Baseball Hello: Michael Hendrickson

Submitted by Raoul on

6-2, 175-lb. left-handed pitcher Michael Hendrickson announced on Twitter last night his commitment to Michigan. He's a rising senior at Saline High and is (to my knowledge) the 10th commit for Michigan baseball in the 2014 class (this thread has a chart listing the other nine).

Prep Baseball Report (profile page here) did an interview with Hendrickson last August, saying this about him:

Hendrickson is a good looking 2014 prospect. Standing at 6-foot-2 already he seems like he may have more to grow. From the mound Hendrickson was up to 83 MPH with his fastball and his breaking ball had some late tilt. He threw that pitch between 68-69 MPH. He threw his changeup for strikes as well, a pitch that he kept down nicely. Hendrickson also plays for Saline a perennial state title contender so he is sure to know the game.

In a May 2013 rundown, they had this to say:

Hendrickson struck out 13 hitters last night against Dexter. He sat between 82-84 mph early on with three pitches for strikes. Hendrickson, a Midwest Futures Games participant last summer, has been rounding into form recently.

I don't know where PBR has him ranked, but Michigan Baseball Prospects has Hendrickson at #21 in the 2014 class.

Saline Post

coldnjl

July 20th, 2013 at 10:40 AM ^

Welcome aboard...I am suprised at how low his fastball registers...usually expect at least 86-87 for college ball. Must have good secondary stuff

UofM626

July 20th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^

I coach 14-16yr old kids in Cali on my travel ball team who throw harder and have nasty junk, Recruit in Cali and Michigan w become a power house! Until then no BUENO!

grasshopper

July 20th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^

He is now 6'3" and 195 and still growing. Left hander who throws
84-86 consistently and three pitches for strikes. This summer,
after helpinghis A. Green team reach the championship game
at U of M stadium, he was on the all tournament team in Georgia
and had 11 strikeouts and gave up one unearned run in a
6-1 victory vs. Team Elite Prime with a rosterfilled with D1
signees to schools including GA, GA Tech, South Carolina,
Florida, Clemson, LSU, ... He then pitched a one hit shutout vs a
talentedDetroit Team in Connie Mack District/State Championships
that had D1 players going to U of M and MSU. Had recent interest
from schools in the ACC, Big East, SEC, Conference USA,
and MAC with Michigan doing a great job in keeping this
surging prospect playing close to home.

Raoul

July 20th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^

Thanks for posting this. It's invaluable to get this sort of up-to-date info as PBR and other services don't always have the latest on baseball prospects. Hendrickson is looking like a very good pickup for Bakich and his staff.

Raoul

July 22nd, 2013 at 1:08 PM ^

Annarbor.com has an article out on Hendrickson's commitment. It actually claims he's 6-4, 195. And it says he also considered Duke, Wake Forest, and UAB.

“Growing up as a Michigan fan, it’s a great academic school and combined with the resources they have, there’s just everything I need to be successful,” Hendrickson said. “I’m really excited.”

...

Hendrickson said he was also considering Duke, Wake Forest and UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham). Though playing for major baseball conferences down south was enticing, Hendrickson said he’s excited about playing in the Big Ten for second-year Michigan head coach Erik Bakich. Michigan was 29-27 (14-10 Big Ten) and finished tied for fifth in the conference in Bakich’s first year.

“The Big Ten’s on the rise and it’s something I want to be a part of,” Hendrickson said.

Raoul

July 26th, 2013 at 7:38 PM ^

On Twitter earlier today, PBR posted the chart below showing the top 16 players in their 2014 rankings for the state of Michigan. Erik Bakich and company have commits from 5 of them, including #1 and #5. Note also that PBR has Michael Hendrickson at #15.

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