{"id":123308,"date":"2025-06-22T18:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T18:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/123308\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T18:06:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T18:06:13","slug":"reds-prospect-kyle-henley-displays-atlanta-speed-as-one-of-baseballs-fastest-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/123308\/","title":{"rendered":"Reds prospect Kyle Henley displays Atlanta speed as one of baseball’s fastest players"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAYTONA BEACH \u2014 Growing up, Kyle Henley<\/a> knew he was fast. But \u201cfast\u201d came with a caveat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m from Alpharetta, Georgia,\u201d Henley said. \u201cIt’s a little bit north of Atlanta. But my dad would always tell me I’m not Atlanta fast. I’m not like inner-city fast with those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then, they found out he was.<\/p>\n

When Henley was 15, he attended a Perfect Game showcase and ran the quickest 60-yard dash in the nation for his age group at 6.47 seconds. A year later, he dropped it to 6.27.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an eye-opener,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s when my career, it was like, \u2018OK, let’s take this seriously.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 20 and in his first full season with the Daytona Tortugas<\/a>, Henley leads the Florida State League<\/a> in stolen bases. The center fielder racked up 31 steals through his first 57 games. No other FSL prospect<\/a> registered more than 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cI genuinely believe I’m one of the fastest players in all of baseball,\u201d Henley said.<\/p>\n

\"Daytona<\/p>\n

Daytona Tortugas outfielder Kyle Henley (6) and teammates take the field against the St. Lucie Mets, Friday, June 13, 2025 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.<\/p>\n

Chase Burns: Reds to call up top prospect to debut Tuesday vs. New York Yankees<\/a><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s not hyperbole or false confidence.<\/p>\n

Using Catapult tracking data, Henley would boast the best feet-per-second mark in the major leagues<\/a> this season. His 31.6 would place him above speedsters like Bobby Witt Jr. (30.4), Byron Buxton (30.2) and Trea Turner (29.9).<\/p>\n

Henley also points out his top speed of 22.6 miles per hour would\u2019ve led the NFL in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut those boys got pads on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati Reds<\/a> drafted Kyle Henley out of high school in 2023\"Daytona<\/p>\n

Daytona Tortugas outfielder Kyle Henley (6) heads for first against the St. Lucie Mets, Friday, June 13, 2025 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.<\/p>\n

Also a football and basketball player as a kid, Henley committed to the Georgia Tech baseball program while at Denmark High School but skipped college altogether when the Cincinnati Reds<\/a> selected him in the 14th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.<\/p>\n

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He started swiping bags immediately.<\/p>\n

After a four-game baptism in the Arizona Complex League in late 2023, he returned to that level to kick off 2024. In 53 games, he snatched 35 bases with a .280 batting average. He was caught only three times.<\/p>\n

Henley ended the campaign with a four-game stint with the Tortugas. In their regular-season finale, he drew a walk-off walk.<\/p>\n

To begin 2025, Henley came back to Daytona Beach and has hit .237 with 17 RBIs. He wants to improve his on-base percentage (.286) and cut down on his strikeouts. He\u2019s fanned 95 times, which also leads the league.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s refined his stolen-base approach with the help of Tortugas manager Willie Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI remember in spring training every day, let’s say I’m in the dugout and there’s a runner on second,\u201d Henley said. \u201c(Harris) would look at me and say, \u2018What’s this pitcher doing? Is he one-look, two-look?\u2019 Every time, I would sit there and be blank because I wasn’t paying attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, it’s ingrained in my head \u2014 what’s he doing? Now, I’m ultra focused if I’m in the dugout, on the field, even just watching. I have to make sure I’m on top of that because that’s the key of trying to be the best baserunner I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle Henley’s process for stealing bases\"Daytona<\/p>\n

Daytona Tortugas outfielder Kyle Henley (6) grabs the ball after a short hop against the St. Lucie Mets, Friday, June 13, 2025 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.<\/p>\n

Henley possesses a constant green light.<\/p>\n

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Daytona doesn\u2019t need to give him the steal sign. If he wants to go, he can. If he notices something he can exploit, he should.<\/p>\n

He strives for the same leadoff every time he gets on base. The Reds measured their ideal distances during spring training.<\/p>\n

If the pitcher tries a pickoff move and it\u2019s a close play, Henley may shorten his leadoff by a step. If he retreats back to the bag easily, he extends it an extra step.<\/p>\n

He looks for tendencies to perfect his timing. How fast is this pitcher\u2019s windup? Does he always take a deep breath right before lifting his leg? Does he glance down or twitch his hands a certain way? Those are Henley\u2019s indicators, telling him when to run.<\/p>\n

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Henley studies those details on film before games. If he hasn\u2019t seen a pitcher on video, he\u2019ll try to collect those mental notes from the dugout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to be smart about it because I have really good hitters behind me,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if I’m on and I have an advantage and I see something, I’m always going to try to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he knows he\u2019s stealing, he said the game slows down. Everything gets quiet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, it’s like boom!\u201d Henley said. \u201cIt’s a really cool feeling. I just take off.\u201d<\/p>\n

While sprinting to second or third base, he looks in to see what\u2019s happening with the pitch \u2014 if it\u2019s in the dirt, if the catcher corrals it cleanly, if the hitter swings.<\/p>\n

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He slides feet-first at his coaches\u2019 request. They want him to stay away from the injury risk of a headfirst slide if possible.<\/p>\n

Henley\u2019s been thrown out only twice this year. And, well, he doesn\u2019t count one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other time was a bad call,\u201d he said with a smile, \u201cbut stuff like that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

80 stolen bases feels attainable for Kyle Henley in 2025<\/p>\n

After games, Henley will occasionally pick up his phone and see a text from a family member or friend.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s, \u201cHey, you\u2019re in the lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or maybe it\u2019s, \u201cThis person is catching up.\u201d<\/p>\n

That keeps him aware of the league\u2019s stolen base standings. He tries not to seek out that info, though he\u2019d be lying if he said he didn\u2019t keep track of his stats and set specific goals. This season, he aims to steal 70-75 bases.<\/p>\n

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Eighty or more feels attainable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, if I do what I’m supposed to do, the numbers will be there at the end of the season,\u201d Henley said. \u201cI\u2019m just going out there and playing my game, which is stealing bags.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Cincinnati Reds prospect Kyle Henley may be baseball’s fastest player<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DAYTONA BEACH \u2014 Growing up, Kyle Henley knew he was fast. But \u201cfast\u201d came with a caveat. \u201cI’m…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2400],"tags":[191,5,1351,2223,535,50,4259,1891,5195,26036,26035,4,62,536,1713],"class_list":{"0":"post-123308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-bobby-witt-jr","11":"tag-byron-buxton","12":"tag-cincinnati","13":"tag-cincinnati-reds","14":"tag-cincinnatireds","15":"tag-daytona-tortugas","16":"tag-florida-state-league","17":"tag-henley","18":"tag-kyle-henley","19":"tag-mlb","20":"tag-new-york-yankees","21":"tag-reds","22":"tag-trea-turner"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114728349627923103","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}