WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY – Not long ago in a section behind the plate at the newly christened Heritage Financial Park, a young fan asked her father a simple question just a few batters into the game.
Is there another Spencer?
With all the hype around last year’s New York Yankees first round pick, Spencer Jones, playing for the Hudson Valley Renegades, on the surface it would seem to be easy to forget that, yes, there is another Spencer.
He hasn’t played like he’s the “other” Spencer this year, however.
Twenty-five-year-old first baseman Spencer Henson is making up for lost time with a breakout year at the High-A level this season, hitting .274 with eight home runs and 26 RBI in his first 39 games. After being in something of a platoon situation last year, he’s emerged as an everyday player, which has certainly helped with his development.
“Being able to kind of fall into a routine, know what you’re expecting, it makes it a lot easier to know what you’re getting yourself into,” Henson said.
“You’re not really thinking about ‘when is my next chance going to be’ and this and that, you’re able to fall into that routine and stick to it, and it’s made things a lot easier this year. It’s huge, it’s something I obviously want. Just doing my best to worry about myself and let things fall where they may. (The Yankees) have a great front office, people that just trust in you, and I appreciate them sticking with me throughout the years.”
Taken in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Oral Roberts, where he was something of a two-way player who focused more on hitting, Henson is still relatively inexperienced at the pro level, having seen his opportunities vanish twice. Once, of course, was the COVID year of 2020, but the latter was the following year, when his season in Low-A Tampa was cut short after just four games with a torn lat.
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“It was a struggle getting back, especially with it happening so early,” he said. “It was tough, because ’20 got cancelled, and then ’21 comes around, and it’s four games and you’re done. So, last year was a tough start for that first month of just getting into a rhythm of playing games again.”
Henson has gotten himself on the radar to earn a promotion to Double-A Somerset at some point this summer if he’s able to keep up this level of consistency. It’s something that, in large part, he can credit to the strides he made this offseason towards improving his physique; built with a bigger frame to begin with, the Tulsa native is listed at 6-foot, 235 pounds, but has made noticeable improvements in trimming down since last year.
“It was mainly just changing diets in the offseason, sticking to a lot of leaner stuff, wanting to be able to be more than just a guy at the plate and being able to do stuff on defense,” Henson said.
“Clean the body up, do a lot of stretches, a lot of yoga, and just wanting to be able to stay healthy and stay in the lineup to maintain everything and make sure I’m ready to go every day. It’s from whenever you’re hitting, or whenever you’re fielding and thinking you’re not getting to balls you think you should get to. And just from a longevity standpoint, when I got hurt in ’21, I feel like that had a lot to do with that stuff. It’s a safety thing, take care of your body and you’ll stay out of the training room.”
Easier said than done, however, as Henson also helps his family run Ranch House Pizza back home in Oklahoma during the offseason.
“I do deliver some pizzas when it gets pretty snowy, try to help out the business,” he said through a smile. “When the weather gets pretty bad, I’m usually out doing some deliveries for mom, make a little bit of gas money.”
In all seriousness, however, Henson is continuing to make strides towards one day having plenty of gas money, as he continues to climb the ladder of the Yankees organization. With a call-up to the Double-A level imminent at some point this season, he says he does keep an eye on what’s happening in the upper levels, but “not as much as somebody might think.”
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“I keep up with my close friends like (Austin) Wells and (Eric Wagaman), all those guys, but it’s not really the best thing for me to chase other positions and see what they’re doing,” Henson said. “The best thing I can do is just worry about myself, and whenever they think it’s time for me to go somewhere, it’s time for me to go there. I don’t try to get wrapped up in numbers, I don’t look at numbers, just try to worry about myself … there’s some questions that come up every now and then, but I’ll just turn off my (social media) notifications. I don’t really look into that stuff.”
Henson may not think too far ahead when it comes to moving up, but those around him are a little bit more willing to dream on a player who some have written off given his age and level of experience.
“He has the ability to be a major-league hitter,” said Renegades manager Sergio Santos.
“I call him just a pure hitter. He’s somebody that, when I see him in the box, he always has a competitive at-bat and is the kind of guy I’ve never really seen chase two or three bad pitches in a row. He’s just a very professional hitter. With his hands and his ability at first, he’s got the approach, he’s got the power. I think it’s just a matter of him playing more often and kind of putting it all together.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Spencer Henson: Yankees prospect dominating High-A Hudson Valley