Image from an April 11, 2020, Instagram post by Henry Davis.
The star of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Henry Davis is praised for his bat, power, quickness, and arm strength, which made him a valuable player in this generation. Undoubtedly, the Arsenal graduates and former Hit Doctor students have truly shone on their respective teams in the Major Leagues. Their exceptional skills and dedication to the game have set them apart, making significant contributions and leaving a lasting impact in baseball.
Catcher Henry Davis, a product of Arsenal USA Baseball, played college baseball at the University of Louisville for the Louisville Cardinals. Even before attending Louisville, he was already one of the highest-rated young baseball players. In his high school year in 2017, he was named the Perfect Game New York Player of the Year, the Section 1 Player of the Year, and also earned all-state honors.
With 35 starts in 45 games as a rookie in 2019, Henry batted .280/.345/.386 with three home runs and 23 RBIs for the Louisville Cardinals. After the 2019 season, he participated in the Cape Cod Baseball League‘s summer collegiate baseball league with the Bourne Braves, where he had two singles in fifteen at-bats. Before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the 2020 season, he hit .372/.481/.698 in 14 games as a sophomore, with three home runs and thirteen RBIs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Henry Davis spent the offseason primarily doing individual workouts at his family’s home in Bedford, New York.
The Louisville offense is known for having a large arsenal of weapons. Henry Davis is one of them; in the 2021 season, he led all four games with an average of .500. His success this season won him many preseason All-American honors and caught the attention of national experts. Davis was selected as the 44th overall and the 32nd player in Louisville baseball history to be chosen an All-American in the same year. He earned Louisville baseball’s first-ever No. 1 overall choice in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. MLS, NBA, WNBA, and MLB drafts have all seen players selected with the top overall choice, making Louisville the first program to do it with Davis’ selection. A former Arsenal USA Baseball star and Bedford, New York native, Davis was a semifinalist for the 2021 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the best amateur player in the nation.
On August 3, Davis made his major league debut with the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Pirates, homering in his third at-bat of the contest. After two games, he was called up to the High-A East’s Greensboro Grasshoppers. After six games with Greensboro, he sustained an oblique injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. For the 2022 season, Davis made a comeback to Greensboro. He was promoted to the Double-A Eastern League’s Altoona Curve and in early May after hitting .342/.450/.585 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 22 games with Greensboro, he was placed on the disabled list after two games with the Curve because of a wrist issue. In mid-June, he resumed playing and was chosen to play for the Pirates in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game. He had another wrist injury at the beginning of July and was once again placed on the injured list.
With Altoona, Davis started the 2023 season. Just 41 games later, on June 4, 2023, he was promoted to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians after posting outstanding stats (batting.284/.433/.541 with 10 home runs). Following ten games in Indianapolis where he batted .286/.432/.514, the Pirates announced on June 18 that Davis would make his major league debut the following day. He was then added to the roster, which consisted of 40 players.
Henry Davis knocked a double in his first at-bat to start his major league career.
2021 1st rd., 1st pick Henry Davis (U of Louisville)got called up right at the All-Star break & has been red hot ever since with 6 HRs leading the Pirates recent surge.@henrydavis32 @ArsenalUSABB @TopPrep @prepbaseball @LittleLeague @BabeRuthLeague @PONYbbsb @nfhs.Org @USSSA pic.twitter.com/bF3T5e2gB5
— Arsenal USA Baseball (@ArsenalUSABB) July 31, 2023
Davis blasted home runs in the fourth and sixth innings on July 21, 2023, accomplishing a remarkable feat against Shohei Ohtani. Henry Davis was the only person in history to hit two home runs against Ohtani in a single game.
Since being chosen first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft, Davis’ professional career hasn’t always gone as planned, although any problems have typically been caused by injuries. For him, it’s a different season this year. He simply struggled at the plate in the early April 2024 season. Davis has twice failed to make a lasting impression in the major leagues. He hit only .162 with just three extra-base hits, no home runs, and 29 strikeouts in 83 plate appearances during his 23 games in the Majors.
On May 3, 2024, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to demote catcher Henry Davis to the minor leagues to make room for experienced backstop Yasmani Grandal on the active roster. This move comes after the Pirates invested in Davis’s development as a catcher during the past offseason. The organization believes that additional time in the minors will allow Davis to hone his skills and settle into a better routine as a catcher. Despite showing promise, the young catcher will benefit from more consistent playing time and focused development away from the pressures of the major league spotlight.
The time will reveal if Davis’ adjustments lead to greater Major League success.