How the Combine helped Davis go No. 1 overall

When Major League Baseball ran its inaugural Draft Combine a year ago, neither the creators nor the participants knew exactly what the benefits would be.

Now, as the second annual event is set to kick off, it's clear the concept not only has legs, but it had a definite impact on the 2021 Draft. It started right at the top with No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis taking advantage of, and benefiting from, what the Combine had to offer.

“It gave me the opportunity to meet with all the potential teams in person, which, especially in the fall with COVID, we didn't have that opportunity to even meet with our area scouts in person,” said Davis, now with Double-A Altoona and the Pirates' No. 2 prospect. “So whoever they wanted to be there, you could sit and shake their hands and actually talk to them in person. And I think I did all of them in a day or a little more.”

After hitting .370/.483/.663 for Louisville during the college season, Davis decided he didn't really need to show off any more of his on-field skills, so he only participated in the team interview process. Considering the Pirates talked a lot about Davis’ makeup and character in their decision to take him in the top spot of last year's Draft, it stands to reason that while the Combine was not the first time the two sides spoke, it certainly added to the positive column for Davis and his strong desire to be the best player possible.

“There wasn’t any single thing we uncovered that day with Henry; it was all a part of continuing to get touches, continuing to get in front of Henry,” Pirates scouting director Joe DelliCarri said. “Every time you get together, you learn something new. You may gain a perspective that hadn't come out before, so we have felt strongly as an organization to continue the process to keep on getting in front of the players. At the Combine, we definitely had our leadership group on the amateur side in front of him.”

General manager Ben Cherington attended last year's Combine, but did not sit in on the interview session with Davis, letting his amateur scouting staff lead the way. He feels that the information gathered from that session certainly helped their decision-making process, but also believes that just as telling was Davis' willingness to show up in the first place.

“I think it had some impact,” Cherington said. “I think the meeting was helpful for our group. We had decent history with Henry back to high school, but during the season we weren’t going to have that kind of access, so I think it was helpful to get some comfort with who he is and see the intensity about what he does.

“But I think just as important was the fact he went at all. He was a guy who obviously was going to go in the first round somewhere, everyone had seen a lot of him and he was willing to go there and let people get to know him even better. I think that meant something to us; it helped confirm what we thought about him already as a guy who wants to keep getting better and is not afraid to do some uncomfortable things to keep getting better. We appreciated that he went to the Combine since he could have made an argument that he didn't have to.”

It was a two-way street. Clearly, Davis was on the proverbial hot seat as the prospect, but he felt it gave him the opportunity to get a feel for how different organizations operate and speak about their development philosophies. While he didn’t have a say over which team would take him, having a comfort level with the Pirates made it easier for him to say yes once the deal was on the table while he was really able to tell them about what makes him tick.

“I think a decent bit of my strengths lie off the field,” Davis said. “I agree with what they said -- I'm someone who focuses on getting better. You treat it like a job interview, just like anyone else coming out of college. You want them to want to hire you. So getting the chance to look them in the eye and explain that and explain your goals, I thought it was very beneficial.”

The Pirates will certainly be back with the other 29 teams at this year’s Combine, seeing real value in an event that is only going to grow and improve as time goes by.

“I was there the whole time last year; I'll be there the whole time this year,” said DelliCarri, stressing the opportunity to see players perform on the field, have conversations with them and get their medical info all at the same time. “I'm a big fan.”

“I think it will grow in importance,” said Cherington, who added he’s talked to former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert about the evolution of the NFL Combine over the years. “My personal view is that events like that are almost never going to hurt a player. I think it grows in importance, because we'll just get better as an industry at running it well.”

Count Davis as a fan as well.

“I think it's good to go,” Davis said. “I don't think anyone necessarily needs to do anything they're not comfortable with. Take whatever works for you, but I thought it helped me."