KIDS TO WATCH: TY HENSLEY

With Spring Training now in full swing, Bleeding Yankee Blue is continuing this series, highlighting the kids that are vying for a coveted spot on the major league roster. We are going over their respective backgrounds – how they have been playing, their strengths, their weaknesses, and what to look for.

Ty Hensley is a 21-year old right handed pitcher, drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round (30th overall) of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft. Despite missing all of 2013 due to hip surgery, he showed a lot of promise with the Gulf Coast League Yankees before making it to the Staten Island Yankees, where he finished the 2014 season. He had 10 starts on the year, with very good success. At each level and in every season, his K/9 is in double-digits - 11.5 for his minor league career overall – and opposing batters hit less than .245 – his minor league career OBA is .217. That kind of domination is something that has the attention of the scouts in the Yankees farm system.

(Courtesy: Robert Anderson)
You have to admire this kid’s grit. We mentioned his hip surgery, after which he worked his way back to baseball. You may recall that he was victim to a gruesome attack this past January – we covered it here: Bleeding Yankee Blue: TY HENSLEY = HEART. About a week after the attack, he is back out pitching. Less than three months later – just this past week – he is pitching in a minor league game. He pitched two innings, gave up zero runs, zero hits, struck out four, and walked one. All indications are that he is still on track.

One place where he will be challenged is his innings and pitch count. He is still a kid, but he needs to get to the place where he can throw 6-7 innings per game. His history shows that he falls short of that. The other place, which is typical of strikeout pitchers like Hensley, is his control. He is averaging one hit batsman per just over 5 innings. Some of us may appreciate that when we are facing the Red Sox – I kid! Seriously, he has plenty of time and opportunity to fine tune these areas and become a force in the Yankees rotation.

The Yankees drafted Hensley out of high school, and he spent his first year in the minors with the Gulf Coast League Yankees. He is very likely on the Yankees’ 2016 or 2017 plan, but that is not a bad place for a 21-year old to be. We wish him luck, and hope to see the fire and determination at the major league level sooner rather than later.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row








You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!