Reds’ Austin Hendrick Ready To Break Out In 2023

In 2020 the Reds drafted outfielder Austin Hendrick with the 12th overall pick from West Allegheny High in Imperial, Pa.

Known for his big power and ability to hit, Hendrick found the transition to professional baseball to be less smooth than he would have hoped.

With the 2020 minor league season canceled, the 6-foot, 195-pound Hendrick didn’t take the field until 2021. The Reds sent him to Low-A Daytona, and he struggled to make contact, striking out nearly 38% of the time he stepped to the plate, and he hit just .211.

In 2022, Hendrick again began in the Florida State League. In 36 games there, he struck out 40% of the time and hit .205. He was promoted to High-A Dayton late in May, and the strikeouts continued to pile up. In his first 46 games with Dayton he struck out 42% of the time and hit just .204.

In August he began to make far more contact. He struck out just 28% of the time while hitting .234 and slugging .468. 

“A lot was talked about individually about what he needed to work on in the offseason,” Reds vice president of player development Shawn Pender said. 

The 21-year-old Hendrick worked on some of those changes in the offseason and showed up to Arizona for spring training ready to go.

“He’s done a really good job of working to drive the ball up the middle,” Pender said. “With the change in his hands, the way it’s calmed and slowed down, he controls his swing and it hasn’t affected his power or bat speed.

“But it’s allowed him to see the ball a little earlier, wait a little longer on his swing decisions, and he’s impacted the ball consistently with some really good at-bats.”

Whether Hendrick can build upon what he showed at the end of 2022 and improve thanks to his swing adjustments is unknown. But the results this spring were promising. 

He was one of the standouts in minor league camp and could be primed to break out.