Louisville catcher Henry Davis 'punched the clock' to earn No. 1 overall pick by Pirates

When Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington raved about No. 1 overall draft pick Henry Davis for his willingness to work and confront a challenge, it reminded Louisville baseball coach Dan McDonnell of a confrontation he had with the catcher after his freshman year.

Davis earned the starting job, showed off amazing arm strength and proved to be a competitor but also showcased a swing that was inconsistent. Being that both were from the Northeast, McDonnell demanded more from Davis, who came away with clarity from the conversation and a newfound focus on chasing his baseball goals.

“I had a different kid. The next two years, I was coaching a man,” McDonnell said Sunday night, as the first round was winding down. “He loved being pushed, loved being challenged, loved being coached. You could get in his grill and he’d take it like a champ. It’s all about winning. That’s fun to coach a kid like that. That’s going to be his expectation. He’s not there to make friends. He’s there to compete and win.

“It was like having a coach in the dugout and on the field. I felt like I was coaching a 10-year big leaguer, just the maturity. He’d be the first to tell you off the field, his lifestyle was committed. Once he got that clear goal and vision of what he wanted to be, it was no regret. He was all in.”

Davis brought McDonnell as a guest to the MLB Draft on Sunday at Denver’s Bellco Theater, and the Louisville coach took great satisfaction in seeing the first-team All-American rewarded for his extraordinary effort. That was the recurring theme of Davis’ draft night, that it was something he had earned.

“He believed and knows that he’s deserving of being the first pick,” McDonnell said, “because every day he punched the clock to be the best he can be.”

The Pirates had been scouting Davis since his days at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., when he turned down their offer and went undrafted. Cherington was impressed by the continual growth of Davis, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder who left high school with a reputation as a catch-first player but developed into college baseball’s best hitter. Davis slashed .370/.482/.663 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs as a junior.

“What we’re really excited about is … seeing how much he’s gotten better since then and continues to get better — and his desire to get better,” Cherington said. “The time we’ve had around him recently, just how interested he is in in finding new challenges and pushing himself to get better. He’s really excited about that process.”

Where scouts questioned whether Davis would stay at catcher as a pro — he has a 70-grade arm but needs to work on his blocking and receiving — everyone involved is excited about his potential for improvement. That’s especially true of Davis, who believes he’s the rare catcher who can dominate a game whether at the plate or behind it.

“It’s very important to me,” Davis said. “I love to catch, I love being able to contribute every pitch. So, for me, doing everything I can off the field and on the field during practice — what I do every day to be the best baseball player and the best catcher I can be — is my goal every day.”

Davis solidified his status last year with an outside-the-box approach that proved his passion for baseball. When the covid-19 pandemic shut down his sophomore season, he returned home to Westchester County. On Instagram, he saw a video of Boston Red Sox reliever Adam Ottavino throwing into a net and sent him a direct message offering to catch for him. Soon, Davis was catching for both Ottavino and All-Star closer Matt Barnes.

“It was great to get work in,” Davis said. “Getting better is always good, but the lessons I learned off the field from them — two guys who have done it at a high level for a long time — that’s the stuff I’ll never forget.”

Despite being projected as a top-five pick by scouting services, Davis attended the MLB Draft Combine at USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., and Raleigh Convention Center late last month.

That impressed Cherington, who kept close watch on Davis at the combine. Days before the draft, Cherington said that it requires a special player to carry the weight of wearing the 1:1 tag — the first overall pick of the first round — throughout his career knowing that all eyes will be on his every move.

“I think the fact that he went to the combine just speaks to who he is,” Cherington said. “He didn’t have to do that; he was going to go high in the draft, anyway. He wanted to challenge himself to go down there and put himself out there against teams again and get to know people better. I really credit him for that. I think it speaks to who he is, his willingness to do that and willingness to take on a challenge. I think that it was important, almost because he did it just as much as the time we got with him there.”

For Davis, it was about the big picture. Going to the combine wouldn’t improved his draft stock — The Athletic’s Keith Law predicted Davis to go first overall before changing his mind in his final mock draft — but served as a chance to compete and meet teams while building the brand. It was a smart, fearless move for someone preparing to become the face of a franchise.

“I love this game more than anything, and you hear a lot about, moving forward, we need to market the game better, we need to market the players better,” Davis said. “There’s always more we can do. When an opportunity like that presents itself, even if maybe I didn’t need to go or maybe it wasn’t the most important thing, I felt like that if there was going to be that opportunity to market the game and do more for the players, I wanted to be a part of it. I want to help this game moving forward, and anything that I can do to help this generation, the next generation, I want to.”

Davis spoke with a quiet confidence on a video conference call after his selection, but couldn’t keep from cracking a smile as he talked about chasing his goals. Cherington knows the Pirates are taking a risk by drafting a college catcher first overall but believes Davis is a good bet because of his character.

“We feel good that we’re bringing in a player who’s really a talent and has a chance to be a good big league player,” Cherington said, “and also someone who wants to be part of something really good and help us in that way, too.”