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WASHINGTON – Instructional League is winding down, but Cole Henry is heating up.
The right-hander threw two scoreless innings on Saturday in an intrasquad game in Florida.
Henry, 21, was drafted this past summer by the Nationals in the second round out of Louisiana State University.
“The Friday night starter at LSU,” Assistant GM and Director of Scouting Ops Kris Kline said after Day 2 of the Draft this past June.
“Really good delivery. Command guy, big fastball that touches 97. He’s got life down in the zone. He shows the makings of a plus curveball. For Cole I think he has the ability to spin it, he needs to learn how to commit to each one.
“And I feel it could be an above-average pitch. The changeup is above-average now. It’s just a solid overall package. I see him as a quality No. 3 with the potential to be a [No. 2 starter].”
“He picked up seamless from his time in college,” Assistant GM, Player Development, Mark Scialabba, told Federal Baseball earlier this week, before the most recent outing by Henry last night in West Palm Beach.
“Right when he got here we made sure he was healthy,” Scialabba added. “He has shown very well. He commands three pitchers in and out of the strike zone.”
Henry was born in Alabama and is 6-foot-4 and fits the profile of other big righties chosen by Nationals in recent years.
Saturday’s intrasquad game went three innings and was scoreless.
The other pitchers on Saturday were Alfonso Hernandez, Todd Peterson, Orlando Ribalta and Angel Guillen, who pitched for Hagerstown and Potomac in 2019. The original schedule for the Instructional League called for the Nationals to play the Marlins on Saturday. There was no information on why that Instructional League game was not held.