Pittsburgh could soon see the return of another power bat in their lineup.

Pirates catcher right fielder Henry Davis has been tearing it up ever since he started a rehabilitation assignment with their Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.

Davis had played 51 games for the Pirates in 2023, sporting a .213 batting average with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs. He earned 22 walks in that same time frame.

Davis was initially called up to the Pirates in mid June, when Pittsburgh desperately needed to add a power batter to their anemic offense. The first overall pick from the 2021 MLB Draft had a strong June, putting up 13 hits in 37 at bats during the remainder of June, for a .351 average.

But Davis struggled to maintain his excellent start as July and August progressed. His batting average fell, and several slumps prevented Davis from getting on base.

At the time of his call up, Pirates fans expected Davis to play catcher, especially as the duo of Austin Hedges and Jason Delay was floundering at the plate. But the Pirates had plans to simply have Davis hit, shoving him over in the right field corner where he was forced to learn an unnatural position.

He made just two appearances as a catcher.

On August 21st, Davis was placed on the injured list due to a strained right hand. On September 9th, Davis made his first start of a rehab appearance down in Indianapolis. In his rehab debut, Davis homered and drew a walk in a 13-2 Indians loss.

Overall, Davis is batting .615 in his rehab assignment, going 8 for 13 with 5 walks as well. However, he has not played catcher in this assignment, yet another evident sign that the Pirates do not see Davis as a catcher within their organization moving forward.

Davis is likely soon to be called back up to the Pirates as they finish out the 2023 season. Davis has previously expressed his desire to return no matter how close the season is to being completed.

(Featured photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)