Liam Hendriks

[3up3down]

niedermann..........finally someone sees it like i do....i have watched hendricks several times & i just dont see it either, as you said no out pitch, not overpowering, curve & change average at best & alot of those strike calls that go your way in AAA dont in the bigs...he is maybe a #5 in the NL or most likely a long man in the pen, no way he is the #5 in minnesota starting the season...as far as him or walters , you can compare there numbers all you want but put hendricks in the PCL for a while & watch those #s balloon.. if its a competition for the #5 spot between hendricks, walters, blackburn,deduno, devries then i think walters & blackburn are the favorites with blackburn having the edge because of the contract & he has been good before...walters was very good before his injury, if he is healthy & gets enough innings in ST it should be a very good competition.

[70charger]

I'm with you on hoping Hendriks is destined for better days. I believe I looked a few weeks back and saw similar numbers to Liam from Frankie V and Milton when they first came up. I just wish Gardy would give him the time that Kelly gave the other two. I'd say he has nothing to lose as most don't expect much from the Twins this year, but another bad season costs Gardy his job. I hope Liam gets out of the gates quickly this year.

 

I think you're right about the Frank Viola comp. His first two MLB seasons, he was something like 5.5 ERA/1.5 WHIP, and then 5.5 ERA/1.6 WHIP. In Liam Hendriks first MLB season (not quite a full season, but ~20 starts), he was at 5.5 ERA/1.55 WHIP.

 

And I hope he gets out of the gate quickly too. The last thing we need is for him not to earn a chance. I think he could become a nice, cost-controlled #3 pitcher.

[Dilligaf69]

He will certainly get the chance...would not suprise me at all if he was one of the five SP's out of ST.

[Dilligaf69]

Twins definitely need to add one more SP.... and Hope one of Hendriks/PJ/Cole give them something... Pelfry can contribute by May and Gibson is in the bigs by June.

[halfchest]

His age is really interesting to me and I think it is overlooked how young he is. He spent his Age 23 season in AAA/Majors and was dominant in AAA plus his second half in the majors wasn't that bad. He had a 4.4 ERA and mediocre peripherals but he dropped his hits per nine and his WHIP significantly while his K and BB rates remained stable. He showed improvement and that's what counts.

 

For comparison our two new shiny pitching prospects May and Meyer will both be 23 and likely spend the bulk of their years in AA this year. While yes they have nicer scouting reports and peripheral numbers they will be a full level to two levels below where Hendriks was at the same age. In addition Hendriks is an international prospect which, correct me if I'm wrong, they generally take longer to develop as well? If that's true it shows how well he's doing despite his age. I'm a believer in him as a nice 3-4 pitcher for years to come. Not likely to be a star but should be a solid contributor to the rotation. I'm excited about having him, Worley, and Diamond to be the guts of this rotation. Now just hoping 2 of Gibson,May, and Meyer can turn into 1-2 type talent.

[Badsmerf]

Surprising the amount of Hendriks haters here. All of the comparisons are really not fair to Liam. Slowey was a big fly ball pitcher, almost twice as many as Liam. That makes a big difference. Liam will succeed, and I think things will start to click for him next year. He may not have a clear out pitch yet, but he's young and his curve has promise. He had this whole off-season to work of some of the issues he ran into last year and I expect it to show. He is the type of pitcher Rick Anderson can really help IMO. He'll go north with the Twins and I think he'll stick this time. Him and Plouffe are the players I really expect to give a boost to the Twins this year.

[SpantheMan]

If the twins are smart Hendricks will break camp with the big league club. He has far more upside that any other option (besides Gibson) and he has nothing left to prove in the minors

[Brock Beauchamp]

Surprising the amount of Hendriks haters here. All of the comparisons are really not fair to Liam. Slowey was a big fly ball pitcher, almost twice as many as Liam. That makes a big difference. Liam will succeed, and I think things will start to click for him next year. He may not have a clear out pitch yet, but he's young and his curve has promise. He had this whole off-season to work of some of the issues he ran into last year and I expect it to show. He is the type of pitcher Rick Anderson can really help IMO. He'll go north with the Twins and I think he'll stick this time. Him and Plouffe are the players I really expect to give a boost to the Twins this year.

 

Agreed. I think Hendriks has a floor of a #5 and a ceiling of a solid #3. I'm not as high on him as some but I'm definitely not a hater. He's exactly the type of guy Anderson can work with and turn into a serviceable guy.

[Shane Wahl]

Instant gratification culture infects baseball prospect evaluation . . .

[3up3down]

brock, i am definately not a hater, but sell me on hendricks, what i have seen is a hi 80s Fb with little movement, location average, curve below avg, chnage avg, slider below avg...the only thing i think he can improve on is his location & that will help tremendously & he had off season elbow surgery so he will not have a normal off season to work on things.. all the other pitchers that have been mentioned have atleast 1 plus pitch, blackburn , great sinker when he is right, deduno, nasty movement on all his pitches but can he fix it ??,gibson + FB with sink, walters + change , was rated the best in the cards org for yrs & he showed it when healthy last year..just my opinion you have to have atleast 1 plus pitch to be a consistent starter in the bigs & i simply dont see it with hendricks, hope i am wrong but i just dont think so..

[StormJH1]

I'll give Hendriks a semi-"pass" for last year, given that he couldn't survive Baltimore cuisine, let alone his first start. But, no, it isn't good when you excel at multiple levels of the minors, and your first impression in the bigs is THAT bad.

 

Typically, pitchers who miss bats are still able to do that once they get to the majors, even if they also get shelled. Hendriks didn't really strike anyone out last year, AND he got shelled. You can say that his control might get better, but at 2.7 walks per 9, it's not like he was walking in runs last year. Baker walked 2.1 per 9 in his career, and Matt Cain walked 3.1 per 9 (though less in recent years). It'd be one thing if he was all over the place, but I just question whether his "stuff" is any good. But he still is quite young, so he'll get his chances.

[3up3down]

storm, when i say control i am talking about better quality strikes , not just not walking hitters, i am pretty cofident he can throw strikes but thats the problem , he will make a good pitch then follow it up with one belt high right down the middle, or hang a curve...i was referring to making quality piches in the strike zone & that can be improved. i question his stuff also , but if he can improve his location his stuff will appear better.

[Brock Beauchamp]

brock, i am definately not a hater, but sell me on hendricks, what i have seen is a hi 80s Fb with little movement, location average, curve below avg, chnage avg, slider below avg...the only thing i think he can improve on is his location & that will help tremendously & he had off season elbow surgery so he will not have a normal off season to work on things.. all the other pitchers that have been mentioned have atleast 1 plus pitch, blackburn , great sinker when he is right, deduno, nasty movement on all his pitches but can he fix it ??,gibson + FB with sink, walters + change , was rated the best in the cards org for yrs & he showed it when healthy last year..just my opinion you have to have atleast 1 plus pitch to be a consistent starter in the bigs & i simply dont see it with hendricks, hope i am wrong but i just dont think so..

 

Well, a few things (and remember that I'm not particularly high on Hendriks, either)... First, he's only 23 and is still sorting out his secondary pitches. He's a young guy who never faced much in the way of talent until a few years ago. Second, his fastball is more in the 90-ish range, not the high 80s. He's not a hard thrower but he's not Jaime Moyer, either. Third, when he stopped pitching scared last year and nibbling around batters, he had a couple of decent games. In August and September after his return, he pitched six games and posted an ERA around 4.3-4.4 (and there were a couple of disaster starts mixed in that inflated his overall numbers). Hell, if he can pitch like he did after his call-up, he's already a better pitcher than Kevin Correia.

 

The more I watched Hendriks, the more I was convinced that his problem was one of confidence. He was twitchy, he nibbled at the plate, got behind batters, and was shelled for it. After his demotion/call-up, I saw less and less of that (and he finally got his first ML win). He's still 3-4 years from his prime and if he starts going after hitters and trusts his (somewhat meager) stuff, he'll be just fine as a #4/5 guy with a small chance of being another Scott Diamond with a few more strikeouts.

 

Parker wrote an awesome write-up about Hendriks last summer. I suggest you take a look. Twins Daily - What's hindering Hendriks?