Thursday, January 30, 2014

Ty Hensley Mojo. Will he soon be my new favorite?

Mark this down: January 30th, 2014.

By the time the 2014 baseball season is over, Ty Hensley is going to be my favorite pitcher in the Yankees farm system. My hope is that Michael Pineda throws about 150 slightly better than league average innings in his return from injury. I'd love to see Manny Banuelos stay healthy and make his big league debut. He's coming back from TJ surgery and was a consensus Top 25 prospect before he went down. He's still just 22. Don't write him off.

And Ty Hensley will be a future rotation anchor, his stock boosted by a promising 2014 season. Hensley appeared on his way to being an early to mid-first round selection in 2012, but ended up falling to the Yankees at the end of the first round. He quickly signed and logged a few innings in rookie ball. Unfortunately, he was sidelined with hip surgery for all of 2013, but appears healthy and ready to go this season.

With all of the "Top Farm System" rankings I've seen over the last few weeks, the Yanks seem to be at about 20 out of 30 teams, which is very fair. However, the upside in the system is huge. They essentially have four first rounders joining the ranks this year in Hensley and the three 2013 first rounders (Eric Jagielo, Aaron Judge, and Ian Clarkin). That's a quick way to replenish a bare cupboard and make some big leaps.

I've been fortunate to pick up some nice Hensley cards as of late, but this one might be my favorite. This is from 2012 Leaf Valiant. I love how the design is exactly the same as 1998 Donruss Crusade, one of the most beautiful insert sets of all-time. The colors are vibrant, and the autograph is on-card. What a great, great looking card.
It's my third Hensley autograph - all certified - and I'm looking forward to adding more. And why not? I firmly believe this guy is going to have a really nice year and put himself on the map.

1 comment:

  1. Nice addition. I really like Ty Hensley's signature since it's actually readable.
    Hope he makes a brief pit-stop in SI this year...

    ReplyDelete