The Pittsburgh Pirates have officially called up catcher/right fielder Henry Davis ahead of Monday’s home game against the Chicago Cubs. To make room on the 26-man roster, Mark Mathias was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. To make room on the 40-man roster, pitcher Eli Villalobos was designated for assignment.
We have selected OF/C Henry Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis.
To make room on the 26-man roster, INF Mark Mathias was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Elijah Villalobos was designated for assignment.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 19, 2023
The news of Davis being recalled broke during yesterday’s game. We have been focusing on the promotion since then, with three articles this morning highlighting him.
Davis began the season in Altoona, where he hit .284/.433/.547 in 41 games, with 18 extra-base hits. He was just recently promoted to Indianapolis, where he was hitting .286/.432/.514 in ten games. He has mostly played catcher this year, but he recently started playing right field more often.
Mathias has put together two stints with the Pirates this year. He has hit .231/.355/.269 in 62 plate appearances over 22 games.
The 25-year-old Villalobos was claimed off of waivers by the Pirates in mid-April. He has been with Triple-A Indianapolis this entire time, where he had a 4.15 ERA, a 16:15 SO/BB ratio and a 1.67 WHIP in 17.1 innings over 16 appearances.
More on Davis
Our Book article includes the opinions of five writers on the site for what we can expect from Davis over the rest of the season.
Our new daily Prospect Watch includes Davis among the three featured players
Anthony Murphy gave an in depth look this morning for the expectations of Davis
Pirates Prospects Daily: What to Expect From Henry Davis in Pittsburgh
You can follow along with tonight’s game in our P2Live article. Davis is batting seventh and playing right field in his first game
P2Live: Davis Doubles in First At-Bat, But Lifeless Pirates Routed for Seventh Straight Loss
One Minor Move
The Florida Complex League Pirates activated pitcher Cristopher Cruz from the Injured List on Monday. He tossed a scoreless inning in his debut.
Cruz was considered to be their top signing in July of 2019, when the Pirates landed him for an $850,000 bonus. He wasn’t able to debut until the 2021 season due to the lost 2020 minor league season.
Cruz skipped the Dominican Summer League, going right to the FCL Pirates for the last two seasons. He struggled both years, combining to post a 6.90 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP over 58.2 innings.
He turned 20 years old back in January.
