How Henry Davis got his groove back behind the plate

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BRADENTON, Fla. -- Talking to the catchers on the first day of Spring Training, bullpen catcher and catching assistant Jordan Comadena had a message for his backstops:

“The guys who have come before you have set the bar here, and the expectations are going to remain the same.”

Those expectations are justifiably high. Since 2019 -- the year Comadena started to take an active part in the team’s pitch-framing coaching efforts -- Pirates catchers have saved their pitchers 34 runs through framing alone, according to FanGraphs. That is the fifth most in the league, and the Bucs’ 45 defensive runs saved from their catchers is tied for the most with the Dodgers. Plenty has changed for the Pirates these past five years, but top-tier catcher defense has been a constant.

Comadena’s early camp address was to the group, but given how much is riding on Henry Davis this spring, it may as well have been yet another reminder of what the Pirates want from him. After an offseason of work, a lot of it with Comadena, he wants to prove he can meet those expectations.

“Obviously, knowing my strengths as a player, I’m an offensive catcher,” Davis said. “We have a tradition of really good receiving catchers here. Jordan’s had a huge part in me trying to be the best version of myself, rather than trying to be someone else.”

Last year, Davis was promoted to the Majors a bit quicker than expected because Pittsburgh needed his bat in the lineup, but he played almost exclusively right field. There were concerns of whether he was ready to be a regular catcher at the highest level, and with the promotion of Endy Rodríguez in July, Davis ended up catching only two innings in the Majors as a rookie.

That didn’t mean the team was moving Davis to right field permanently. There was plenty to like about him as a catcher, including his strong arm, his game prep skills and his ability to zero in on a pitcher’s strengths. The main concerns, however, were his receiving and blocking skills, which is where the Pirates had excelled for years.

Davis, Comadena and third-base coach/Major League field coordinator Mike Rabelo worked behind the scenes in 2023 to help prepare Davis to catch in the Majors. The team wanted him to train to catch again this season, which ended up being a wise move after Rodríguez had right elbow surgery in December. Davis would have to earn his spot as the second catcher alongside Yasmani Grandal, but he was going to be given that opportunity.

It’s safe to say Davis has run with it this spring. Offensively, he’s hit four home runs. Defensively, he’s looking much better behind the plate.

“[His receiving] is getting a lot better,” Jared Jones, who pitched to Davis in the Minors 2022 and ‘23, said. “He used to drop the low pitches and a lot of the low pitches would be called balls, but now he’s just sticking it and framing it. We’re starting to see a lot more strikes being called with that offspeed down.”

Being able to grab those low strikes is key for Davis. He graded well on receiving and framing in the top third of the zone, with the Pirates’ internal data showing that he could be better than average. As Comadena explained it, Davis is able to use his strength on those high offerings and aggressively bring the ball down.

That’s a good skill to have, but traditionally there are more framing opportunities on pitches at the knees.

“Traditionally, there’s more swings at the top of the zone, more taken strikes at the bottom,” Davis explained. “There’s a higher frequency of pitches that can be turned over there.”

This offseason, the trio went to the lab to work on Davis’ receiving skills on low pitches. Three days a week, Rabelo would feed hundreds of balls into a machine for Davis to catch. The video was sent to Comadena, after which they would have discussions about intent, movements and perhaps most importantly, his stance.

Davis has a one-knee stance, which is being adopted by more catchers league wide, including Grandal, who has been one of the game’s better receivers for some time. The way to make it work for Davis is not focusing on the right knee he’s kneeling on, but the positioning of his left leg. If it’s kicked out, it puts him in a spot where his torso can sink lower and stay level. That lets him see the ball clearly and make his move.

“It gets him low, it gets his center of gravity sunk into the ground,” Comadena said. “It just puts his body, even before the pitch is thrown, in a good, strong position. He’s balanced, and it puts him in a position to have success.”

A good setup lets Davis’ athleticism, plus Comadena and Rabelo’s smarts, play more. Small things like setting the glove low or hinging his chest out, or knowing what angles he should position his chest and upper half of his body for each pitch, have helped Davis grab those extra strikes and improve his pitch blocking.

“He does a good job keeping it simple with me and correcting when he needs to,” Davis said.

For Comadena, he feels the work he’s done with Davis has made him a better coach, too. If he has a suggestion or pointer, he knows it has to be thought out because Davis is going to ask good questions about it.

“The kid works like crazy,” Comadena said. “He wants to learn. He wants to be great.”

The Pirates don’t need Davis to be great behind the dish just yet. But for someone they challenged this winter and this spring to see if he could handle this type of responsibility, so far, the results have been promising.

“I don’t have any doubt that he’s going to be a very good Major League catcher,” Comadena said. “He’s not going to allow himself to not be good.”