Baseball Hello: Tommy Henry
Adding to an already impressive group of commitments in the 2016 class, Erik Bakich and his staff received more good news today in the form of a pledge from Tommy Henry, a 6-3, 160-lb. left-handed pitcher out of Portage Northern H.S. in Portage, Michigan (located near Kalamazoo). Only about two weeks ago, Prep Baseball Report posted an update on his recruitment, mentioning that in his sophomore season of high school he posted a 7-1 record with a 0.85 ERA in 53 innings pitched, with 72 strikeouts and 18 walks. Here's their scouting report on him:
Already ranked 5th in the 2016 rankings Tommy has a very projectable frame at 6’3 160 pound prospect with plenty of room to fill out and add velocity. Arm works easily and very clean to go along with smooth mechanics. Currently throws 81-83 mph but throws with late life down in the zone. Very projectable player who will only get better as time goes on.
As noted, PBR has Henry ranked #5 in the state of Michigan. He's #40 in their overall rankings, which currently cover ten states. Regarding his recruitment, the PBR article noted that he had visited "Michigan, Western Michigan, Miami (OH), Cincinnati, and Duke University and has been in contact with Michigan State, Wichita State, Indiana State, and Stanford."
Also of note is that Henry is a teammate at Portage Northern of Ben Keizer, another southpaw pitcher who committed to Michigan in February for the 2015 class.
Here's a summary of the 2016 class to date, with PBR rankings indicated. Note that Michigan now has commitments from three of the top six in-state prospects and four of PBR's overall top 50.
- Christian Bullock 6-0 1B/LHP/OF, #44 in IL, #141 overall (Hello post)
- Dominic Clementi 6-2 LHP, #6 in WI, #30 overall (Hello post)
- Tommy Henry 6-3 LHP, #5 in MI, #40 overall
- Karl Kauffmann 6-1 RHP, #1 in MI, #13 overall (Hello post)
- Jack Weisenburger 6-2 RHP, #6 in MI, #41 overall (Hello post)
There's a long way to go, but at this point this is likely the top 2016 class in the Big Ten.
MLB Draft update: As expected, James Bourque and Trent Szkutnik have signed with the Nationals and Tigers, respectively, and won't return for their senior seasons at Michigan. The good news is that none of the three Wolverine signees who were drafted—Drew Lugbauer, Jayce Vancena, and Grant Reuss—signed to go pro, so it appears that Michigan's entire 2014 class will make it to campus.
2015 recruiting class: The Michigan coaching staff did suffer a couple of recruiting setbacks this summer in the form of two in-state decommitments in the 2015 class: Nick Plummer (PBR #5 overall), who subsequently committed to Kentucky, and Collin Goslin (PBR #56 overall), who switched to Michigan State. That leaves the 2015 class looking like this (listed with their PBR rankings):
- Nick Azar 6-3 SS, #37 in MI, unranked overall (Hello post)
- Andrew David 5-10 SS, unranked (Hello post*)
- Charlie Donovan 5-11 SS, #1 in IL, #6 overall (Hello post)
- Ben Keizer 6-2 LHP, #9 in MI, #98 overall (Hello post)
- Ako Thomas 5-7 2B/MIF, #19 in IL, #86 overall (Hello post)
*Hello post is Ace's from the front page. David will be on a football scholarship, but he evidently also plans to play baseball at Michigan.
The class obviously isn't as strong as it once was, but having three top 100 PBR recruits is still solid.
Kentucky's bagmen include baseball too?
It might have actually been better if a bagman had been involved. Basically, Plummer came to believe that the competition he'd be facing in the Big Ten wasn't good enough for him. PBR quoted him as saying, "It's SEC baseball. If you want to get ready for the pros, you have to play with the best and that's what made me switch over."
Here's a clear example of the disadvantages of recruiting out of the Big Ten in baseball.
all I can say is "no shit!" when reading Plummer's crack insinuating/implying that SEC baseball is better than what the B1G offers.
6'3" 160? I guess I'll be the one to say the overused "someone git that kid a cheezburger LOL!" line
about "Voltron is Handsome"---he's the kid that was always the last one picked on the playground. That's the only plausible reason for downvoting every baseball thread.
I'd love to see him in the batters box against Tommy Henry or any of Michigan's pitchers. I'd be screaming for them to pluck him in the ribs!
MLive writer Justin Dacey has an article up on Henry's commitment with some good quotes from him and his high school coach. Here's a bit of it:
"I got chills when I got my offer and when I made my commitment," Henry said. "It’s so surreal to me and it’s very exciting."
. . .
Henry already had offers from Western Michigan, Duke and Cincinnati, but after receiving the offer from Michigan about a week ago, Henry said it was an easy choice to commit to the Wolverines.
Playing in Ann Arbor allows him the opportunity to play for a top-level program with outstanding academics.
"I fell in love with the coaching staff at Michigan and they’re great guys and you can definitely see yourself progressing and having fun with them," Henry said. "Also, the academic standards at Michigan were very important to me because a degree takes you after baseball whenever baseball ends, and it ends for everyone."
PBR has followed up on Henry's commitment with a Q&A with him. He indicates he might be a two-way player at Michigan, pitching and playing in the outfield. And here's his answer to why he chose Michigan:
I chose Michigan because of the entire package. I enjoyed every second I spent talking with the coaching staff and learning from them. The coaches at Michigan know what they are doing, and I believe will develop me to be the best person you can be. I also love the campus. There is no college town like Ann Arbor, it's the perfect mix of city and campus. And lastly, the academics interested me very much. The degree you receive when you graduate Michigan is unlike any other and one that is recognized around the world.
One other follow-up from Justin Dacey's MLive article (linked above): Dacey made an interesting remark in the comments to his article. I hope he doesn't mind my reposting that comment here:
When I talked with Tommy earlier today, it was actually pretty funny. He mentioned that his family didn't really have any ties to the Wolverines until both of his older sisters went to college at Michigan. Having visited them numerous times, he fell in love with the campus.