Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Player Review: Tommy Henry

The D-backs' young lefty couldn't find a rhythm in 2024.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Tommy Henry (47) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Chase Field on Monday, April 29, 2024. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

This article is part of a series chronicling the individual seasons of players that appeared for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Reviews for players that still have rookie eligibility for 2025 will appear in our prospect season reviews. Players are presented in the reverse order of their aWAR, an average of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs WAR.

LHP Tommy Henry, Age 26

Contract Status: Pre Arb 2, $760K league minimum on opening day

Tommy Henry 2024 and career statistics / Alex D'Agostino | Diamondbacks ON SI

Young left-handed starter Tommy Henry pitched to a slightly above league average 4.15 ERA (106 ERA+) over 89 innings in 2023. His season was cut short by an elbow injury, however.

Henry entered spring training healthy and battled Ryne Nelson for the fifth starter's spot. Nelson appeared poised to take the final slot in the D-backs' starting rotation. But the injury to lefty Eduardo Rodriguez necessitated the next man up, and Henry was put on the opening day roster.

Henry made his first start of 2024 against the Colorado Rockies, where his low-velocity stuff and poor command saw him go just four innings, allowing five earned runs. He took the decision in Arizona's first loss of the year.

He made five starts in April, allowing two or fewer earned runs in four of them. But he struggled with both efficiency and command, and only made it past the fifth inning once.

On April 30, he was optioned to Triple-A Reno. He made six starts, going 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA before earning a recall to the majors on June 9. In his second stint with the major league club, he made two relief appearances and one start, giving up 13 runs over 10 innings.

In those three games, he allowed 14 hits and seven walks while only striking out six. With his season ERA ballooning to 7.04, he was sent back to Triple-A. One such game saw him go four innings of bulk relief, as he allowed five earned runs to the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Henry never made it back to the Diamondbacks' roster after that. He made 15 more starts for Reno, including the Triple-A playoffs, going 7-1 with a 5.13 ERA.

Overall for Reno he pitched to a solid 4.25 ERA in a very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, while striking out 114 batters over 108 innings and 20 starts. That said, he struggled to keep traffic to a minimum, with a 1.51 WHIP with the Aces.

Henry's fastball barely hit 90 MPH in 2024. While that can be viable with excellent command and a solid arsenal of breaking pitches, neither were the case for Henry in 2024.

Baseball Savant's pitching run value gives Henry a -7 on his fastball, and -8 on his secondaries. That simply doesn't play at an MLB level, and certainly didn't rank among the elites of Triple-A, either.

2025 Outlook

There's little chance Henry makes a significant impact on the Diamondbacks in 2025. Barring a major jump, or a more devastating slate of injuries to the pitching staff, it appears that Henry won't see action any higher than the Reno Aces for the foreseeable future.

Henry won't be arbitration eligible until 2026, if he remains with the organization that long. At most, he'll serve as minor league depth for the time being, but development can strike at any time, especially for young pitchers.

Henry most likely doesn't figure into Arizona's short-term plans, but will be an option in case of emergency, and remains a development piece to continue to monitor.