The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the first pick in baseball’s amateur draft on Sunday night.
In a draft without a clear-cut top prospect, it remained unclear who the Pirates would go with until the selection was announced.
Regarded as the best college hitter in the draft, Davis exploded at the plate this year, hitting .370/.482/.663 with 15 home runs and more walks than strikeouts (31 to 24) over 50 games. Known as a defense-first catcher coming out of high school, Davis hit .280 with three home runs as a freshman in 2019 and was hitting well before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The No. 4 player on ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel’s top 200 draft board, Davis has top-shelf arm strength, which McDaniel grades as an 80 on the 20-to-80 scale, although the rest of his defense needs work.