2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #26 Jordan Henry

Jordan Henry – Outfielder
Born: 06/13/1988 – Height: 6’3” – Weight: 175 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Henry was selected by the Indians in the 7^th round of the 2009 Draft out of the University of Mississippi. After his sophomore season in college in 2008 he played out in the Cape Cod League in the summer and hit .335 with 0 HR and 16 RBI, and led the league in runs scored (42) and was third in stolen bases (12). In his junior season at Mississippi in 2009 he had an incredible 56 walk to 22 strikeout ratio. Prior to his promotion to Double-A Akron last year he ranked 1st in the Carolina League in on-base percentage and walks while playing for High-A Kinston. He missed some time in the early part of last season with an injury to his left index finger. His brother Justin - who is three years older - is in the Detroit Tigers system.

Strengths: Henry is a scrawny, lightning quick outfielder who has the ability to be a catalyst at the top of a lineup. He does not have the prettiest swing - in fact a lot of people have joked that he looks like he is swinging a tennis racket instead of a baseball bat – but it is a very short swing and he has excellent bat control choosing to chop down on the ball more and pound the ball into the ground at a high rate in order to use his speed to leg out hits. He’s very much the definition of a slap hitter because of his lack of strength and his approach, but is a fundamentally sound hitter where he sprays the ball to all parts of the field, is an excellent bunter, and controls the strike zone well. He stays back on breaking balls well and is hard to fool and get the ball past him for a swinging strike.

While Henry lacks any power whatsoever, he consistently finds a way to get on base and then wreak havoc with his plus speed and intelligence on the bases. He will never be a guy who hits a lot of home runs or piles up a ton of extra base hits, but his speed is his greatest asset as it can help offset some of those limitations in the power department. He is very fast and has been timed in the 60-yard dash in 6.5 seconds. He shows very good instincts on the bases, and especially shows some great acceleration out of the left-handed batters box and getting down the first base line.

Henry profiles as a top of the lineup hitter because of his ability to battle opposing pitchers by working counts, high contact rate, drawing walks, stealing bases, and playing excellent defense in the outfield. He has an exceptional eye where he rarely swings at a pitch outside of the strike zone, so he is a tough out for pitchers because to get him out they known they have to come into the zone and hope he misses or that he hits the ball at the defense. He sees a lot of pitches in every plate appearance as he is very conservative early in the count by rarely swinging at the first pitch, but late in the count he goes into attack mode and is absolutely fearless when hitting with two strikes. One of his most impressive attributes at the plate is his excellent walk to strikeout ratio, which is yet another example of his advanced approach and keen eye at the plate. The ratio shows a lot of confidence hitting late in counts, very good plate discipline, and excellent hand-eye coordination.

As a defender Henry is lightning quick in the outfield and goes back on balls as good as anyone in the Indians’ system. He looks right at home patrolling center field with a slightly above average arm and exceptional range and instincts to cover a lot of ground. He glides and looks effortless, and gets good jumps and runs good routes to balls. In less than a year in the organization he has made several sensational catches in center field going back or in on balls, and gets to a lot of balls very few major league outfielders even get to. With his lack of power but very good speed, defense, plate discipline and ability to get on base a comp that has started to float around is that of former major league center fielder Brett Butler.

Opportunities: Probably the only true weakness to Henry's game is his lack of any power. He has well below average power where he has yet to hit a home run in 697 professional at bats and has just 28 extra base hits. In fact, even with the assistance of the aluminum bat in college he hit just one home run over the fence in his three year career at the University of Mississippi. To help counter his power issues he made an adjustment late last year with his approach to be more aggressive early in counts. He is such a patient hitter that he often goes to work once he gets two strikes, which really limits his ability to sit back and drive the ball as he is just looking to slap it and put it in play. By being more aggressive early in counts he should have more opportunities to drive balls. Also, for him to have much success in the upper levels and potentially reach the big leagues he is going to have to get a little stronger to help him keep defenses honest by driving the ball with more authority and turning on more pitches that he should be able to handle. He is fully aware of his power limitations, and went to Instructional League in the fall to participate in a lifting program and add some weight in order to help improve his strength. His stolen base rate and ways to steal bases could also use improvement so he can better impact a game when he is on base.

Outlook: Almost exactly one year after being selected in the 2009 Draft, Henry found himself being promoted to Double-A Akron last season. The fact he has raced up the system so fast is proof enough in how the Indians are trying to give him more of a challenge and see where his eye at the plate and ability to get on base takes him. He is not going to wow anyone with eye-popping numbers as a run producer, but he does everything else well by playing excellent defense, runs well, and gets on-base at a very good clip. He knows what kind of player he is, which is a slap hitter who works counts and whose job it is to be a table-setter at the top of the lineup. He has shown a lot in his first year and a half in the system, and still has the potential to be more. He has the ability to be an everyday center fielder at the major league level, but due to his lack of power and team need he may end up as a fourth outfielder. He should open the 2011 season with a return trip to Akron, but if he continues to perform as he has then he should finish the season at Triple-A Columbus.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2009	21	Mahoning Valley	A-	67	248	48	71	12	0	0	23	49	37	22	.286	.408	.335	.743
2010	22	Kinston	A+	42	162	32	54	4	0	0	13	30	27	14	.333	.438	.358	.796
2010	22	Akron	AA	74	287	45	86	8	4	0	16	46	59	15	.300	.396	.355	.751
		MiLB Totals		183	697	125	211	24	4	0	52	125	123	51	.303	.410	.349	.759

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