D-backs Tommy Henry to Start Against the Mariners in Peoria Sunday

This outing presents an opportunity for Henry to reestablish himself as viable major league depth

Jun 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Tommy Henry (47) pitches in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 12-1. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-Imagn Images | John Geliebter-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks travel to the West Valley on Sunday to face the Seattle Mariners in their third Cactus League game on the spring schedule for Arizona. Game time is 1:10 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on MLB.TV (MLB Video) as one of the free games of the day.

You can also catch the game on radio locally at ESPN 620

The D-backs dropped their first two contests to the Colorado Rockies 12-8 and 9-3. With the exception of a dominant first inning from Corbin Burnes in the opener, most of the innings have been pitched by minor league relievers not expected to make the opening day roster for Arizona.

The starter on Sunday for the D-backs will be Tommy Henry. The erstwhile left-hander appeared to be an up and coming young pitcher for the team in 2023, when he went 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA. He filled in admirably for injured and ineffective veterans, pitching into the sixth inning or later in 10 of his 16 starts.

Unfortunately he suffered an elbow injury in late July that year and never made it back to the roster for the playoff push.

He was not supposed to make the opening day rotation last year, losing out in spring competition to Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson. But a late spring injury to Eduardo Rodriguez opened up a spot for Henry, who started the third game of the year against the Rockies.

Henry was not able to make the most of the opportunity. He struggled out of the gates, giving up five runs in four innings, and it never got much better from there. After six starts he had a 5.40 ERA and was getting hit hard, with an .886 OPS against.

Optioned to Triple-A Reno at the end of the month, he pitched well in that tough environment with a 3.41 ERA in six starts. That earned him a call back up in June, but three more ineffective outings ballooned his MLB ERA up to 7.04.

That was it for Henry in the major leagues in 2024, as he finished with just 38.1 innings in nine games, seven starts.

To his credit, Henry went back to Triple-A and worked hard. In his second game back in Reno he allowed a disastrous 12 runs. But then he rebounded to anchor the Reno rotation, posting a 3.04 ERA over his next 10 starts, 56 innings.

At this point, Henry is considered rotation depth, but the D-backs already have seven starters for five spots. Getting past Pfaadt or Nelson will be difficult as it is.

The organization has several other minor league starters slated to be in the Reno rotation that could pass Henry by, including Yilber Diaz, Blake Walston, Cristian Mena, and even Yu-Min Lin.

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Still, the affable and earnest Henry will continue to plug away. Known as a great teammate and hard worker, he'll always give his best effort and maximize the stuff he has to compete. Perhaps he will end up in a long reliever or bullpen role at some point. But his repertoire and stuff profile more as a starter than as a reliever.

Henry throws a 90 MPH four-seamer, along with a sinker, curveball, changeup, and slider. When he was at his best in 2023, his curve and slider were his most effective pitches, but nothing was working in 2024.

Now entering his age 27 season, Henry is at a crossroads, and will need to impress in these early spring outings to put himself back in a position to get major league innings in 2025.