Prized prospect promoted after series finale
GREENSBORO ― Henry Davis' stay in our city was short and productive. Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in last summer's amateur draft, was promoted to the Class-AA Altoona Curve in the hours after the Greensboro Grasshoppers' series finale against the Asheville Tourists on Sunday afternoon. Jason Mackey, the Pirates
GREENSBORO ―
Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in last summer's amateur draft, was promoted to the Class-AA Altoona Curve in the hours after the Greensboro Grasshoppers' series finale against the Asheville Tourists on Sunday afternoon.
Jason Mackey, the Pirates beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, first reported news of Davis' promotion.
Davis went 0-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch in his final game with the Hoppers. He played just 28 games in Greensboro ― six last August and 22 this season ― going 33-for-101 (.327 batting average) with seven home runs, 25 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
Davis, the No. 23 prospect in the entire minor leagues according to MLB Pipeline, had a five-game hitting streak snapped in Sunday's 5-2 loss in 10 innings to the Tourists.
He closed out his time in Greensboro with three home runs in his last six games. He had hits in 17 of the 22 games he played this season with the Hoppers, with nine multi-hit games.
Davis ranks second in the South Atlantic League with a .341 batting average and a 1.035 OPS, and third with 22 RBIs. He was hit by pitches a league-high nine times in 100 plate appearances ― including a string of five games in a row ― and he reached base in 21 of 22 games played.
The Hoppers (11-15) open a six-game series in Hickory on Tuesday after back-to-back losses to close the Asheville series.
Greensboro's roster is loaded with catchers. Besides Davis, it's the primary position for Endy Rodriguez, Abrahan Gutierrez and Eli Wilson.
Rodriguez, a 21-year-old rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect, has played four positions ― catcher, first base, second base and left field ― so far this season. Gutierrez has played catcher, first base and designated hitter, while Wilson (the son of former Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson) has played third base.
The Hoppers lost Sunday's series finale in a pitchers' duel. The game was tied 1-1 after nine innings, and the Tourists scored four runs in the top of the 10th off reliever Eddy Yean (0-1) to win.
In his career at the News & Record, journalist Jeff Mills won 10 national and 12 state writing awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Society for Features Journalism, and the N.C. Press Association.