind the plate since fellow catching prospect Endy Rodriguez will begin the year with Triple-A Indianapolis. Davis played 31 games in Altoona last season following two promotions.
Curve manager Callix Crabbe said the majority of Davis’ playing time will come at catcher but that the team intends to sprinkle in some reps in right field, perhaps as often as once a week.
Although Davis admitted there were moments he struggled during his two games in the outfield last season, it’s an assignment he’s willing to embrace despite the main goal remaining to develop behind the plate.
“I want a way to stay in the lineup, so, in any form or fashion that can happen,” Davis said.
He’ll have to wait before he can join the big-league club, but Davis already has familiarized himself with some current Pirates players and their habits. He spent the offseason with pitcher Chase De Jong in Florida, peppering him with questions about how to arrive at the ballpark and what to wear.
“[We talked] about taking every day this year in the minor leagues like I am a bigleaguer so it’s not a change when I get there,” Davis said. “I don’t have to change my routine. I don’t have to change what I’m wearing. I don’t have to change how I talk to my teammates. Treat every day like a big-leaguer.”
Davis, who was with the big-league club for about a month of spring training before being reassigned to minor league camp March 7, also spent time learning from current Pirates catcher Austin Hedges. Davis said he observed how Hedges, known for his defense, approaches the mental game, as well as how he calls pitches.
Hedges was Cleveland’s primary catcher in 2022, a season in which the Guardians won the American League Central.
“[Hedges] took a really young staff to the playoffs; that’s what we’re trying to do,” Davis said of Hedges. “Learning every little bit and piece of that is going to help myself and everybody else in the organization.”
Crabbe, who’s in his first season as manager of the Curve after leading the Pirates’ High- A affiliate Greensboro Grasshoppers, has already picked up on Davis being an “extremely confident” player with high aspirations. Davis played in 22 games for the Grasshoppers last season, slashing a scorching .342/.450/1.035 in the process.
Crabbe also warns that Davis, like any player in Altoona’s clubhouse, has been challenged to maximize his time with the Curve.
“I think it’s easy for someone like him that was the Number 1 pick, that has huge expectations to get ahead of himself,” Crabbe said. “That’s something we talk about: Be real, be true to who you are — but also at the same time, make sure you take it a day at a time. I don’t know if it’s this year, but we anticipate that’s going to be impacting the major league club at some point.”
A key for Davis to ultimately reach the majors will be staying healthy. Davis was hit by an abnormally high 20 pitches in 59 minor-league games last season. Crabbe, a former assistant hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, already has seen Davis make adjustments with his stance to better protect himself.
“For me visually, he doesn’t seem to be as much up on the plate as he was before,” Crabbe said. “He seems to have backed off a little bit.”
But given Davis has what Crabbe termed an “extreme hit tool,” inside pitches tend to come with the territory.
“When you have power the way that he does, people are going to try to attack you in,” Crabbe said. “You don’t want to allow them any kind of space to move their arms underneath their chin so they can pull the ball in the air. And obviously, Henry’s power is center field to left-center field. He just needs to be mindful of that, so he’s already made that one adjustment as much as we can. Guys are pitching him in, though. That’s the way it is.”
So long as Davis, who also played 17 games in the Arizona Fall League, can stay healthy, he’ll have the chance to get back on track at the minor league level and show off his well-publicized power. But for Davis, the objective of playing for the Pirates as quickly as possible remains constant.
“My job is the same no matter which uniform I wear: contribute where I am, and every day is an opportunity to get closer to Pittsburgh.”