Henry Davis
C 6-2 195 Louisville
HENRY DAVIS Catcher 6-2, 195 lbs. Louisville Cardinals
Louisville catcher Henry Davis would be the perfect addition to the Indians’ farm system. While the team took another catcher Bo Naylor in the first round of the 2018 draft, he is still just 20-years old and does not figure to be MLB ready until 2022 at the earliest.
With college experience, Davis could be ready much quicker and frankly may have more upside than Naylor as Cleveland looks for their catcher of the future.
As a freshman in 2019, Davis slashed .280/.345/.386 with three home runs and 23 RBI’s. He was a key member of a Louisville squad that won an ACC Regular Season title and reached the College World Series in Omaha after defeating East Carolina in the Louisville Super Regionals.
He followed that up with a monster start to the 2020 season before it was cut short amid the pandemic as he slashed .372/.481/.638 with three home runs and 13 RBI’s.
Davis is also known for having a cannon for an arm as he has been among the best in College Baseball at throwing out bases runners.
In Prospects Live Mock Draft 1.0 released after the 2021 draft order was released, Davis is projected to go 12th overall to the Seattle Mariners.
However, there’s plenty of time for draft boards to change and if Davis does drop, the Indians should be all over this stellar catcher.
12. Henry Davis, C, Louisville
Davis had a breakout if brief sophomore season, hitting .372/.481/.698 with twice as many walks as strikeouts in 14 games last spring, while continuing to show off a plus arm behind the plate. He has displayed more offensive upside at Louisville than former first-rounder Will Smith did, but he's not nearly as advanced a receiver and will need to clean up his defense.
25) Henry Davis, C, Louisville
Davis has always been viewed as more of a defensive-oriented catcher before really exploding offensively to start 2020, slashing .372/.481/.698 in 52 plate appearances. At the plate, he has a wide base and a quiet setup that reminds me of Pete Alonso. He has some Heston Kjerstad/Dexter Fowler in his load with a big bat twirl to get his hands into slot. His swing is a little rigid and I have some questions about his ability to spin on balls on the inner half, but he generates plus bat speed and has a natural uphill swing plane. He doesn’t strike out often, either, and those bat-to-ball skills combined with his power potential is an intriguing combination. Defensively, he shows advanced ability as a receiver and a leader behind the plate. He guides a pitcher through a game very nicely and instills confidence in the guy on the mound. He has good hands and while robo-umps may cause pitch framing to become obsolete before Davis even reaches the Major Leagues, he does a good job of stealing strikes on the edges. Davis has good lateral athleticism when it comes to ball blocking, and his technique is very sound. Where Davis really excels defensively is in the run game. He has a 70-grade arm behind the plate and he does a really good job of throwing runners out. Davis is a force in the run game and is one of the best catch-and-throw guys in the country. Davis is still viewed more as a defense-first catcher, but if he shows some of the same things offensively in 2021 as he did in 2020, he can really cement himself as the top college catcher in the draft.
10-9-2020 - Lookout Landing had a special feature on Louisville catcher Henry Davis -
I’m a pretty firm believer Davis is a minor swing tweak away from being one of the 3 or 4 best college bats in this class. If the game power can catch up to the already impressive defensive actions behind the plate, Davis will see his name flying up draft boards next spring.
For now, you’ll see his name hovering in the 20-35 range on most boards, but given the underlying data, the defensive polish, and the lengthy track record of success, Davis is a guy I see elevating his stock as we approach next July, ultimately hearing his name called inside the Top 20 picks.
2 comments:
The Mets could always use another top tier catcher in Davis
I love Davis but he does currently project as a late first or second round pick.
The Mets could gamble and go pitcher at 1.1 and hope he is still around in the 2nd round.
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