HOUSTON — There are two images of David Hensley. And when you talk about both of them, it’s hard to imagine that they are separated by only two years.
The first came in 2020, when COVID-19 shut down baseball. Hensley, a non-prospect drafted in the 26th round two years earlier, worked 40 hours a week in a marble and tile warehouse in California. The day started at 5:30 a.m. He’d garnered a $1,000 signing bonus to start his pro ball career. This was necessary to make a living.
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Then there’s 2022, in the early evening on Tuesday. After an electrifying 8-7 walk-off win in the Astros’ postseason opener, soon-to-be-three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander gave Hensley’s rally-starting, full-count hit-by-pitch a shoutout in the clubhouse in front of the whole team. Hensley was the first base runner in the ninth inning ahead of Yordan Alvarez’s walk-off homer.
Now, a player that Hensley always looked up to was now recognizing his accomplishment.
“Not to go overlooked is the first playoff at-bat for Hensley,” Verlander told a throng of reporters after the walk-off. “That’s what makes this team so special. It’s not just one person.”
It’s always cool when you can witness someone in the middle of the most unbelievable moment of their life. It’s hard to imagine anything better for the 26-year-old Hensley.
David Hensley, who had that terrific at-bat, his first ever in the playoffs prior to the Yordan Alvarez homer, was playing in Sugar Land a few weeks ago: “I was wondering if I ever was gonna get here.” pic.twitter.com/0V1OEboqUd
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 12, 2022
Rewind to Hensley’s junior year at San Diego State. He hit .357 with an .895 OPS. An objectively great college season. But he went undrafted. All 40 rounds, 1,215 picks. No calls. And no idea why.
When his numbers tapered off a bit in his senior season, it would have been fair to expect that he’d again go undrafted. Fair to think his baseball career might be on the brink of ending.
But the Astros took him in the 26th round, basically for free. Hensley progressed slowly through their system, with his on-base ability, speed and defensive versatility becoming impossible to deny.
Now he’s on the Astros playoff roster and contributing in a significant way. In 16 major-league games, Hensley has a 1.027 OPS. He’s struck out just six times in 34 plate appearances. The playing time has been sporadic, but he’s been productive in his opportunities.
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“He’s a tough out,” said manager Dusty Baker, who first became impressed with Hensley watching him at Astros minor-league camp during the lockout. “That’s quite a compliment. Especially for a young player. Especially in the era where strikeouts are accepted. To be a tough out is, you’re making the pitcher work and you got a better chance of doing something.
“I like the kid’s attitude, his demeanor and his fight and his drive.”
Hensley’s first years in pro baseball were somewhat forgettable. For Class-A Quad Cities, he had a .624 and .654 OPS in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The jump came in his first 28 games for High-A Fayetteville in 2019. Hensley was an on-base machine, even though he didn’t hit any homers and had zero steals. The OPS was still .826.
The on-base part of his game started to develop there. The strength and power in his game came when the 2020 minor-league season was nixed. His off-field job was picking up heavy boxes all day and sorting through heavy materials. Then he’d go to the gym to work out for a couple of hours. This past year he had a career-high 11 homers and 20 steals.
“It was a struggle, man,” Hensley said of his COVID year before turning to the positives that came from it. “A blessing in disguise to be honest. … I was able to get stronger. Picking up heavy stuff all day and then going and moving heavy stuff around in the weight room. I got really strong.
“Coming to Double-A after that time off, I had more success than I ever had just based off the strength.”
That 26th round no longer exists in the Major League Baseball draft. Some players still get signed after going undrafted. But it underscores just how unlikely it is for Hensley to be in this position.
It was unlikely for him to get drafted after missing out in 2017. He still keeps in regular contact with the Astros scout, Ryan Leake, who advocated for his selection. The two have never met but there’s a lot of mutual joy in seeing how Hensley’s story has played out.
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“For him to get just $1,000 and a plane ticket,” said his father Mike Hensley. “That was all he needed. Just somebody to open the door for him and let him in.”
“When my name got called, it didn’t matter at that point,” David said. “It was all or nothing. It was either I was going to go and play because that’s what I was trying to do. Or baseball was going to be done for me.”
The Astros and their fans are certainly happy that baseball is not done for Hensley. There were plenty of times to doubt himself along the way, even after he was drafted. The slow start. The year away from baseball. The people in his ear telling the prideful utilityman that he needed to focus on one position.
But Hensley not only stuck with it. He’s thrived. And Hensley said he promises to himself every day that he’ll take advantage of the opportunity that he was given. He said he always believed he could play at this level. That’s being validated.
“Everybody has their struggles,” Hensley said. “Everybody has their times where they’re fighting. Those days build character.
“I feel like I’ve become a better man over the last few years, just going through what I’ve gone through and trying to find a way. Being able to get here is the ultimate reward. This is everything I’ve worked for.”
(Photo of Hensley: Leslie Plaza Johnson / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)
Sam Blum is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Angels and Major League Baseball. Before joining The Athletic, he was a sports reporter for the Dallas Morning News. Previously, he covered Auburn for AL.com and the University of Virginia for The Daily Progress in Charlottesville.
