Henry Davis Tries to Follow Joey Bart’s Blueprint

Joey Bart and Henry Davis entered professional baseball with high expectations. Based on their draft pedigree, both had the ceiling of being All-Star caliber catchers.

Bart was selected second overall in 2018 by the San Francisco Giants. He seemed to be the heir apparent to seven-time All-Star Buster Posey.

Davis was the first overall pick in 2021 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He looked like a cornerstone player in the franchise’s rebuilding effort.

Now, both are with the Pirates.

Bart established himself as a bonafide major-league catcher last year after the Pirates acquired him from the San Francisco Giants in a waiver trade. In 80 games, Bart hit .265/.337/462 with 13 home runs.
Davis has been overmatched during the last two seasons with the Pirates. His slash line in 99 games is .191/.283/.307 with eight home runs.

It took a while, but Bart blossomed into a good big-league player. Can the same happen for Davis?

Davis’ progress has been frustratingly slow, but the Pirates believe he can follow Bart’s blueprint. Davis has shown encouraging signs in Grapefruit League play, going 4 for 12 with two doubles and a home run.

“He’s strong, he’s worked really hard, and we think he’s focused on the right things,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “Things are going to take twists and turns in the game. It’s rare, the occasion when a player just takes a straight line to big leagues and becomes a star and never looks back.

“There are twists and turns and ups and downs and he’s gone through some of that. We believe he’ll be better from going through it. The same reasons bet on him coming out of the draft — the skills, the work ethic, the willingness to take on a challenge, the toughness — all those things are still there.”

Spring training stats are generally meaningless, so it would be wise to be cautious in becoming too optimistic about Davis. However, Davis decided to change his mindset over the winter and be more relaxed at the plate,

Relaxing has never been part of Davis’ mindset. He is an extremely hard worker and has an ultra-competitive personality.

However, dialing down the intensity could be helpful. Bart knows that after putting pressure on himself to try to live up to the comparisons to Posey with the Giants.

That’s not to say Bart doesn’t care. Far from it. However, he decided to try to make baseball fun again once he joined the Pirates.

“I like to come and compete and get after it,” Bart said. “I love trying to get better. That’s really what drives me, is finding a way to get better and improve my game. Once you come out there and play you come out there and let it all out. I really enjoy it. I think it’s very important to enjoy the game. A lot of people get caught up in the stress and obviously it’s real. Just going out there, letting it all go and having fun, that’s my approach to it.”

That approach has led to Bart becoming the Pirates’ No. 1 catcher. Davis is in a three-way competition with Jason Delay and Endy Rodriguez for the backup job.

Maybe that approach can turn Davis’ career around, too.