'You can be (ticked) off': Henry Davis, Pirates prospects motivated by assignment to Altoona

ALTOONA — Henry Davis was blunt as could be about his minor-league assignment, starting this season with the Altoona Curve again after finishing last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliate.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, the 23-year-old catcher doesn’t dance around any notions that he wants to be playing at PNC Park instead of Peoples Natural Gas Field.

Davis is hardly alone, as he’s one of five Pirates’ top-30 prospects (and one former top-30 prospect) returning here for another season instead of being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, along with shortstop Liover Peguero, outfielders Matt Fraizer and Matt Gorski and right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas.

“I don’t know if it should be disappointing,” Davis said Monday afternoon at Curve media day. “You can be (ticked) off. You can be passionate about it. You can care. Everybody in this locker room should be upset that they’re here. I think everybody in the Triple-A locker room should be upset that they’re there. I think everybody’s goal in our system is to be in Pittsburgh. I don’t think anybody will be happy at any affiliate, you know what I mean? Our goal is to play in Pittsburgh. Our goal is to win in Pittsburgh.

“So, it’s OK to be (ticked) off, but it’s about how you channel that. If you let that control how you play and if you let that control your conduct, shame on you. But, if you say, ‘You know what, I’ll show them, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to be so good that there’s no choice but for me to be in Pittsburgh,’ I think that’s a great attitude. There’s no shame in saying that. I want to be in Pittsburgh right now. Right now. And I think everybody in the locker room feels the same way. So, it’s OK for it to sting a little bit, but what are you going to do about it?”

The Pirates hope Davis channels his frustration into staying healthy for a full season and developing into a strong defender. With two of their top three prospects playing catcher, the Pirates wanted both to play on an everyday basis, so they sent Endy Rodriguez, their reigning minor league player of the year, to Indianapolis and Davis back to the Curve.

Davis homered in his first game here last May but slashed .207/.324/.379 with eight doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs in 31 games, missing significant time with a left wrist injury after being plunked repeatedly by pitchers. Curve manager Callix Crabbe emphasized that Davis is “steadily improving” his defense.

“I think Henry knows innings being caught is naturally going to help his progression,” said Crabbe, who was promoted from High-A Greensboro. “His bat is his carrying tool, but he throws well. He’s continued to improve his receiving. He’s really focused on being a great game-caller. … There’s no reason why he can’t end up a really good catcher.”

Especially now that Davis has what Crabbe called a “clean bill of health” for the first time in his professional career. A strained oblique ended his first season, and the left wrist disrupted last year so Davis enters this spring with no shortage of motivation to prove he was deserving of his draft status and belongs in the big leagues.

“Henry’s an extremely confident player. He has some really good attributes,” Crabbe said. “This year, getting a clean slate and knowing because it’s completely healed, obviously, he has huge aspirations for himself. It’s exciting for him to get a clean slate so we can see if he can perform up to the level that he knows he can perform.

“But, ultimately, it’s like any of the guys in the clubhouse: ‘You’re here. You’ve got to make the best of your opportunity. Try not to get too far ahead off of yourself.’ I think it’s easy for someone like him that’s the No. 1 pick that has huge expectations to get ahead of himself, that’s something we talk about it: Be real, be true to who you are. But also, at the same time, make sure you take it a day at a time. I don’t know if it’s this year, but we anticipate that’s going to be impacting the major league club at some point.”

Peguero, another top-10 prospect, returns to the Curve after a disappointing season during which he batted .259 with 22 doubles, five triples, 10 homers and 58 RBIs but committed 31 errors (23 at shortstop and eight at second base). The Pirates opted to send 31-year-old veteran Chris Owings to Indianapolis to work as double-play partner with Peguero’s close friend, second baseman Nick Gonzales.

“This is a process that we’ve got to believe in,” Peguero said. “Everything is not like the way we want it to be. Obviously, the team always wants the best for us. Like HD said, a lot of people here are (ticked) off because we’ve been working a lot every day. I think this is a challenge to grow up, learn, and take another step up.”

Gorski played at four levels last season, hitting 17 home runs at High-A Greensboro and six at Altoona before being sidelined by a quadriceps injury. Returning to the Curve was a demotion for Martin, as the Pirates’ 2019 minor league player of the year hit 19 home runs with 74 RBIs at Indianapolis but batted .210 and had a 35.9% strikeout rate.

On the bright side, the Curve has some serious pop in its lineup.

“I don’t feel like anybody’s going to have a hole to pitch around the middle of the lineup,” Gorski said. “I feel like last year, at some levels, you could almost hit or miss some people. But this year at the top of the order and, I mean, all the way through, we’re going to have people batting 7, 8, 9 that are big power threats. So we’re going to have a lot of power in this lineup. Unfortunately, Altoona isn’t the greatest place for power, but I think we’re going to have a lot of fire in the outfield.”

Crabbe, who played 21 games for the San Diego Padres in 2008, shared a story of his own personal disappointment in a “genuine, real conversation” with Curve players: The last ground ball hit his way in the majors went between his legs. Crabbe spent the rest of his career bouncing around the minors, so he knows all about perseverance.

“That was a really nice opportunity to set the frame for them,” Crabbe said, “how disappointment, though it’s real and it hurts, you do have a choice, and it’s a matter of perspective, as well.”