With a victory over the Seattle Mariners last night, the Milwaukee Brewers became the winningest team in MLB this season. Despite being a self-admitted group of “average joes”, the Brewers’ record sits at 60-40 largely due to a starting rotation with the sixth-best ERA in baseball. Although he only threw 21 of those innings and is currently at Triple-A, Brewers starting pitcher Logan Henderson is a great player fantasy baseball stash candidate for the second half of the season.
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Four Reasons to Stash Logan Henderson
Reason #1: Minor League Performance
For what it’s worth, Henderson has been very effective in the minor leagues. After being drafted in 2021, he threw just 13.2 innings in his first professional season. He showed off his potential in 2023 with the Carolina Mudcats of Single-A, striking out 106 batters in 78.2 innings. After working his way up to Triple-A and posting a 3.32 ERA across four levels last season, Henderson made his MLB debut earlier this year.
Limiting walks has been a staple of Henderson’s pitching profile throughout his career. Last season in the Minor Leagues, the Brewers farmhand struck out 104 batters and walked just 15. His 6.93 K/BB ratio would have ranked third in MLB last season among pitchers with at least 80 IP, trailing only Bryan Woo and George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners.
There is a reason Henderson ranks as the Brewers’ sixth-best prospect and MLB’s 90th-ranked prospect overall. After dominating in college – leading all JUCO pitchers in strikeouts and leading his team to a Junior College World Series title in 2021 – Henderson has carried his knack for success into the minor leagues. If the past is any indication, he will continue to perform well once he gets called back up to the big-league club. That consistency makes him a great fantasy baseball stash.
Reason #2: Major League Performance
Henderson was sent down to Triple-A on Memorial Day after his fourth career start to make room for bullpen reinforcements. Said start came against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he scattered five hits in five innings while allowing one earned run. The outing was reflective of the success Henderson has had over his 21 big-league innings this season.
In his Major League debut against the Athletics on April 20, the Brewers right-hander struck out nine batters and coaxed a whiff rate north of 30% on both his four-seam fastball and changeup. Despite accounting for 88% of his arsenal, both offerings performed very well in a small sample size this season. Opposing hitters carried xBAs of .195 and .234 on Henderson’s four-seam fastball and changeup, respectively.
Henderson paired those offerings with pinpoint command to produce outstanding statistics during his time in the major leagues. Henderson struck out 35.8% of the batters he faced and charted a 28.3% whiff rate, both of which rank well above MLB average. With an xBA of .230 and xERA of 3.24 to back up his dominant offensive prevention metrics on the mound (3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in four starts), fantasy managers can be confident in his ability to get outs despite a relatively shallow arsenal.
Reason #3: Excellent Command
While he did generate a lot of whiffs in a limited sample size at the MLB level, Henderson certainly does not possess the electric arsenal of his fellow Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski. Take a look at this excerpt from his MLB Pipeline scouting report:
“Henderson repeats his delivery well, rarely pitching out of a full windup, and he’s become a regular strike pumper at the upper levels. That said, he can get hit around if the fastball seeps below the top of the zone or if he doesn’t bury the changeup.”
Given that location is so fundamental to Henderson’s ability to get outs, it is good news that he showed it off in his four MLB starts. According to Fangraphs’ Location+ metric, Henderson has the 11th-best command in baseball this season among starters with at least 20 IP. While it is a small sample size, it becomes more significant when paired with the knowledge that he’s only walked 71 batters in 246 minor league innings.
Reason #4: High-Floor Profile
Because he has consistently shown pinpoint command throughout his time in pro ball and demonstrated that his shallow arsenal is effective enough to get whiffs, Henderson has a high floor even if he regresses back to his normal strikeout rates upon his re-arrival in the big leagues. If he can stick around as a starter, his avoidance of walks will help Henderson post efficient innings.
Henderson won’t just be valuable in points leagues, either; his low walk rate will help balance out rotisserie league teams stacked with high-strikeout, high-WHIP pitchers. His minor league performance, dominance over a small MLB sample size, and excellent command make Henderson – who is only 58% rostered on Fantrax – a great fantasy baseball stash.
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