NEW YORK — With the first pick in the 2021 MLB draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates have selected a catcher.
The 21-year-old Davis earned first-team All-American honors from both Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association this past season as a sophomore for the University of Louisville while hitting .370 (68-for-184) with nine doubles and a career-high 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 50 games.
During Louisville’s abbreviated 2020 season, he hit .372 (16-for-43) with five doubles, three homers and 13 RBI in 14 games. He also hit .280 (37-for-132) with five doubles, three home runs and 23 RBI in 45 games during his first collegiate season in 2019 with Louisville.
Davis was named a finalist for the prestigious Buster Posey Award as college baseball’s top catcher in NCAA Division 1 this past season. He threw out 13 of the 28 runners (46 percent) attempting to steal against him in 2021 and 40 percent (25-for-63) during his three-year career with Louisville. Baseball America also labeled him as having the fourth-best “Strike-Zone Judgment” and as the fifth-best “Hitter” among college players in the draft.
Davis was also tabbed a semifinalist for the 2021 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation’s best amateur player. He finished the 2021 campaign ranked first in the ACC with a .482 on-base percentage while also ranking among the top 10 conference leaders in batting average (.370), hits (68), home runs (15), RBI (48), total bases (122) and slugging percentage (.663).
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