Payton Henry - Scouting Report


Rank History
Year Team Position Team Rank OFP
2021 MIL C 27 35

Grades Update: Jan 2021
OFP Role Hit Power Field Arm Run
35 30 30 45 50 50 30

Jan 2021 Report

Evaluator: Joe Drake

Age: 24 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 215 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2016 Round 6
RuleV: Eligible

Physical Description: Thick, stocky build but has longer levers. Sturdy. A little soft on the surface, but plenty of muscle underneath. Short torso; long legs with big, muscled thighs and butt. Maxed out frame that is thick all the way through. Looks like a slugger. Sprained MCL August 2019.

Hit: Tall stance, mostly upright with slight knee bend; slight hip hinge leans upper half toward plate. Lead leg open by a foot length, shoulder-width base; Hands at the eyes, bat at a 45 degree angle over the shoulder with some rock; Torso has moderate coil. Loads with a moderate leg kick that hangs before striding toward the pitcher. Slight additional torso coil. Hands drop to shoulder-height. Swings hard, borderline overswing. Fooled by spin often - swings through it and watches it drop in the zone; opposing teams know it. Flat, but uphill swing path gives some loft. Not very discerning at the plate; aggressive on anything close, expands often on spin and swings at tough pitches when he doesn't need to. Gets a piece of the bat on most pitches in the zone. Chokes up with two strikes. Poor hitter who does his damage on fastballs and mistakes and really struggles with spin and offspeed Grade: 30

Power: Big raw power that comes from strong build and average bat speed. Grades out at plus. The ball just carries off his bat, indicative of backspin. Swings to drive the ball in the air, but goes the other way frequently. Consistently drives the ball over the wall to dead center and in the opposite field alley -- true all fields power. Poor hit tool and pitch selection really hold power back in games. Grade: 45

Field: Calls his own games. Starts in a crouch but drops the left knee during the pitcher's delivery with bases empty; remains in crouch with runners on. Typically receives softly and presents well; frames subtly but well. Turns high fastballs down really well. Receives the ball out in front. Strong enough to hold breakers at the bottom of the zone without much drift. Picks balls in the dirt pretty well. Presents clear target for pitcher. Sways the body to receive closer to the middle of his frame. Stabs occasionally when reaching across his body. Ball can get away from him on the edges of his reach. Quick feet when readying to throw and generally agile behind the plate. Calming presence for the pitcher in meetings. Solid but not spectacular with occasional miscues. Grade: 50

Arm: 2.08, 2.06 pop times. Throws have tail but he appears to compensate for it; Some throws sail high or are in the dirt, others have picture perfect placement. Grade: 50

Run: Lumbers. Not an asset on the basepaths. Can leg out extra bases in the gaps, but not with regularity. Not quite station to station, but close. Grade: 30

Overall: Power bat who has become a solid defender behind the plate. He's not going to win any gold gloves, but the total defensive package is serviceable. The power and defense profile will carry him to the majors, but his inability to make consistent contact will relegate him to a fringy backup role. His approach and major contact issues make him a liability against advanced pitching. Hit tool will drive the playing time with a floor of a AAA emergency catcher and ceiling of a below-average regular.

OFP: 35
Role: 30 - Up/Down Emergency Depth
Risk: Moderate