Gavin Henson's

[msu23basketball]

Henson looking to end high-school career on a high
Story by Henry Fredricks
February 27, 2009

In the offseason, Gavin Henson trained at the IMG Academies in Brandenton, Florida to play ball with some of the best coaches and prep players in the world. World-Class players such as Ben Sheets, Adam Dunn, Vernon Wells, Nomar Garciaparra and Gary Sheffield all started their brilliant Major League careers in Florida, and Henson looked like he would continue that trend. After training roughly 8 hours a day from July 18 to August 21, Gavin shined in split-squad games, exhibition matches against other area academies and schools and even full-squad games against minor league teams stationed in the area. He not only was the biggest name there, at the age of 17, he surprised many major league scouts with his sensational stats that he will look to carry over into his senior season at Miami Killian Senior High School. Here are some of his stats from his summer training at IMG:

GP GS W L CG SHO IP ER H HR BB K ERA H/9 K/9 K/BB 10 6 7 1 4 3 53.1 4 24 2 12 78 0.68 4.07 13.22 6.50

Looking forward to his senior season in 2009, Gavin will turn 18 on March 28 which happens to occur on opening day at Cougar Field. They will play Bradenbury High at 7:00 P.M. under the lights. Gavin, of course, will take the mound to try and foil the Knights from Bradenbury. He will most likely debut his new sinker he supposedly worked on at IMG which comes to the plate at around 84 MPH. That, along with his coveted 2-seam fastball at 91 MPH, a 74 MPH circle-change and a sweeping curve that moves with a large break at 69 MPH, he will form one of the most premier repertoire that has been seen at the high school level.

Check back later with more updates in the Cougar Athletic Letter about the continued tracking of star Gavin Henson and his quest for stardom at the major league level.

[msu23basketball]

Scouting Report: Gavin Henson
Written by Henry Fredricks
March 1, 2009
As March rolls around, many people begin to smell Opening Day in the air as Major League Baseball's Spring Training begins, however, baseball season at Miami Killian Senior High School has already started as the varsity coaches have announced their team, and it is no surprise that Senior Captain Gavin Henson has been named the preliminary #1 starter for this year. I came across a scouting report on Henson on of the Florida baseball prep sites and here it is:

"Henson is a premier pitcher that is already looking forward to the end of his senior year at Killian High where all sources indicate that he indeed will be drafted in the Major League Baseball 1st Year Player Draft. Not only will he get drafted, but after the attention he received at IMG Baseball Academy, it will not go as a shock to see him in the Top 5 rounds. This projection however is likely to change over the course of the year, and many teams may turn away from him because of his young age at draft time - 18. We provided for you a scouting report that was written on February 26, 2009 that features his pitch repertoire, special attributes, and future MLB rankings.

Basic

Stamina - Current: B+, MLB: A

Capable of pitching a 7 inning full game of high school ball, but will likely pitch 5-6 in the minors. In the future expect complete games.

Composure - Current: B-, MLB: A-

Composure on the mound comes with age, and as Henson gets older his ability to perform under pressure and in clutch situations with greatly increase.

Pitch Repertoire

2-Seam Fastball:
Velocity - Current: 86-89 MPH, MLB: 92-94 MPH
Control - Current: B, MLB: A-, A
Movement - Current: A-, MLB: A+

His 2-Seam Fastball is stellar. Although it comes in at only 87 MPH, his deceptive delivery makes it seem 5 MPH faster. The movement on this thing makes Tim Wakefield's knuckler look like it is going in a straight line. Excellent combination of speed and movement. His control, while not too bad could use some work.

Circle Change-up:
Velocity - Current: 74 MPH, MLB: 70-71 MPH
Control - Current: B+, MLB: A-, A
Movement - Current: C+, MLB: B+, A-

Even though it is not as good as his fastball, his circle change is certainly nothing to laugh at. He has excellent control with the pitch and can consistently throw strikes with it. The speed at 74 MPH is only getting slower (which is a good thing). The movement on it is not the best, but has a ton of amount of room for improvement.

Sweeping Curveball:
Velocity - Current: 71 MPH, MLB: 72-74 MPH
Control - Current: B, MLB: B+, A-
Movement - Current: A-, MLB: A

Although Gavin's sweeping curveball is his newest pitch, it is constantly getting better. He gets an amazing amount movement that pairs well with his 71 MPH speed. The control of this pitch is pretty good right now, but it doesn't seem to get much better.

Career Projections

Basic:
-Spend 3 years in minors.
-Enter MLB at age 21
-Starter in rotation at 24-26
-Enter prime at 30-32
-Retire at age 39 (long longevity)
-Perennial All-Star
-Hall of Fame

Statistical:
-Age 21 to 25: 8-10 wins, 4-6 losses, 6-7 K/9, 3.25 to 4.25 ERA

-Age 25 to 29: 14-16 wins, 4-6 losses, 7-9 K/9, 2.8 to 3.25 ERA

-Age 30 to 34: 17-21 wins, 4-5 losses, 8-11 K/9, 2.2-2.9 ERA

-Age 35 to 39: 9-15 wins, 4-8 losses, 5-8 K/9, 2.7-3.45 ERA

Career:
-Roughly 17-19 years
-285 to 350 wins
-165 to 250 losses
-3750 to 4500 K's
-2.7 to 3.3 ERA

Henson, obviously, has all of the right tools to become a premier MLB pitcher, but it will depend on his work ethic and potential in order to reach the great expectations he has made for himself. The work he has done at IMG and Killian Senior High will definitely help him on his quest for stardom, and expect to hear a lot more from this guy in the years to come."

(According to First-Year Player Draft rules, a high-school player must graduate in order to be eligible. Henson graduates on June 3, 4 days before the draft begins.)

[msu23basketball]

Henson Starts Year on High; Killian High Wins 14-1
Written by Henry Fredricks
March 28, 2009

If you looked up into the stands at Cougar Field as the first pitch was about to be thrown, you could see about 20-30 people pull out their radar guns with black, leather notebooks in their laps waiting for Henson to strike gold. First pitch, he hit the catcher's glove at 88 MPH. Second at 89. And the third strike for a strikeout at 91. The audience led out a gasp as the speed was displayed on the scoreboard. Cheers ensued, and the crowd at Cougar Field knew that 2009 would be a golden year for a golden pitcher.

Henson struck out the side in the first and second inning, flashing his supreme array of pitches. However, his fastball took the top spot. Whether he hit it on the outside or inside, he was constantly hitting 88-90 MPH and it still had its trademark movement that players and coaches have come to know and love at Killian High.

Henson, however wasn't the only one on the Cougars to show up big. Their highly scouted shortstop Darius Whitfield knocked in 3 RBIs with a bases loaded triple, and then stole home on a wild pitch. He also made several spectacular plays over at short. Once, he made a perfect jump throw on a ball that sneaked past third baseman Orel Thomspoon.

In the end, Henson did end up giving up a hit. Three, actually, with one being a homerun to right field with 2 outs left in the 4th inning. However, it did not phase him, as he went 6 innings (out of 7) and struck out 11 while surrendering just one walk.

Here is a scout's take on the game:

"Henson showed great overall control throughout the course of the game. His fastball had extreme amounts of movement on it, and he paired it up nicely with a well-rounded change-up and a spectacular curve-ball. Although I was disappointed to not see his highly publicized sinker, I was not disappointed in the fact that he didn't seem lost without it. The poise on the mound he showed when he gave up the home run was insurmountable, and I was pleased to see the modest look on his face and the sportsmanship he showed after having his beautiful run in the beginning of the game."

Gavin Henson's Linescore:

Game Date Team Res. Score GS Dec. CG SHO IP ER H HR BB K ERA K/BB K/9 Season 3/28 Bradenbury High W 14-1 1 W 0 0 6.00 1 3 1 1 11 1.50 11.00 16.50

[msu23basketball]

Henson Debuts Sinker; Cougars beat St. John's 6-0
Written by Henry Fredricks
April 3, 2009

After over a month of speculation, Gavin Henson released his sinker to the public in front of a crowd of over 1,000 striking out the second batter of the game. Henson had a wry smile on his face as he turned around and walked back towards the mound. He continued to surprise his coaches, who only expected him to throw about 5-6 sinkers, with tossing at least 15-20 sinkers into the strike zone at an impressive speed of 86 MPH.

The Cougars continued their trend from the last time Henson pitched, where they won 14-1 and knocked in 6 runs over 4 innings before Cougar coach Brian Stotts pulled his starters and put the bench players back in. Although Henson wasn't as close as dominating before, he still proceeded to shut out the Knights from St. John's until Stotts put in a reliever after the Cougars gained a 6 run lead in the 5th inning. A scout's take:

"The Sinker. Finally. Hundreds of other scouts and myself have been waiting for over a month for Henson to release his sinker, and it was definitely worth the wait. I was pleasantly surprised to see how polished this pitch was, and how often he placed it inside the strike zone. With the introduction of this new pitch, he will almost certainly place him in the Top-3 rounds in the 2009 MLB Draft."

Gavin Henson's Linescore:

Game Date Team Res. Score GS Dec. CG SHO IP ER H HR BB K ERA K/BB K/9 Season 4/3 St. John's W 6-0 1 W 1 1 5.00 0 4 0 2 6 0.00 3.00 10.80

Sorry for the short update. Wanted to get another update in before the end of the night. Another game tomorrow with a Draft Update.

[vatechfan44]

I love the format with the newspaper, im following

[msu23basketball]

Henson No-Hits Spartans; Fans 17
Written by Henry Fredricks
April 10, 2009

Last year against the Southern High Spartans, Gavin Henson let up two home-runs in the 7th inning, including a walk-off, and the Cougar's lost 6-5. This year, however, it was a whole new story.

He blew past the first 6 batters and struck out 5, and the fans at Spartan Stadium were starting to take notice. The ease of the putouts was so high, that Henson didn't even start to sweat until his coach made him jog off the field. Opposing hitters could not catch up to his 2-seam fastball, his sweeping curve made the batters look silly and his filthy sinker was so spot-on that batters couldn't touch it. He rarely used his change-up, maybe a sign that he may be eliminating it from his repertoire, but he didn't even need it.

At the end of the 4th inning, the crowd was starting to buzz. He struck out another 5 bringing his total to 10, and you could feel the tension in the air. Henson, however, didn't look fazed. He still had his calm, trademark look on his face. His teammates could not even make him crack a smile when they told him a joke. This man was all business.

He struck out the side in the fifth, and when the last batter stumbled back into the dugout, Henson received a standing ovation from the opposing crowd. Not even in the heat of competition could the home crowd hate this performance.

By the beginning of the 7th inning, Gavin racked up 15 strikeouts and his coveted no-hitter was still alive. During the entire inning the crowd was on its feet waiting for history to be made. You could see the pressure hit Henson. He didn't look nervous, but there was definitely something different about him. The first batter knocked the 85 MPH sinker into right field, but Cory Kyle caught up to it and made a clean catch. Two more. Loud cheers were coming out of the Cougar dugout, and the home bench belonging to the Spartans was silent. Henson blew 3 sinkers past the second batter, with the last one reaching 89 on the radar gun.

You could feel the tension in the stadium all the way to Miami Beach, as Gavin Henson sauntered to the mound for his final victim. The opposing pitcher stepped into the batter's box. If Henson got him out, then he would pitch a perfect game, something that hasn't been done in over 7 years in Miami. This feeling wouldn't last, however. Perhaps it was the nerves, or he just wanted to concentrate on the no-hitter, but Henson walked his opposite number to bring up lead-off hitter Tony Fernandez.

The crowd get up to its feet, cheering loud for Gavin Henson. Fastball, outside corner. Strike one. Sinker, inside half of the plate. Strike two. Sweeping Curve, strike three. The fans started screaming, the clouds broke apart and it seemed as if all the exhaustion left Henson's body, and he fell to the ground, yelling. His yelling, however, wasn't because of joy. The screams got louder and finally trainers came rushing out to the mound. On Gavin's last curveball, he broke the tendon in his right elbow, a sure sign of Tommy-John surgery.

Not only does this injury put the Cougar's season in question, but Henson's career as a pitcher is in jeopardy. Keep in touch for more updates about this season-ending injury for Gavin Henson.

Game Date Team Res. Score GS Dec. CG SHO IP ER H HR BB K ERA K/BB K/9 Season 4/10 @Southern High W 3-0 1 W 1 1 7.00 0 0 0 1 17 0.00 17.00 21.86

2009 MLB Draft Prospect Rankings

1.) Stephen Strasburg- 20 years old, RHP, San Diego State University
Comments- Almost a unanimous #1 Pick; only raises stock with 23 K game.

2.) Dustin Ackley- 21 years old, 1B/OF, University of North Carolina
Comments- Fast hands that can spray balls to all fields; high consistency and solid speed

3.) Donavan Tate- 18 years old, CF, Cartersville (HS)
Comments- Five-tool player with an excellent arm; brings athleticism from football

4.) Aaron Crow- 22 years old, RHP, University of Missouri
Comments- Has a 94 MPH sinking fastball and a devastating slider; may end up being a closer

5.) Zach Wheeler- 18 years old, RHP, East Paulding (HS)
Comments- Great arm strength with live arm; great poise and strong, muscular body

64.) Gavin Henson- 18 years old, RHP, Miami Killian (HS)
Comments- Raises stock with addition of sinker; lowers stock because of elbow injury