Miami Marlins: Get to Know Newest Marlin C Payton Henry

The final move that the Miami Marlins made before the 4:00 pm ET MLB Trade Deadline on July 30th was trading relief pitcher John Curtiss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

While trading away Curtiss was not necessarily the most eye-popping move around the league, it was a significant move from the Marlins viewpoint as they traded away a very-good reliever that is still under team control for multiple seasons. It was clear in a move like this that Miami needed to receive something notable in return, and it appears they did in catcher Payton Henry.

Get to know newest Miami Marlins catcher Payton Henry.

Once a highly-touted player out of high school where he won Gatorade Player of the Year in Utah twice, Henry was selected in the sixth round by Milwaukee out of high school in the 2016 MLB Draft. Beginning his professional career as a 19-year old playing with the AZL Brewers, Henry would only appear in 24 games for the remainder of the 2016 season slashing .256/.333/.341 with 17 RBI’s in limited action.

The young catcher would spent all of the 2017 season in Rookie-Ball as well showing improved numbers before advancing to Low-A during 2018 in a impressive showing for his first full professional season.

Playing with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Henry slashed .234/.327/.380 with 10 HR’s and 41 RBI’s across 337 at-bat’s. Despite some strikeout concerns, the 21-year old at the time flashed some impressive power potential earning a midseason Class-A All-Star appearance.

Henry would then back up that impressive 2018 season with an even better showing in 2019 with the High-A Carolina Mudcats slashing .242/.315/.395 with a career-high 14 HR’s and 75 RBI’s. Both Henry’s HR and RBI totals finished among the Top 5 overall in the Carolina League.

After no minor league season in 2020, Henry reached Triple-A in the Brewers organization after dominating Double-A pitching earlier this season slashing .315/.392/.405 in 30 games. Henry will remain in Triple-A in the Marlins organization as he recently made his Marlins debut going 0-for-4 with an RBI with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Despite strikeout concerns, Henry’s power potential in his right-handed swing is evident, and should translate at any level. The 24-year old however is also an above-average defensive catcher who has showcased strong fielding abilities behind the plate, along with a previous track record of throwing out runners on the basepaths.

Henry has been one of the top catching prospects in the Brewers organization the past couple of seasons, a farm system that is loaded with notable catching depth. With a major league debut most-likely in the works for next season, Henry will give the Miami Marlins yet another seemingly ready big league option at catcher going into the 2022 campaign.