Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher/outfielder Henry Davis went 0-for-2 with an RBI sacrifice fly and a strikeout out of the nine-hole in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles and is now hitless in his last five games to fall to 4-for-30 (.133) with no home runs, two RBI, four runs scored and 11 strikeouts in 37 plate appearances over the first nine games of his sophomore season. It's not the start that the 24-year-old or fantasy managers were hoping for from the former first overall pick in 2021 out of Louisville, but the good news is that Davis is going to continue playing regularly with both Yasmani Grandal (foot) and Jason Delay (knee) injured. Through his first 71 MLB games, though, Davis has hit only .204/.295/.333 with seven homers and 26 RBI in 292 trips to the plate.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher/outfielderHenry Davisand third basemanKe'Bryan Hayes are out of the lineup Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. For Davis, this is a typical day off for the catcher to regroup, as he has gone 0-for-12 with six strikeouts in the last three games. Joey Bart replaces Davis behind the plate and is batting eighth in Saturday's game. Hayes will get his first breather of the year, as he has started every game for the Pirates thus far while swinging a hot bat, going 11-for-34 in his first eight games. Jared Triolo will handle third base duties while Hayes is rested. Expect Davis and Hayes to be in Pittsburgh's lineup on Sunday in the series finale against the Orioles.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz launched his second home run of the season in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, adding two singles in the defeat. Cruz's long ball was a 395-foot missile to deep right center to get Pittsburgh on the board in the fifth inning. Now slashing .344/.382/.531 with two homers and three RBI over 32 at-bats this year, the towering 25-year-old infielder continues to flash the intrigue that makes him such an exciting fantasy prospect. Cruz slashed .261/.333/.739 with seven big flies and 14 RBI during 46 spring training ABs, and that momentum appears to be carrying over into the regular season. The lefty-hitting Cruz gets two more right-handers on Saturday and Sunday in this series with the O's, hitting a stratospheric .429 (9-for-21) and with both of his bombs coming against righties this season.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds had himself a great day at the dish on Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks in a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. Reynolds added a double, an RBI, and a run to round out his batting line. The 29-year-old is off to a great start to 2024 with a .323/.447/.548 triple slash line to go along with a homer, three runs scored, and nine RBI. Reynolds should continue to be a solid all-around contributor to fantasy lineups this season.

Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar threw a perfect ninth inning in a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals to secure his first save of the season. Bednar had his stuff working in this one, striking out a pair while not allowing a baserunner. Although the Pirates are 6-1 so far, Bednar has only had two save opportunities and he blew his other one, so it was nice to see him convert here. If the Pirates continue to play well, Bednar could come close to his whopping 39-save season from last year. He is an elite option in fantasy.