Kale Henry

Just a good ol boy.... teacher, baseball and basketball coach

[Mark “Lunch” McKenzie🇺🇸🇺🇸 @lunchmckenzie]

The Dude on the right had 1 D2 offer out of HS. Find a school where U’ll have an opportunity 2 reach UR full potential as a person, player & student. Don’t go D1 just 2 say U went D1. Find a school/program that will take a personal interest in UR development of all 3 & go 2 work!

[Felix | NYY.NEWS @_NYYNEWS]

JORGE POSADA: “I CAN’T WATCH TODAY’S BASEBALL.”

Yankees legend Jorge Posada, a 4-time World Series champion and one of the faces of the dynasty years, (The Core 4) did not hold back during his interview on Abriendo El Podcast.

Posada said today’s game has become too robotic, too obsessed with formulas, and too accepting of strikeouts.

“The baseball being played today is garbage,” Posada said.

He also pushed back hard on the analytics crowd trying to judge Derek Jeter’s defense strictly through modern numbers.

“You can’t judge Jeter through a computer.”

That line right there is pure old-school Yankees.

Posada came from an era where putting the ball in play mattered. Moving runners mattered. Taking pride in not striking out mattered. He said back then, striking out 100 times in a season felt like you were not doing your job.

Now? Guys can strike out constantly, hit 30 home runs, bat .202, and still get paid like stars.

His message was simple:

The game got smarter on paper, but dumber between the lines. #yankees #repbx

[Prep Baseball Scouting @pbtscouting]

RHP Deacon Remitz (Forest Lake, 2029) would also show well on the mound.

FB: 83-86 mph, T87
SPL: 77-81 mph
CB: 68-71 mph

Name to follow as he continues to grow.

#TheBigRo | @PrepBaseballMN

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@jhenry_0717 Love the twins!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

Why did we pitch to Witt?? Agh…

[𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐳𝐞𝐧 @utahscout1219]

The Scouting Classroom #16

What Scouts Watch During Infield/Outfield

Pregame Defense Matters

Pregame defense matters. A lot!

Most fans don’t pay close attention during infield/outfield. They’re finding their seat, checking the lineup, or waiting for the game to start. But scouts are already working, because a player can tell you a lot before the first pitch is ever thrown.

Infield/Outfield Is Not Just Warmup

To a scout, infield/outfield is part of the evaluation. It is a chance to watch feet, hands, exchange, arm action, carry, accuracy, body control, first step, angles, rhythm, and energy. The throw is only the last part of the play. The real evaluation starts before the ball ever reaches the glove.

How does the player move into position? Does he work through the baseball? Are his feet active or heavy? Are the hands soft or stiff? Does the exchange happen naturally? Does the arm work clean? Does the ball carry with life, or does he have to max out to make the throw?

That’s what scouts are watching

The Feet Tell the First Story

Before the arm, before the glove, before the throw, I’m watching the feet. Bad feet usually create bad throws. A player can have arm strength, but if his feet don’t work, the arm may never play the way it should.

Infielders have to create rhythm, read hops, get their body in position, and play through the ball instead of letting the ball play them.

Outfielders have to show reads, routes, angles, body control, and the ability to get behind the baseball.

A big arm is nice, but a big arm with bad feet is not the same as a playable defensive tool.

It’s More Than Just Arm Strength

Fans love the big arm. Scouts do too. But scouts are not just asking, “Was it hard?” We’re asking if it carried, if it was accurate, if the arm action was clean, if the ball stayed true, and if the player can make that throw again and again.

There is a difference between a player who can air one out in pregame and a player whose arm is a real tool. A real arm plays with carry, accuracy, and consistency.

Hands and Exchange Matter

For infielders, hands tell you a lot. Are they soft? Are they confident? Does the player receive the ball cleanly? Can he adjust to an in-between hop? Does he funnel naturally? Does the exchange happen quickly without panic?

Some players look athletic until the ball gets to them. Then the game gets loud, the hands get hard, the feet stop, the exchange gets long, and the throw rushes.

That’s evaluation

A scout is not only looking for the routine play. He is looking for how clean the body works when the play speeds up.

Outfielders Get Evaluated Too

Outfield defense is not just catching fly balls and throwing to the cutoff man. Scouts are watching reads off the bat, first step, route efficiency, closing speed, body control near the wall, ability to play through the ball, throwing mechanics, carry, accuracy, and comfort moving in space.

A fast player is not automatically a good outfielder. Speed helps, but reads and instincts are what make the speed play. That is the difference between raw tools and baseball tools.

And there is a difference

The Lesson for Players

Never sleepwalk through infield/outfield. You may think nobody is watching, but a scout probably is, and he may learn more than you realize.

Pregame defense is not the time to be casual. It is the time to show pride in your position, to show that your actions are real, and to prove that your tools can play.

Because defensive evaluation doesn’t start when the ball is hit in the game. It starts in pregame.

The feet, the hands, the exchange, the arm, the carry, the accuracy, the rhythm, the body control, and the energy all matter.

Scouts are not just watching the throw

They are watching everything before it

That’s where evaluation begins

That’s Scouting

#BehindTheRadarGun 🔎

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

Bobby Durkin > Jimmy Chitwood today!!! Ski-U- Mah!!! Go Gophers!!!!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@Kramer9Tommy Allen Rice had great hands out of the backfield. You flipped it to him, it was a completion.

[Not Gaetti @notgaetti]

Folks, let me tell you the appeal of Luis Arraez:

In a dystopian baseball hellscape that's overrun by ghost runners and .230 hitters that take their daddy hacks on any pitch in any count and are content to whiff 200 times a year, Arraez is a throwback to the days of Gwynn and Carew, professional hitters that could stick the bat out and hit a bloop double to the opposite field simply because they felt like it.

He can foul off any pitch he wants to and he can hit a line drive up the middle at will. He's an elite contact hitter in an era where that's no longer the cool thing to be. Is he a complete player like Willie Mays? No, stop it, nobody is saying that. Nobody has ever said that. But he's great in that baseball-kind-of-way where different guys are good at different things, and I've always loved watching players with unique strengths.

Putting the bat on the ball is one of the hardest things to do it in all of sports, and Arraez does it better than anyone in today's game. His swing has a compactness and simplicity to it that's refreshing. He doesn't try to do too much, and that allows him to be successful in any count. You might recall that Tony Gwynn was a pretty great hitter with two strikes, too.

Arraez isn't going to win a home run derby, a gold glove, or a foot race. But when he gets in the box, you can't help but feel like he's the one deciding whether he gets a hit today. And that's honestly pretty cool.

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@TwinsAlmanac Sprout and Kvasnicka both coached HS baseball in the Suburban East.

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@GopherMBB You can’t choose your seat as a single. Was buying a lower level seat today and was denied because only one empty seat would have been available next to me. Ridiculous. Frequent buyer and very disappointed.

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@GopherMBB why can’t I buy a single ticket as a single person for my CHOICE of seats. I’ve bought tickets for years, singles plenty of times, and now because there is only one seat next to me that would be open I can’t choose that seat? Ridiculous. Hope seats don’t sell!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@FLBrewers And good luck to you too, Joe Rydel!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@FLBrewers Good luck gentlemen!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@DanHayesMLB @FLBaseballMN @SethTweets Yeah. Am hoping to see him in 2026!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@longtimegone65 Is Larry Fitzgerald available?

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@tchoopsczar @coachdedina @SotaCoachJ @CoachDre3000 @StribVarsity Will it be included in Strib subscription or do you have to pay extra?

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@WaxPackGods

[Doug Gottlieb @GottliebShow]

This is so damn good!

[Kale Henry @kaleball]

@MatthewTaylorMN @SethTweets @twinsdaily I don’t think he’s a villain but I think it made sense for both parties to move on— even if it was just a salary dump