Twins Reliever Liam Hendriks Breaks Down His Old Scouting Report, Changes as Pitcher

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When a reporter handed Liam Hendriks a photocopy of his 2011 Baseball America scouting report, the veteran Twins reliever didn’t flinch. He rattled off the synopsis before reading a word.

“I’m assuming there is a little bit of short motion with a quick arm, 88-92 mph, with a little bit of arm-side run,” Hendriks said. “Good changeup. Breaking ball needs some work. Slider can play at times. Curveball when located is good. Athletic body. Pitchability is good, concerns about stuff in zone.”

He was essentially correct. The report, compiled one year before Hendriks reached the majors, described a compact right-hander with four fringe-average pitches and a knack for throwing strikes, but little that projected as plus. Twelve years later, Hendriks dissected the evaluation with the precision he now brings to late-inning situations.

The Australian native, signed for $170,000 out of Perth in 2007, originally saw baseball as a secondary pursuit behind Australian Rules Football, the sport his father played professionally. “Baseball, if you get to a certain point, it’s pretty much a goner for you if you don’t do baseball now,” he explained of his teenage decision to focus on the diamond.

Health issues quickly complicated his new path. Hendriks underwent a second knee surgery before signing, then missed the entire 2008 season after back surgery to relieve a pinched ulnar nerve. He returned in 2009, climbing from the Gulf Coast League to Class A Beloit, and by 2010 led the organization with a 1.74 ERA—falling four outs short of qualifying for the minor-league ERA crown.

That summer an emergency appendectomy scuttled his invitation to the Futures Game. “It ended up bursting in the ER while I was in the hospital,” he recalled. The lost innings also cost him the ERA title; Brandon Beachy took the honor at 1.73.

The 2011 report praised Hendriks’ sinking fastball at 86-91 mph, noting the velocity spiked to 90-93 after his return from surgery. He laughs now at the modest velocity range, but confirms the assessment of his secondary arsenal. “Four quality pitches, that’s a stretch,” he said, chuckling.

Originally armed with a four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup, Hendriks added a two-seam and slider during his first U.S. off-season. The curveball—once considered his best offering—gave way to the slider after the 2008 back surgery. “My changeup was far and away my best pitch the entire time,” he said, though elbow chips removed in 2013 robbed him of the feel for that grip.

Despite the pedestrian scouting grades, Hendriks advanced quickly. He opened 2011 in Double-A, earned a spot in the Futures Game, and received a September call-up to Minnesota. The initial big-league stint produced a 6.06 ERA across three seasons, but he salvaged confidence with strong Septembers, a pattern he attributes to inconsistent off-season preparation.

Now established as one of baseball’s most reliable high-leverage arms, Hendriks credits persistence—and a few timely injuries ahead of him on the depth chart—for his ascent. “It was just one of those years that the injuries happened at just the right time for me and I lucked out,” he said.

The old report closes by projecting Hendriks as “the best product of the Twins’ extensive Australian scouting efforts.” Reflecting on the journey from 88-mph pitchability arm to All-Star closer, Hendriks offers a simpler summary: “I always finished well, though. I always had a better September than anything else.”