PITTSBURGH — The catcher for the Indianapolis Indians, Henry Davis, is stepping up to the major league plate.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are calling up heralded prospect Davis, the top pick in the 2021 draft, to help the team that has lost six straight games and tumbled from the top spot in the NL Central.
In his major league debut, Davis had one hit and one walk Monday night against the Chicago Cubs.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after Sunday's 5-2 loss to division-leading Milwaukee that Davis, who has played catcher and outfield, will join the team at PNC Park on Monday for the start of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.
“I’m excited,” Shelton said. “He deserves to be here. I think he’s shown that. We’ll probably talk more about it (Monday). Our two catchers will be staying, so we’ll be using him in different ways.”
The 23-year-old Davis is being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he batted .286 with a homer in 10 games. The 6-foot, 220-pound Davis opened the season at Double-A Altoona, where he batted .284 with 10 home runs.
He is hitting .284 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 51 combined games Double-A and Triple-A this season.
The Pirates opened the season with a division-leading 19-9 record in April. They enter the week with a record of 34-36, 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Brewers (37-34) and a half-game behind second-place Cincinnati (37-35).
