Henry Davis hit his seventh homer in Triple-A on Saturday.
The Pirates sent their 2021 first overall pick down to the minors at the start of May, after he struggled at the plate with no power in the big leagues. Davis continued those struggles in Triple-A, going six games without an extra base hit, and only recording three hits in that span.
Things changed on May 16th. In game one of a double header, Davis hit his first homer of the year, along with a double in a three hit game. From that point forward, Davis was hitting, leading to a .284/.430/.622 line during the month of May. Since that 5/16 game, Davis has hit .328/.443/.810 in 70 plate appearances, with seven homers.
The Pirates have kept Davis in the minors, despite a need for catching in the short-term in the big leagues. This is still a small sample of success, and the homer on Saturday was his first in eight games. It’s good to see Davis continuing to hit for power, and he’ll probably need to show it more often before returning to Pittsburgh.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS lost 4-2
- CF Matt Gorski: 2-for-3
- LF Jack Suwinski: 1-for-4, RBI
- PR-3B Mike Jarvis: 1-for-3, SB
- LHP Josh Fleming: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- RHP Connor Sadzeck: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Matt Gorski continued his hitting, going 2-for-3. Gorski finished the month of May with a .280/.330/.720 line, hitting nine homers, including one on the final day of the month. Seeing him continue his hitting on the first day of June is encouraging.
STATCAST HEROES
The home run from Davis traveled 428 feet at 107.4 MPH. Josh Fleming had three whiffs on six swings against his changeup.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 11-8 in ten innings
- LHP Anthony Solometo: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
- RHP Po-Yu Chen: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
- RF Jase Bowen: 3-for-6, 3B
- CF Sammy Siani: 1-for-4, 2 BB, 2 RBI, SB, 3 R
- SS-2B Kervin Pichardo: 2-for-4, BB, SB
Anthony Solometo pitched an inning of relief earlier this week. He returned on Saturday with two innings in his latest start, still dealing with control issues. Po-Yu Chen followed with one run in six innings, which was one of his better outings of the season. Sammy Siani stole his third base since being promoted to Double-A. Altoona allowed nine runs in the final two innings, while scoring four.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO lost 4-3
- DH Termarr Johnson: 1-for-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, SB
- 1B Josiah Sightler: 2-for-4, HR, RBI
- C Geovany Planchart: 1-for-2, BB
- RHP Wilber Dotel: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
- LHP Cy Nielson: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Termarr Johnson hit his fourth homer of the year, which was a two run shot in the first inning. Josiah Sightler capped off the scoring in the second with his third homer of the year, a solo shot. Wilber Dotel and LHP Dominic Perachi each threw three innings, allowing two runs. Cy Nielson finished the game with two perfect innings.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON lost game one 8-3
- 3B Javier Rivas: 2-for-2, HR, BB
- SS Keiner Delgado: 1-for-4, HR
- LF Braylon Bishop: 1-for-4, 2B
- RF Shalin Polanco: 2-for-2, 2B, BB
- LHP Michael Kennedy: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Michael Kennedy and Carlos Jimenez had rough outings, both dealing with control issues that led to seven walks in seven innings. Javier Rivas hit his second homer of the year, while Keiner Delgado hit his third. Bradenton also got doubles from Braylon Bishop and Shalin Polanco. Bishop would lose this streak in game two, but his double extended his hitting streak to eight games.
STATCAST HEROES
The home run from Rivas had an exit velocity of 109.2 MPH, but no recorded measure. The homer from Delgado traveled 361 feet at 104.7 MPH. Carlos Jimenez allowed three runs, two earned, in two innings, with four walks. He averaged 95.8 MPH on his fastball, with two whiffs on 14 swings. His changeup had four whiffs on seven swings.
BRADENTON lost game two 3-1
- RHP Khristian Curtis: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- 2B Jeral Toledo: 1-for-3
- RF Eddy Rodriguez: 1-for-3
- C Axiel Plaz: 1-for-3, 2B
- CF Sergio Campana: 0-for-1, RBI, SB
The lone run from Bradenton came in the first, when Sergio Campana reached on catcher interference with the bases loaded and two outs. Khristian Curtis had a quality outing, allowing three runs and two earned in the shortened complete game.
STATCAST HEROES
Curtis averaged 95.7 MPH on his fastball, touching 97.9. He throws six pitches, and used all six in this start. The most effective secondary offerings were his changeup and slider. The changeup led to five whiffs on nine swings, while the slider had three whiffs on five swings. The double from Axiel Plaz traveled 381 feet at 103.1 MPH.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES lost 7-3
- DH Tony Blanco Jr.: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
- SS Jhonny Severino: 1-for-4, SB
- 2B Roinny Aguiar: 2-for-3
- RHP Carlos Castillo: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- C Ramon Ramirez: 1-for-2, BB
Tony Blanco Jr. hit his third homer of the FCL season. The 6′ 7″, 243 pounder is the son of former big leaguer Tony Blanco, and has some of the best raw power in the lower levels. The younger Blanco is making his debut in the United States this year, batting .325/.391/.600 in 46 plate appearances.
SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 1:35 PM – TBD
- Double-A: Altoona, 1:00 PM – TBD
- High-A: Greensboro, 1:05 PM – TBD
- Single-A: Bradenton, 12:05 PM – RHP Scott Randall (0-0, -.–)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates OFF
