His $80,000 bonus tied for just the 14th-highest in the Dodgers' 2018-19 international class, but Henriquez may be the best player they landed. The Venezuelan displayed some of the best stuff in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League when he made his U.S. debut in 2021, only to blow out his elbow the following summer. After missing all of 2023 following Tommy John surgery, he has come back stronger than ever.
Henriquez has regained all of the velocity on his fastball, sitting at 95-99 and peaking at 101 mph with cutting action and carry up in the zone. His power slider may be even more devastating, an upper-80s beast that reaches 92 mph with short, hard bite. After employing a low-80s curveball and a mid-80s changeup as a starter in the past, he has concentrated on his two best offerings as a reliever.
Henriquez moves well down the mound, creating quality extension that allows his pitches to get on hitters even quicker than expected. He'll never have pinpoint control but is throwing more strikes than ever this year. He could help the big league bullpen in the near future and comes with legitimate closer upside.
Henriquez's $80,000 bonus ranked just ninth among the pitchers the Dodgers landed in the 2018-19 international signing period, but he since has surpassed all of the higher-priced arms. He showcased some of the best stuff in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League during his U.S. debut last summer and continued to light up radar guns during his introduction to full-season ball this year. But he also has had forearm and elbow issues, pitching only sparingly since May.
Working in short starts, Henriquez has sat at 94-98 mph and touched 101 while using his 6-foot-4 frame to create downhill plane on his fastball. He also has a power slider in the mid-80s with more vertical than horizontal action. He rounds out his repertoire with two average offerings, a low-80s curveball with more depth than his slider and a mid-80s changeup.
Like many youngsters, Henriquez still is learning to repeat his delivery, and his inconsistency can affect the quality of his pitches as well as his control and command. He has a ceiling of a four-pitch starter with power stuff, though it remains to be seen how it will play in longer outings and whether he can handle a rotation workload. If he becomes a reliever, he has late-inning upside.
How this works:
This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement.
On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown.
Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release.
On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
Team
Avg HR Trot
Actual HR
xHR
HR-xHR
Doubters
Mostly Gone
No Doubters
No Doubter %
2024
26.2
2
0.9
1
1
1
0
0.0
Player
26.2
2
0.9
1
1
1
0
0.0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2024
2
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
0
0
2
1
0
Player
2
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
0
0
2
1
0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift:
three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of
their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about
how positioning is defined here
LAD
