First impressions: Henry Henry
We don’t have to argue about who has the best name on the team. There’s just no question.
Yes, Henry Henry is his real name—not a typo or a nickname. And he’s not just a novelty act of a name, he was a solid pitcher for the Dust Devils last year and has been again this year.
“Hank Squared” as he’s sometimes called has been ranked the Padres #55 overall prospect, which is pretty great given he’s just 19 years old and the Padres system is deep, with multiple levels of more fully developed players above the Dust Devils.
I was listening to Jerry Dipoto’s podcast the other day and he and Aaron Goldsmith were talking about whether a drafting team will take a player with the better name when a pick comes down to a toss-up. I don’t know whether the Padres Dominican Republic scouts first noticed Henry Henry’s skills or his name, but I like to think it must have been the latter.
The Dominican Republic native was 6'4" and already hitting 91 at 16 years old when the Padres signed him as an international free agent in 2015.
Henry Henry is another returning Dust Devil. During his time with the team in 2017, he put up good numbers as a starter: 3.28 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 7.5 K/9.
Prior to rejoining the Dust Devils this season, Henry’s struggled in 2018, dragging an ugly 19.89 ERA in 5 appearances and walking almost as many batters in just 6 innings as he did last year in 57.
Putting up much numbers with Tri-City in two starts so far, his return to the Dust Devils seems to be just what the pitcher doctor person ordered, as he’s been able to hold down a trim 1.86 ERA in his first 9 innings for the Dust Devils in 2018.
