Henry Davis belongs in the Gold Glove conversation, if not more. Here's why.

Don Kelly started to really see the change last year, the comfortability and command, the brick wall behind home plate, the throws whizzing down to second base.

But in 2026, Henry Davis has taken his defense to another level, one that could make him the Pirates’ fourth Gold Glove catcher and first since Jacob Stallings in 2021.

“The throwing’s been elite,” Kelly said. “He’s turned himself into a very good catcher.”

The numbers back that up, too. While Davis hasn’t hit the way he or anyone else wants to this point in his career, with a .178 average and .558 OPS, his defensive keeps getting better and better.

Entering Monday’s games, Davis was worth 10 defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs. That’s tied for second in Major League Baseball. In 2025, Davis was ninth among catchers with at least 500 innings caught with 8 DRS.

Two years ago, Davis had a DRS of -4, putting him in the bottom third of defenders at this position.

“I want to do what I can to help the team win every day,” Davis said. “There’s the consistency aspect we all hope for offensively. Behind the plate, it’s a lot more controllable. So I take a lot of pride in it.”

As Kelly said, the throwing is what has really put Davis’ defensive season over the top. He has the strongest arm in baseball, and the technique behind what he’s doing — perfected through work with Pirates catching coach Jordan Comadena — has put it to good use.

Consider:

• Davis’ throws average 85.6 mph, which ranks No. 1 in MLB.

• He’s thrown out 17 runners, which is surpassed by only six among those who’ve caught at least 500 innings. Davis would also have more caught-stealings if anyone actually ran on him. The 35 attempts against him are the fewest on that list.

• For additional context, the average attempts against among catchers who’ve caught at least 500 innings: 57.8.

• Davis’ caught-stealing percentage (48.6%) is the best in baseball by 10%.

• When it comes to stolen base runs saved above average, Davis’ mark of 4 ranks second in MLB, trailing only Freddy Fermin of the Padres.

“Caught stealing is a team stat,” Davis said. “We have a lot of big pitchers on the team. Most of the time, bigger guys are slower to the plate. But they really do a great job mixing up their cadence and giving us a shot.”

The crazy part about Davis’ defense is that it’ll likely improve even more.

Davis wasn’t happy with a blocking stretch he had earlier in the year, when he said he wasn’t doing a good enough job predicting where guys might miss with new pitches.

Overall, Davis has had a neutral blocks above average (0), per Baseball Savant, which puts him tied for 14th among the 32 catchers with at least 2,000 pitches seen this season.

Davis has also grown as a pitch framer, another continual point of emphasis with Comadena.

Over his first two seasons, Davis had a negative number of runs saved via framing (-1.8), ranking middle of the pack among the same sample size.

However, by perfecting setups along with where and how he catches the ball, Davis has seen that number become a positive (2.3, 10th in MLB).

“Blocking, receiving, throwing … you add all those components up, it adds up to the defensive runs saved,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said.

“He’s become a very good defensive catcher at the Major League level. That’s happened because he’s worked his tail off and he’s gotten good coaching.”

Davis also keeps getting better with challenges — something he’s spent a lot of time addressing this season.

Early in the year, Davis was critical of his work on them. He forced it at times and didn’t love how he balanced the risk/reward inherent to ABS: taking into account the inning, count, score, runners in scoring position, etc.

That’s become easier over time. Furthermore, Davis has learned not all challenges are equal.

If his eyes are behind a pitch — meaning he doesn’t have to move his body and has a clearer, consistent view of the strike zone — it’s a smarter challenge. If there’s doubt and it’s early, let it go.

Overall, Davis has a 52% success rate (51st among those with 20 or more challenges), but he’s also flipped 16 strikeouts in the Pirates’ favor, which ranks tied for ninth.

After going 19-24 (44.2%) on challenges in the first half, Davis is 20-12 (62.5%) since the All-Star break.

“ABS is new, so everybody is learning how to incorporate that into catching skill,” Cherington said. “Not sure it’s totally been done yet. Then there’s game-calling, which obviously is not new. It’s always been a skill but not something that has been measured perfectly, effectively.

“When that happens, it’ll be another layer added to the overall defensive measurement for catchers.”

If/when it does, it’ll almost assuredly demonstrate Davis’ value as an elite defender.

Few allocate more time or have a higher aptitude for pitch-calling and preparation than Davis, who pretty much constantly walks around with an iPad, studying scouting reports, watching video and reviewing notes he keeps on opposing hitters.

It’s not easy. But it’s also what Davis loves about the position: You get out what you put in.

“I’m blessed to be able to contribute defensively physically and mentally from a game-calling and game management standpoint,” Davis said. “I think it’s just been continued progress with Jordy, finding little things I can do better and whatnot. I’m always trying to be a student of the game.”

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.