National League

Henry Ready For Second Full Pro Season

After getting the honor of starting the D-backs’ first Cactus League game this spring, lefthander Tommy Henry caught himself during his session with reporters.

“I’ve only been asked three questions so far,” the 24-year-old said, “but I already feel like a broken record talking about getting ahead of hitters.”

Among the lessons Henry took from his first full pro season in 2021 was the importance of staying on the attack. One of the reasons the D-backs remain so bullish about the 6-foot-3, 205-pound southpaw is his ability to learn and make adjustments.

The D-backs pushed the 2019 second-rounder from Michigan to Double-A Amarillo last year, giving him the most aggressive assignment of any of their young arms. Working in one of the most hitter-friendly environments in the minors, Henry posted a 5.21 ERA with 4.1 walks and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

He moves to Triple-A Reno this season.

The D-backs say the quality of Henry’s stuff fluctuated throughout 2021, his fastball occasionally bumping the mid 90s as it did during his time at the alternate training site in 2020. This spring he sat 92-93.

Knowing the velocity is there gives the team confidence Henry can tap into it more often, especially after going through the rigors of a full season for the first time.

Henry can sometimes get overlooked when the D-backs’ wave of pitching prospects is discussed, but club officials talk as though they would not be surprised to see him put himself into consideration for an MLB opportunity as soon as this summer.

“When you talk about guys who you could foresee being in the rotation, for one, he’s lefthanded. He’s a really good athlete, the aptitude is high, he has the ability to shape pitches and throw strikes,” D-backs farm director Josh Barfield said.

“Those are the kind of guys you see end up pitching in the big leagues for a long time as starters.”

—NICK PIECORO

Elder Quickly Makes His Way To MLB

It didn’t take long for righthander 22-year-old Bryce Elder to reach Atlanta.

The Braves drafted Elder in the fifth and final round of the truncated 2020 draft. He rose from High-A Rome to Triple-A Gwinnett in 2021, then earned an early-season callup to Atlanta this year.

It’s been a quick climb for Elder, who once prioritized golf before he became a University of Texas standout.

Braves vice president of scouting Dana Brown lauded Elder’s makeup and character, expressing confidence he could at least become a back-end starter.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Elder had his breakthrough last season. In his pro debut, he produced a 2.75 ERA across three levels to earn the organization’s minor league pitcher of