Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential Impact if They Draft Kevin Parada

One of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ best prospects is Henry Davis, but what happens if the Pirates draft top draft prospect Kevin Parada this year?

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted the best college hitter and catcher in the draft, selecting Henry Davis first overall. However, there’s a chance they’ll pick another high-end catcher early in the draft. The Pirates might end up choosing Kevin Parada fourth overall. If they happen to do that, what does that mean for Davis?

The most straightforward answer would be Davis would have to find another position, likely first base. After all, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t draft Davis for his defense. He was drafted for his bat, first and foremost.

Since arriving in the organization, Davis has posted a strong .288/.411/.563 slash line, .428 wOBA, and 162 wRC+. Davis’ K-rate sits just below 20% at 19.3% while having a healthy 9.6% walk rate. He’s run into some injuries, which have slowed him down a tad, but he’s still been a force to be reckoned with at the plate.

There were always questions about Davis’ ability to receive, specifically how well he’d do with blocking. It’s been an issue for Davis as he has allowed eight passed balls in less than 300 innings of work thus far into his pro career. In FanGraphs’ draft write-up about Davis last season, they described him as being able to slide an ottoman through his legs. Davis has a rocket arm, but that’s about all he brings in terms of positives as a defender.

Although Parada might not have the same offensive ceiling as Davis, it’s still very high. During this past college season, Parada batted .361/.453/.709, crushing 26 long balls. Parada had just 32 strikeouts in 305 plate appearances and drew nearly as many walks (30). Although Parada isn’t fast, he’s quick for a catcher and knows when he can take advantage of the other team. He swiped 11 bags in 12 attempts this season.

Parada is a solid defender behind the dish. He can block and frame, though he did show some wear-and-tear throughout the season. He’s still overall better than Davis. The one thing Davis does better than Parada defensively is throwing.

Parada’s arm has received average to below-average remarks. Though as long as he is accurate, he’ll do fine. With stolen bases becoming much less of a threat, you can get by with a frigney arm behind the dish, so long as they aren’t sailing it into the outfield on every other attempt.

Defense behind the dish is ten times more important than defense at first base. The Pittsburgh Pirates knew that by drafting Davis, there was a possibility he’d have to play another position. The concerns about his blocking are going to persist because of his large frame. If the Pirates draft Parada, they would almost have to find a second home for Davis. In the event they do pick Parada, they could eventually rotate the two between catcher, first base, and designated hitter if it must come to that.