Cole Henry’s rookie season is over. He is headed to the injured list with a back strain that looks like it will end his season. The early indications are that the injury is not too serious, but with about two weeks left in the season, there will not be enough time to get him healthy.
Honestly, the injury came at a pretty good time, assuming it is not serious. Henry had a very solid rookie season, but he was beginning to fade down the stretch. His fastball lost a tick of velocity in September and he posted a 7.20 ERA in 6 outings this month.
It seemed like Henry hit a bit of a wall down and that is totally understandable when you consider his story. There was a time when Cole Henry actually considered quitting baseball due to serious injuries.
Henry was a second round pick out of LSU in 2020. He looked like a serious starting pitching prospect and whenever he was on the field, Henry dominated. However, he suffered a devastating blow in 2022. Henry had to undergo surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
That is considered one of the worst surgeries you can have as a pitcher. It was the procedure that effectively ended Stephen Strasburg’s career and destroyed Matt Harvey’s career. This is the worst injury you can have as a pitcher.
It took Henry a couple years to bounce back from it, but he did just that in 2025. A move to the bullpen has done wonders for his career. He showed the organization that he was back with a strong spring training. With the early season bullpen meltdowns, the Nats had to call on anyone they could, so Henry got a chance.
Unlike most people, Henry took his chance. He did not allow a run in 19 of his first 20 outings and looked nasty. Henry’s fastball/curveball combination gave hitters fits all season long. It is why batters only hit .219 against him this season.
Overall, Henry’s numbers were decent, but not special. He posted a 4.27 ERA in 57 appearances across 52.2 innings. Henry also racked up 52 strikeouts in that time. There is certainly something to build on here. However, there is still work that needs to be done.
His control was shaky. For the season, Henry walked 5.47 batters per 9 innings. That number jumped over 6 per 9 in the second half. He also hit 11 batters to go with those walks. Next season, Henry will need to work on his control if he wants to be a trusted high leverage arm.
For this year though, it was just nice to see Henry on a big league mound and proving he belonged. After all of the injuries, many people gave up on Henry as a viable MLB option. However, he proved all of those people wrong and had a strong season.
It was a season with a lot of milestones and highlights. Henry made his debut, got his first strikeout and even got his first career save. This was a very successful season for the 26 year old reliever and I truly believe the best is yet to come for Cole Henry.
