Henry Davis shines in Class AA debut

You can’t write a story better than the one Henry Davis is writing with the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system.

After the former No. 1 overall draft pick was promoted to Class AA Altoona on Monday, he was slated to start behind the plate for the Curve in their series opener against the Somerset Patriots — Class AA affiliate of the New York Yankees — Tuesday night and wasted no time in impressing the crowd at People’s Natural Gas Field.

Davis was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat — marking the tenth time he’s been hit this season — but he launched a two-run home run beyond the party deck in his next plate appearance. The homer measured in at 407 ft. and had an exit velocity of 110 mph.

Not only did Davis’s home run continue to build his legacy, but it also sealed the win for Altoona as they took down the Patriots, 4-3.

Davis might have foreshadowed his own success last night, however, as he met with reporters prior to last night’s game, and told them:

“When I get to the field, I have a job to do. [It] doesn’t matter if I’m the last pick or first pick. When I step up to the plate, it’s my job to have a good at-bat. When I go behind the plate, it’s my job to manage a good game. Everything else just kind of falls away.”

Duane Underwood Jr., who was in Altoona on a rehab assignment and pitched to Davis for an inning, said that Davis has potential in the MLB:

“Guy’s got juice. You can tell when a guy’s a big leaguer. He’s got a lot of good qualities.”

Davis’s promotion was “merit-based”, according to Pirates Director of Coaching and Player Development John Baker, and is not tied to the injury of Roberto Perez in the MLB that sparked multiple promotions.