Henry Davis gave the Pirates exactly what they needed on Sunday afternoon, but one swing does not erase a long track record.
Davis broke open Pittsburgh’s 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels with his ninth home run of the season, then almost delivered more when Wade Meckler ran down his deep drive near the right-field line. It was the kind of afternoon that can make a player look like he’s turning a corner. The problem is that Davis has offered those flashes before, and Pittsburgh still doesn’t have a real answer.
The latest explanation from Davis is a mechanical one. He said he has been trying to get his back leg activated earlier in his swing, with the idea that his right-knee-down catching stance has been wearing out the leg he needs to load properly as a hitter. He also said he has talked with manager Don Kelly about why his swing has sometimes looked freer when he comes off the bench instead of starting.
That’s a reasonable theory. It may even be the right one. But the Pirates are in no position to take a theory and treat it like a solution.
Davis entered this stretch batting .169/.266/.304 on the season, and the larger body of work is even tougher to ignore. The former No. 1 overall pick owns a .177 career batting average and a .560 OPS in the majors. That’s enough evidence to make anyone slow down before declaring a breakthrough after one home run and one loud out.
What Pittsburgh does have is a catcher who has held up his end defensively. Davis has eight defensive runs saved, which ranks eighth among catchers, and his 40% caught-stealing rate ranks second.
His 85.8 mph arm strength has helped back that up. He has done plenty to quiet doubts about his glove.
The issue is that the bat still hasn’t matched the rest of his profile.
This isn’t the first time Davis has chased a mechanical fix at the plate, either. That’s part of life for hitters in the majors, especially one who has spent multiple seasons trying to turn elite draft status into actual production. The real question is whether this tweak holds up for more than a few at-bats.
At some point, the Pirates have to decide what Henry Davis really is: a long-term starting catcher, or a strong defender whose offense puts a hard cap on his value. For a team that wants to build something real, that difference matters.
Maybe this is the adjustment that finally sticks. Pittsburgh will keep giving him chances to prove it, just as it has before.
But after a career .560 OPS, the burden has shifted. Davis has to show the hitter everyone has been waiting for is actually there.
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