Henry Davis, the Pirates’ No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, has a history of catching Major League-caliber arms at Louisville, including recent first rounders Reid Detmers and Bobby Miller.

But Davis also has a history of catching a couple of standout Major League relievers -- thanks to a shot in the dark he sent through social media.

While back at home in Bedford, N.Y., during the spring shutdown of baseball in 2020, Davis was scrolling through Instagram when he saw a video story from the account of then-Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino. The right-hander was just across the border in Connecticut, and Davis figured he could use someone behind the plate to catch.

“I was like, ‘OK, there’s no way this guy is going to see this,’ but I messaged him,” Davis said. “I was like, ‘I’m around the corner if you want to get some work in. Let’s go. Whenever you want, I’ll help.’

“And then he responded.”

The response? To paraphrase it: Come on by. So Davis packed up his catching gear and regularly made the drive east to Connecticut to catch Ottavino.

It wasn’t just Ottavino, though. Red Sox closer Matt Barnes -- now teammates with Ottavino -- reached out to his agent to find him a catcher during the shutdown, and sure enough, Davis’ name came up again through his work with Ottavino.

Davis and Barnes met up in Danbury, Conn., only a short 30-minute trek from Bedford, and got going.

“The guy was an absolute stud,” Barnes told MLB.com. “He had absolutely no problem catching me, warming me up and getting it going. It was a lot of fun.”

Davis was happy enough to get the work in as he prepared for his junior year at Louisville, where he broke out as one of the best power hitters in the nation to raise his Draft stock even further. But in the process of working on his defensive skills, he also got to pick the brains of two relievers who have pitched in 866 games and do some early homework for the bright future the Pirates see in him.

The moral of the story? Shoot your shot. You never know who will respond.

“Getting better is always good, but the lessons I learned off the field from them -- two guys who have done it at a high level for a long time -- that’s the stuff I’ll never forget,” Davis said.

Nor did Ottavino and Barnes forget him. With Davis landing at MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 prospect in the Draft and the Red Sox at No. 4 in the picking order, Boston had a shot to land Davis had Pirates GM Ben Cherington and company not selected the power-packed catcher.

Barnes said he texted and called Davis when he landed in Denver to congratulate him, though in the back of his mind, he was maybe a bit bummed.

“I’m a little jealous that he didn’t fall to the Red Sox, because I would have loved to play with him,” Barnes said. “The Pirates got a really good player.”

Five Draftees sign
The Pirates announced on Friday that they have signed five of their 21 selections in the MLB Draft. Shortstop Mike Jarvis (sixth round), catcher Wyatt Hendrie (seventh), right-hander Sean Sullivan (eighth), outfielder Luke Brown (ninth) and right-hander Justin Meis (10th) all inked deals on Friday. All five will report to the Florida Complex League.