BRADENTON, Fla. – Wednesday was the primary day of pitcher and catcher exercises at Pirate Metropolis. However for Paul Skenes and Henry Davis, their work collectively began a couple of weeks in the past, when the backfields had been a lot quieter.
Skenes has bounced round this winter — from his alma mater at LSU to the College of Georgia, then again house in Fullerton, Calif., and on to Bradenton, Fla. At that cease in Florida, he and Davis set to work collectively, providing a sneak peek into a possible future battery between the 2021 and 2023 first general Draft picks.
“He is the kind of catcher you need to throw to additionally as a result of he likes to speak and suppose the sport [through],” Skenes mentioned at his locker about Davis. “It is a studying expertise for each of us, which is good as a result of we are able to speed up the method that for lots of people would begin now, however we bought to do it earlier within the offseason.”
There’s a great probability that the 2 will name themselves teammates in some unspecified time in the future this season. Skenes is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the highest pitching prospect within the recreation, an honor that ought to make his eventual Main League debut one of the vital anticipated for a Pirates pitcher in over a decade. It’s not an enormous concern for him, nonetheless.
“Truthfully, it is sort of simply phrases,” Skenes mentioned. “I’ve bought to go on the market and show it. It is cool to produce other folks suppose that, nevertheless it would not matter on the finish of the day. It is about executing and profitable baseball video games.”
That win-first mindset is music to Davis’ ears.
“I like how [Skenes] goes about his day,” Davis mentioned. “It’s all enterprise. You’ll be able to hold a really severe ambiance when he’s on the sector. That’s how we get higher, discover one thing to work on day-after-day. Off the sector, he can simply be a traditional man.”
Since he was promoted to the Majors final June, Davis has been very vocal that his driving concern is being a part of a winner in Pittsburgh. Final yr, that meant the vast majority of his taking part in time got here for granted fielder fairly than as his native catcher.
However with Endy Rodríguez out for the season, it does open up extra taking part in time behind the plate. The workforce introduced the Yasmani Grandal signing Wednesday, and supervisor Derek Shelton says the veteran shall be one of many workforce’s two catchers.
It seems like Davis must earn his spot behind the plate, however he could have the chance.
“[Davis] has gotten higher,” Shelton mentioned. “The one problem that we gave to Henry on the finish of the yr final yr was we mentioned, ‘Hey, you are going to come into camp, you are going to catch.’ I believe he is taken that full throttle. … More than happy with the progress he is made.”
For Davis, he welcomes the competitors and probability to catch, however his precedence is on profitable first.
“I simply need to win, actually,” Davis mentioned. “That’s greater than any private need, doing what I can to assist the workforce win. I need it to be clear that I can do something requested of me and do it to the perfect of my means. I ought to’ve performed it significantly better than I did final yr however that’s the aim.”
There are alternative ways to construct a profitable workforce, however having two excessive profile younger gamers behind the plate and on the mound is an efficient solution to jumpstart it, even when it took extra losses than they needed to land them.
“I am able to not have No. 1 picks,” Shelton mentioned after a chuckle. “I believe we have transitioned away from it. I am actually excited concerning the two guys we’ve got taken in that spot and what their future is gonna maintain and the truth that they’re Pirates.”
It additionally helps that whereas Skenes and Davis are two of the headliners of this Spring Coaching workforce, they’re removed from the one elements of this younger core that they hope can elevate to changing into a contender quickly.
“It is cool, however I do not suppose we’re the one ones both, by way of being high-profile,” Skenes mentioned. “We have got loads of actually proficient gamers right here. All of them have one thing to supply by way of data. Bits and items I can take from them, and hopefully they will take from me.
“As cool as it’s to be right here with Henry, there’s loads of different cool guys to be right here with additionally.”
