Clay Hensley
| IP | 517 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.004 |
| WHIP | 1.373 |
| BB/9 | 4.161 |
| SO/9 | 6.458 |
- Full name Clayton Allen Hensley
- Born 08/31/1979 in Tomball, TX
- Profile Ht.: 5'11" / Wt.: 190 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Lamar
- Debut 07/20/2005
- Drafted in the 8th round (247th overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2002.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Hensley didn't play baseball for nearly four years after graduating from high school in 1997, reappearing as a closer at Alvin (Texas) CC. The Padres acquired him from the Giants for Matt Herges at the 2003 non-waiver trade deadline, and everything clicked once Triple-A pitching coach Gary Lance dropped Hensley's arm slot in 2005. He pitched in all three playoff games for San Diego. Hensley's best pitch is a hard, late-breaking slider. His fastball velocity sits at 90-91 mph, but its darting sink and run and his command make it effective. He consistently works down in the zone, understands how to set up hitters and has great makeup. Hensley doesn't get much downward plane on his pitches and lacks a true strikeout offering. His changeup and curve are merely decent. He needs a better changeup to keep lefthanders at bay. While he has already proven to be a pleasant surprise, Hensley has a new challenge to show he can hold up in the rotation at the big league level. If he can't, he could fall back to being a solid contributor again in the San Diego bullpen.
