Pirates reverse course with latest Henry Davis decision

After a terrible start to the season, the Pirates demoted former first overall pick Henry Davis to Triple-A Indianapolis. This demotion was to allow for Davis to work on some things so he could return to Pittsburgh and help the team win -- hopefully sooner rather than later.

That time is now, according to Jason Mackey, as Davis is reportedly being recalled to join the Pirates.

Before getting demoted, Davis struggled badly with the Pirates. In 23 games, Davis had a batting average of .162 with three doubles and four runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .486, which includes an on-base percentage of .280 and a slugging percentage of .206. His wRC+ was very low at 48, and his strikeout percentage was very high at 34.9%.

Pittsburgh Pirates promote catcher Henry Davis to MLB after making changes

Davis then went down to Triple-A and made some changes to his batting stance. Some reports claimed he went back to what he found success with in 2023. This appeared to work, as in Triple-A this season, Davis had a .296 batting average with seven home runs and 17 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of 1.078, which includes on-base percentage of .436 and a slugging percentage of .642. His wRC+ is very impressive at 175, and his strikeout percentage dropped over 10% to 24.7%.

This represents an impressive showing for Davis, but the important thing now is that he remain consistent and transfer that to the big league level. Ben Cherington wanted Davis to remain consistent, which is why Grant Koch got called up instead for the injured Joey Bart in recent weeks. Koch did get to play in three games with the Pirates, but he struck out six times in seven at bats.

Hopefully, Davis has found his successful swing and stance in Triple-A. If he could bring the production he had with Indianapolis, then the Pirates offense could very easily take off. He will have a tough first series back against the Dodgers this week.