First Round & Weekend Notes: Davis Da Man; Rally Caps, This 'n' That

Party time…

Draft: 

• The Pirates played it close to the vest up to the last minute, and with the top pick of the 2021 draft, surprised many when they selected Louisville C Henry Davis. Davis batted .370/.482/.663 with 15 home runs during the year (he was considered by many to be the best available college bat of the draft), showed elite arm strength and filled an organizational need (if he remains as a catcher). He was the first catcher selected in the first round by the Bucs since Reese McGuire in 2013.
• Day two will cover Competitive Balance B picks & rounds #2-10; the final 10 rounds will be held Tuesday.

Notes:

• Pretty fun ending to begin the All Star break. The Bucs fell behind 5-0 in the first frame, but after some stellar pitching and homers by Rodolfo Castro (2) and Michael Perez, they cut the lead to 5-4 in the ninth. With Kevin Newman on third, John Nogowski’s two-out, first-pitch single tied it up and raps by Ben Gamel and Wilmer Difo chased Nogo home for the win, closed out by Richard Rodriguez. Castro became the first Pirate to have his first three MLB hits leave the yard.
• LHP Steven Brault made his first rehab outing – he went 1-1/3 IP for Bradenton, giving up a hit & walk while tossing 39 pitches.
• Per Ben Cherington on his radio show, Indy 1B Will Craig is checking out playing opportunities in Asia.
• Greensboro RHP Carmen Mlodzinski, 22, left his start Saturday with stiffness in his right shoulder, but the Pirates don’t believe it’s a major issue and called it a precautionary move. He’s the Bucs #10 prospect with a 2-2/2.63 line in nine starts prior to that outing.
• Fangraphs rated the Pirates farm system as third in value; a look at the Bucco organizational chart shows that it’s dominated by mid-level rather than elite talent right now.
• Another star down: Atlanta Braves’ OF Ronald Acuña Jr. underwent an MRI on Saturday that showed a complete tear of his right ACL. He’ll undergo season-ending surgery.