Henry Davis gave the Pirates another reminder Thursday of why his bat remains such a maddening puzzle.
He picked up his 10th home run of the season in the win over the Milwaukee Brewers, and it looked familiar right away: a screaming line drive down the left-field line that barely stayed fair. That kind of swing has become Davis’ trademark, the sort of blast that flashes the upside Pittsburgh envisioned when it took him No. 1 overall in 2021.
The power is real. That part has never been in doubt. Davis is now one of seven Pirates with at least 10 home runs this season, and from a raw-strength standpoint, he still looks the part of a hitter with plenty more in the tank.
But the rest of the line tells the story the Pirates keep running into. Davis is hitting .164/.264/.295 this year, and those numbers are ugly in a way that leaves little room for spin.
Over his career, he’s at .176/.263/.295 in 943 plate appearances. At some point, that stops looking like a rough stretch and starts looking like the book on the player.
That’s what made Don Kelly’s postgame praise so revealing.
"Henry works his tail off every single day," Kelly said after Thursday's win over the Milwaukee Brewers. "He's so strong he doesn't need to muscle up to generate power."
Kelly was clearly trying to spotlight Davis’ work ethic and natural strength. Both matter.
Both are fair compliments. But the words also landed right on the tension that has defined Davis as a major leaguer: if he really does have that kind of strength without needing to sell out for power, why does so much of his offense still look geared toward yanking the ball, especially toward the left-field line?
That’s the frustrating part. The home runs have value, especially from a catcher.
Davis’ defense has also become a real asset; his arm, receiving and comfort behind the plate have turned him into a legitimate major-league catcher. For a while, it wasn’t even clear he would stick there.
Still, the bat was supposed to be the loudest tool.
Instead, Davis keeps offering the same glimpse of what might have been. Another hard-hit ball to the left-field corner.
Another reminder of the first-overall pedigree. And then the batting average snaps everyone back to reality.
If Kelly is right that Davis doesn’t need to muscle up to create power, that only sharpens the mystery. Because with that much natural strength, you’d expect more than a hitter who too often seems locked into one kind of swing.
And yet, that’s where things stand four years into his career.
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