Ryan Hendrix was coming off of a strong season in 2017 where he posted a 2.90 ERA between Dayton and Daytona. That came over 62.0 innings where he allowed 48 hits, six home runs, walked 29 batters, and struck out 88. But his time in Daytona saw a big uptick in walks and hits allowed versus his time in Dayton during the year.
That led Cincinnati to send the right-handed reliever back to Daytona to begin his 2018 season. Things didn’t start out great for Ryan Hendrix in April He allowed an earned run in three of his first five games, and in the other two he was charged with unearned runs. He also struggled with his control, walking seven batters in 8.0 innings in that span. In the final week of the month he tossed 4.0 shutout innings without a walk – closing out the month strong. Despite being the shortest month, it was the one he threw the most innings in during the season. Over 12.0 innings he posted a 2.25 ERA with 10 hits, a home run allowed, seven walks, and he struck out 16 batters.
Building on a strong close to April, Ryan Hendrix kept if going in May. Over the first week he allowed two hits in 3.2 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and three walks. On May 9th he would allow his only earned run of the month, taking a loss in the 11th inning against Tampa where he walked two batters. IN his final five games of the month he allowed three hits and a walk over 5.0 innings and struck out eight batters. The righty made nine appearances and posted a 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings with six walks – through two were intentional – with 16 strikeouts.
June picked up where May had left off for Ryan Hendrix. He picked up two saves in his first two appearances, though he walked a tightrope in both games. On the 7th that came back to get him as he allowed a run and two walks. That was the only outing he gave up an earned run during the month. He threw 6.0 innings the rest of the month – allowing just one hit and two walks. In 9.0 total innings during the month with a 1.00 ERA, six walks, and 11 strikeouts. The control remained a bit of an issue – but hitters simply couldn’t push runs across the plate against him.
July saw a big turnaround for Ryan Hendrix. Sort of. In the first two weeks of the month he was downright dominant. He threw 6.0 shutout innings and allowed just two base runners. He also struck out 12 batters without a walk. That performance carried forward for another week-and-a-half before the fateful night on the 26th when he allowed four earned runs in an inning-plus of work. That night accounted for 40% of his earned runs on the entire season. For the month he posted a 3.48 ERA in 10.1 innings with a home run – the first he’d allowed since April – two walks, and he struck out 20 batters.
After a few days off, August got started on the 3rd for Ryan Hendrix. He was charged with an unearned run that night, but picked up the save. Over the next three weeks he made five shutout appearances, all 1-inning outings without a walk. On the 25th he threw 2.0 hitless innings, but took the loss thanks to an unearned run and three walks. It was the first multi-walk game he had in two-and-a-half months. Hendrix rebounded with a perfect outing three days later. On September 1st he made his final appearance of the year and allowed an earned run – his first since July 26th. In his final nine games of the season he allowed one earned run in 10.0 innings with five walks and 16 strikeouts.
For all 2018 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).
Ryan Hendrix Scouting Report
Fastball | Ryan Hendrix has above-average velocity, sitting in the mid-90’s. At the upper edge of his velocity he’ll touch 99 MPH.
Curveball | A plus or plus-plus offering, it’s a hammer breaking ball with hard biting action on the 12-6 plane.
The stuff is unquestionable for Ryan Hendrix. He’s got two plus pitches in his arsenal. When he’s throwing strikes, hitters don’t have much of a chance. The issue throughout his career, though, is that he’s struggled to find consistency with his control.
In the second half of 2018, though, his control improved quite a bit. From July through the end of the year he walked 7 of the 86 batters he faced in that span. Three of the hitters he walked came in the same game on August 25th. If his control did indeed take a step forward, he could move quickly in 2019.
Long term how his control turns out will determine his role. If he can get to fringe-average control he could turn into a quality set-up caliber reliever. If the control doesn’t quite get there, middle relief with dominant stints could be the far more likely role that he would settle into.
Interesting Stat on Ryan Hendrix
He took the mound 120 times with a runner on base in 2018. He allowed just one extra-base hit in such situations.
Disclaimer: Ryan Hendrix was an addition to the Cincinnati Reds Top 25 Prospect List after a trade opened up two spots on the list in late December. He was not initially on the list when it was released the final week of October.