Pirates' Henry Davis draft decision looks far worse after latest developments

Let's take a little journey back to July 11, 2021, shall we?

The Pittsburgh Pirates had the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft, and practically everyone knew they were going to select a position player; they just didn't know which one. Many speculated that they might target elite high school shortstop Marcelo Mayer. But the Pirates didn't need to waste a top pick on a shortstop; they already had rising star Oneil Cruz! (How's that going for them, anyway? Actually, never mind. Don't answer.)

Instead, Pittsburgh went with the best college position player available and selected catcher Henry Davis out of Louisville. At the time, it wasn't necessarily a bad pick; Davis had a rocket for an arm, not to mention a promising bat that had the potential to hit for both average and power.

The Texas Rangers went on to take southpaw Jack Leiter out of Vanderbilt at No. 2, while Mayer ended up falling to the Boston Red Sox at No. 4 after the Detroit Tigers made the somewhat surprising decision at the time to take high school pitcher Jackson Jobe at No. 3.

Pirates' Henry Davis draft decision looks far worse after latest developments

Now, let's fast forward to 2024. Mayer and Jobe are consensus elite prospects, both in MLB Pipeline's Top 10 at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively. Leiter got off to a rough start in his MLB debut season with the Rangers, but we're less concerned with him for the purposes of this excercise because the Pirates are stacked with young pitching talent.

Now, let's check in with Davis.

He made his MLB debut last year but has posted a pitiful .191/.283/.307 slash line in 99 big league games across the past two seasons, where he’s split time between the outfield and catcher. He's currently on the injured list for the second time this year, following a stint on the concussion IL back in June.

Davis has shown promise at the plate with Triple-A Indianapolis, but he's been invisible at best during his time in the majors. It's hard to believe that this is the same player who prompted speculation at the time he was drafted that the Pirates may consider moving him to third base or outfield to maximize the value of his bat.

Davis may have been the first of the top-four picks in 2021 to make his MLB debut, but he has precious little to show for it. Three years later, as Mayer and Jobe climb the prospect rankings while Davis continues to flounder in the big leagues, it's nearly impossible to view this pick as a win for the Pirates.

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