The Pittsburgh Pirates will call up Henry Davis today, giving the former first overall pick another shot at the big leagues. The move is deserved, with Davis hitting the ball consistently hard in Triple-A since being sent down. Davis was one of this week’s Statcast Heroes, with the rest of the leaders in the Pirates’ system highlighted below.
Paul Skenes Whiffs 19
What Paul Skenes is doing so far in his rookie debut is special. One year ago at this time, he was preparing to pitch LSU to a National Championship. Today, he finds himself preparing for MLB starts. Skenes made his most recent start this past week, throwing six innings with two runs allowed and nine strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers.
The 2023 first overall pick relied heavily on his splinker, averaging 94 MPH and generating 11 whiffs on 25 swings. His four-seam fastball topped out at 100.5 MPH, averaging 99.2. That pitch led to seven more whiffs on 22 swings. He added his 19th whiff of the day on a slider.
Rowdy Tellez Finishes Strong
At the end of the week, Rowdy Tellez had one of his best games of the season, picking up three hits with a lot of hard contact. The hardest shot of the day was a 110.5 MPH lineout in the seventh inning. Tellez also had a single at 107.4 MPH, a double at 105.7 MPH, and a ninth inning RBI single at 80.1 MPH.
Tellez has consistently hit the ball hard for the Pirates this year, with above-average exit velocities. He hasn’t seen results, due to low barrel percentage rates and elevated chase rates. He’s swinging the bat fast, and makes hard contact, but his contact hasn’t been consistent. The Pirates keep giving him chances, hoping that he can make more consistent contact from those hard swings.
Henry Davis Hits His Way Back
The Pirates are calling Henry Davis back to the majors this week, after the catcher and 2021 first overall pick continued hitting the ball hard in Triple-A. Davis had four of the top seven exit velocities this past week in Indianapolis, along with three of the top ten hit distances.
Davis has been on fire since May 16th, batting .339/.446/.790 with seven home runs in 76 plate appearances. He returned to his old batting stance during this time, and will now get a chance to see if that can bring results to the big league level.
